The Prisci were he proceeded to lay siege, and which he took by
an ancient family of the Servilia gens, and filled means of a mine.
an ancient family of the Servilia gens, and filled means of a mine.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - c
D.
68), and one of
PRISCUS, T. CAESO'NIUS, a Roman eques, his first acts was to bring to trial Eprius Marcellus,
was appointed by Tiberius the minister of a new the accuser of his father-in-law ; but as the senti-
office which he instituted, and which was styled a
voluptatibus. (Suet. Tib. 42. )
This statement depends only upon a correction
PRISCUS, CORNE’LIUS, consul, with Pom- of the text of Tacitus (Hist. iv. 5). Some manu-
peius Collega, in A. D. 93, the year in which Agri- scripts have Tarentium or Tarentinae municipio ;
cola died. (Tac. Agr. 44. ) See above PriscUs, but we find in the Florentine manuscript, Carecinas
the friend of Pliny.
municipio, which has been altered, with much pro-
PRISCUS, FA'BIUS, a legatus, the com- bability, into Tarracinue municipio.
66
1
## p. 527 (#543) ############################################
PRISCUS.
527
PRISCUS.
ments of Galba were doubtful, he dropped the accu- | the enemies of Priscus to issue the fatal mandate ;
sation. On the murder of Galba at the beginning for shortly afterwards he sent messengers to recall
of the following year (A. D. 69), he obtained from the executioners ; and his life would have been
Otho the corpse of the emperor, and took care that saved, had it not been for the false report that he
it was buried (Plut. Galb. 28). In the course of bad already perished. The life of Priscus was
the same year he was nominated praetor for the written by Herennius Senecio at the request of his
next year, and as praetor elect ventured to oppose widow Fannia ; and the tyrant Domitian, in con-
Vitellius in the senate. After the death of Vitellius sequence of this work, subsequently put Senecio to
in December, A. D. 69, Priscus again attacked his death, and sent Fannia into exile for the third
old enemy Eprius Marcellus. The contest between time. Priscus left a son, who is called simply
them arose respecting the manner in which the am- Helvidius, without any surname, and is therefore
bassadors were to be chosen who were to be sent spoken of under HELVIDIUS. (Tac. Ann. xiii. 28,
to Vespasian ; Priscus maintaining that they should xvi. 28, 33, 35, list. ii. 91, iv. 5-9, 43, 44, Agric.
be appointed by the magistrates, Marcellus that 2, Dial de Orat. 5 ; Dion Cass. Ixv. 7, lxvi. 12,
they should be chosen by lot, fcaring that if the lxvii. 13; Suet. V'esp. 15; Plin. Ep. vii. 19. )
former method were adopted he might not be ap. PRISCUS, JAVOLE'NUS. (JAVOLENUS. ]
pointed, and might thus appear to have received PRISCUS, JU'LIUS, a centurion, was ap-
some disgrace. Marcellus carried his point on this pointed by Vitellius (A. D. 69) praefect of the
occasion. Priscus accused him, shortly afterwards, praetorian guards on the recommendation of Fabius
of having been one of the informers under Nero, Valens. When news arrived that the army, which
but he was acquitted, in consequence of the support had espoused the side of Vespasian, was marching
which he received from Mucianus and Domitian. upon Rome, Julius Priscus was sent with Alphenus
Although Vespasian was now emperor, and no Varus at the head of fourteen praetorian cohorts
one was left to dispute the throne with him, and all the squadrons of cavalry to take possession
Priscus did not worship the rising sun. During of the passes of the Apennines, but he and Varus
Vespasian's continued absence in the East, Priscus, disgracefully deserted their post and returned to
who was now praetor (A. D. 70), opposed various Rome. After the death of Vitellius, Priscus put
measures which had been brought forward by an end to his life, more, says Tacitus, through shame
others with a view of pleasing the emperor. Thus than necessity. (Tac. Hist. ii. 92, iii, 55, 61, iv.
