Considia (gens)


The gens Considia was a plebeian family at Rome. The Considii came to prominence in the last century of the Republic, and under the early Empire, but none of them rose any higher than the praetorship.

Origin

The Considii were an old family, first appearing early in the fifth century BC. However, they quickly faded into obscurity, from which they did not emerge for nearly four centuries. The nomen Considius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed chiefly from cognomina ending in -idus, using the suffix -idius, which came to be thought of as a regular gentile-forming suffix, and was applied even in cases where there was no morphological justification. Considius might be formed from the nomen of the gens Consia, itself probably related to the mysterious god Consus.

Praenomina

The Considii used the praenomina Quintus, Lucius, Publius, Marcus, and Gaius, all of which were amongst the most common names throughout Roman history.

Branches and cognomina

The main cognomina of the Considii were Gallus, Longus, Nonianus, and Paetus. Gallus may refer to a Gaul, or to a cockerel. Longus implies that the bearer was tall, or perhaps "long-winded", although the name could also have been bestowed ironically on a short man. Nonianus implies a connection with the gens Nonia, although whether the two brothers bearing it were adopted from that family, or descended from it through the maternal line, cannot be determined. Paetus translates as "squinty" or "nearsighted."

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