Memmia gens

From the period of the Jugurthine War to the age of Augustus they contributed numerous tribunes to the Republic.

This late tradition suggests that by the end of the Republic, the gens had become a conspicuous part of the Roman nobility.

The Memmii of the Republic did not possess hereditary surnames, but two distinct families are identifiable by their respective voting tribes, the Galeria and the Menenia.

[5] They did nevertheless use a number of personal cognomina, including Quirinus, thought to have been the name of a Sabine god, who came to be equated with both Janus and Romulus; Gallus, referring to a cockerel, or perhaps to a Gaul; and Geminus, traditionally given to a twin.

[6] Other cognomina are found in imperial times, including Maximus, given to an eldest brother, or someone particularly notable; Regulus, a diminutive of rex, a king, used by a number of old Roman families; Pollio, a polisher, particularly of armour; Afer, referring to the province of Africa; and Senecio, a diminutive of senex, an old man.

Denarius of Lucius Memmius, 106 BC. The reverse depicts Venus driving a chariot, with Cupid flying above, alluding to the Trojan ancestry claimed by the Memmii. [ 1 ]
Denarius of Gaius Memmius, 56 BC. Ceres appears on the obverse, while the reverse features a trophy with a prisoner beneath, and the legend Imperator , commemorating Gaius' father, recently propraetor.
Denarius of Gaius Memmius, 56 BC. The obverse probably depicts Quirinus ; on the reverse is Ceres, alluding to Gaius Memmius Quirinus, who established the Ludi Ceriales . [ 4 ]