he maintained that the retrenchments in the public 11. )
expences, which were rendered necessary by the PRISCUS, JU'NIUS, praetor in the reign of
exhausted state of the treasury, ought to be made Caligula, was put to death by this emperor on ac-
by the senate, and not left to the emperor, as the count of his wealth, though accused as a pretext of
consul elect had proposed ; and he also brought other crimes. (Dion Cass. lix. 18. )
forward a motion in the senate that the Capitol PRISCUS, C. LUTOʻRIUS, a Roman eques,
should be rebuilt at the public cost, and only with composed a poem on the death of Germanicus,
assistance from Vespasian. It may be mentioned, which obtained great celebrity, and for which he
in passing, that later in the year Priscus, as praetor, was liberally paid by Tiberius. When Drusus fel
dedicated the spot on which the Capitol was to be ill, in A. D. 21, Priscus composed another poem on
built. (Tac. Hist. iv. 53. ) On the arrival of the his death, anticipating, if he died, a still more
emperor at Rome, Priscus was the only person who handsome present from the emperor, as Drusus
saluted him by his private name of Vespasian ; was his own son, while Germanicus had been only
and, not content with omitting his name in all the his son by adoption. Priscus was led by his
edicts which he published as praetor, he attacked vanity to recite this poem in a private house in
both the person and the office of the emperor. presence of a distinguished company of women of
Such conduct was downright folly ; he could not rank. He was denounced in consequence to the
by smart speeches and insulting acts restore the senate ; and this body, anxious to punish the
republic; and if his sayings and doings have been insult to the imperial family, condemned Priscus
rightly reported, he had only himself to thank for to death, without consulting Tiberius, and had
his fate. Thus we are told by one of his admirers him executed forth with. The proceeding, how-
that Vespasian having forbidden him on one occa- ever, displeased Tiberius, not through any wish to
sion from appearing in the senate, he replied, save the life of Priscus, but because the senate had
“ You can expel me from the senate, but, as long presumed to put a person to death without asking
as I am a member of it, I must go into the house. " his opinion. He therefore caused a decree of the
-"Well, then, go in, but be silent. ”—“Don't senate to be passed, that no decrees of the body
ask me for my opinion, then, and I will be silent. " should be deposited in the aerarium till ten days
-“ But I must ask you. "
. "-" Then I must say had elapsed ; and as they could not be carried into
what seems to me just. " _" But if you do I will execution till this was done, no one could in
put you to death. " -"Did I ever say to you that future be executed till ten days after his condem-
I was immortal? You do your part, and I will nation. (Tac. Ann. iii. 49–51; Dion Cass. Ivii. 20. )
do mine. Yours is, to kill; mine, to die without It is recorded of this Lutorius Priscus that he paid
fear ; yours is, to banish ; mine, to go into exile Sejanus the enormous sum of 50,000,000 sesterces
without sorrow. " (Epictet. Dissert. i. 2. ) After (quinqucnties sestertium) for an eunuch of the name
such a specimen of the way in which he bearded of Paezon. (Plin. H. N. vii. 39. 8. 40. )
the emperor, we cannot be surprised at his banish- PRISCUS, Q. MU'STIUS, consul suffectus,
ment. His wife Fannia followed him a second A. D. 163 (Fasti).
time into exile. It appears that his place of PRISCUS, NERATIUS. (NERATIUS. ]
banishment was at no great distance from the PRISCUS, Q. NO'NIUS, consul A. D. 149 with
capital ; and he had not been long in exile before he Ser. Scipio Orfitus (Fasti).
was executed by order of Vespasian. It would PRISCUS, NO'VIUŚ, was banished by Nero,
seem that the emperor was persuaded by some of | in a. D. 66, in consequence of his being a friend of
.
## p. 528 (#544) ############################################
628
PRISCUS.
PRISCUS.
Seneca. He was accompanied in his exile by his 5. P. SERVILIUS Sr. F. P. N. PRISCUS STRUC-
wife Artoria Flacilla. (Tac. Ann. xv. 71. ) We rus, son of No. 3, was consul B. C. 463, with L.
learn from the Fasti that D. Novius Priscus was Aebutius Elva, and was carried off in his consul-
consul A. D. 78, in the reign of Vespasian. He ship by the great plague which saged at Rome in
was probably the same person as the one banished this year. (Liv. iii. 6, 7; Dionys. ix. 67, 68 ;
by Nero.
Oros. ii. 12. )
PRISCUS, T. NUMI'CIUS, consul B. C. 469 6. Q. * SERVILIUS P. P. SP. N. PRISCUS STRUC-
with A. Virginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus, fought tus FIDENAS, son of No. 5, was appointed dictator
against the Volscians with success, and took Ceno, B. C. 435, in consequence of the alarm excited by
one of their towns. (Liv. ii. 63; Dionys. ix. the invasion of the Veientes and Fidenates, who
56. )
had taken advantage of the plague, which was then
PRISCUS PANITES. (See above, Priscus, raging at Rome, to ravage the Roman territory,
the Byzantine writer. )
and had advanced almost up to the Colline Gate.
