Marcia gens

The first to obtain the consulship was Gaius Marcius Rutilus in 357 BC, only a few years after the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia opened this office to the plebeians.

[2] After biding their time for many years, the sons of Marcius gained their revenge by engineering the assassination of Tarquin, but they were again prevented from claiming the throne by a ruse of Tanaquil, the Roman queen, who installed her stepson, Servius Tullius, as regent, until he had sufficient support to rule on his own.

There is no reason to doubt that both names are in turn derived from the god Mars, although the precise linguistic process by which this occurred is complex and uncertain.

During the time of the Republic, the plebeian Marcii bore the cognomina Censorinus, Crispus, Figulus, Libo, Philippus, Ralla, Rex, Rufus, Rutilus, Septimus, Sermo, and Tremulus.

Philippus means "lover of horses", and the name had for centuries been associated with the Macedonian kings; Philip II was the father of Alexander the Great.

The Philippi were proud of this association since Lucius Marcius Philippus, the consul of 91, even put the portrait of Philip V of Macedon on the denarii he minted.

[11][12][13] Friedrich Münzer considers that the Marcii bearing the cognomen Figulus ("potter") were linked to the Philippi; the first of that name might have been the second son of Quintus Marcius Philippus, the consul of 281.

[8][15] The cognomen Rex, meaning "king", is usually interpreted as an allusion to the family's traditional descent from Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius.

[16] However, another possibility is that the surname was borne by the descendants of a certain Marcus Marcius, Rex Sacrorum, during the third century BC, and perhaps the first plebeian to hold that office.

Gaius Marcius Coriolanus reproached by his mother, Veturia, and wife, Volumnia, before the walls of Rome.
Denarius of L. Marcius Philippus , minted in 56 BC. The obverse is a portrait of Ancus Marcius , the legendary 4th king of Rome and founder of the gens. The reverse depicts the Aqua Marcia , built by Q. Marcius Rex in 144 BC, who also had his statue on the aqueduct. [ 5 ]
Denarius of Lucius Marcius Philippus , circa 113 BC. The obverse depicts Philip V of Macedon . The reverse displays a triumphator , either Quintus Marcius Tremulus , who triumphed in 306 BC, or Quintus Marcius Philippus , who triumphed in 281. [ 13 ]
Denarius of Gaius Marcius Censorinus minted in 88 BC, depicting Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius , with a desultor on the reverse. [ 37 ]
Denarius of Quintus Marcius Philippus, 129 BC. The obverse depicts a head of Roma; on the reverse is a horseman, behind whom is a Macedonian royal helmet.