PRISCUS, PETRO'NIUS, banished by Nero, Servilius defeated the enemy without difficulty,
A. D. 66. (Tac. Ann. xv. 71. )
and pursued the Fidenates to their town, to which
PRISCUS, SERVI'LIUS.
The Prisci were he proceeded to lay siege, and which he took by
an ancient family of the Servilia gens, and filled means of a mine. From the conquest of this town
the highest offices of the state during the early he received the surname of Fidenas, which was
years of the republic. They also bore the agno- afterwards adopted by his children in the place of
men of Structus, which is always appended to Structus. Servilius is mentioned again in B. C.
their name in the Fasti, till it was supplanted by 431, when he called upon the tribunes of the plebs
that of Fidenas, which was first obtained by Q. to compel the consuls to elect a dictator, in order
Servilius Priscus Structus, who took Fidenae in to carry on the war against the Volsci and Aequi.
his dictatorship, B. C. 435 (see below, No. 6], In B. c. 418 the Roman army was defeated by the
and which was also borne by his descendants Aequi and the Lavicani, in consequence of the
[Nos. 7 and 8).
dissensions and incompetency of the consular tri-
1. P. Servilius Priscus STRUCTUS, consul bunes of that year. Servilius was therefore ap-
B. C. 495 with Ap. Claudius Sabinus Regillensis. pointed dictator a second time; he carried on the
This year was memorable in the annals by the war with success, defeated the Aequi, and took
death of king Tarquin. The temple of Mercury the point of Lavici, where the senate forth with
was also dedicated in this year, and additional established a Roman colony. (Liv. iv, 21, 22, 26
colonists were led to the colony of Signia, which 45–47. )
had been founded by Tarquin. The consuls car- 7. Q. SERVILIUS Q. F. P. N. (PRiscus) FIDE-
ried on war against the Volscians with success, NAS, the son of No. 6, was consular tribune six
and took the town of Suessa Pometia ; and times, namely in B. C. 402, 398, 395, 390, 388,
Priscus subsequently defeated both the Sabines 386. (Liv. v. 8, 14, 24, 36, vi. 4, 6. ) He was
and Aurunci. In the struggles between the patri- also interrex in B. C. 397. (Liv. v. 17. ) There can
cians and plebeians respecting the law of debt, be no doubt that this Servilius was the son of
Priscus was inclined to espouse the side of the No. 6, both from his praenomen Quintus, and his
latter, and published a proclamation favourable to surname Fidenas, as well as from the circumstances
the plebeians ; but as he was unable to assist them that he is designated in the Capitoline Fasti, Q. F.
in opposition to his colleague and the whole body P. N. A difficulty, however, arises from the state-
of the patricians, he incurred the enmity of both ment of Livy, that the C. Servilius, who was consular
parties. (Liv. ii. 21—27 ; Dionys. yi. 23-32 ; tribune in B. C. 418, was the son of the conqueror of
Val. Max. ix. 3. $ 6; Plin. H. N. xxxv. 3. ) Fidenae (Liv. iv. 45, 46); but this is probably a
2. Q. SERVILIUS Priscus STRUCTUS, a brother mistake, since the consular tribune of B. C. 418 is
of No. 1, was magister equitum, in B. C. 494, to called, in the Capitoline Fasti, C. SERVILIUS Q. F.
the dictator, M'. Valerius Maximus. (Dionys. vi. C. N. AXILLA. Besides which, if he were the son
40. )
of the conqueror of Fidenae, he must have been a
3. Sp. ServiliUS Priscus STRUCTUS, consul younger son, as his praenomen shows; and in that
B. C. 476, with A. Virginius Tricostus Rutilus. In case the younger son would have obtained one of
consequence of the destruction of the Fabii at the the highest dignities in the state sixteen years
Cremera in the preceding year, the Etruscans had before his elder brother.
advanced up to the very walls of Rome, and taken 8. Q. SERVILIUS Q. F. Q. N. (PRISCUS) FIDE-
possession of the hill Janiculus. In an attempt NAS, the son of No. 7, was consular tribune three
which Priscus made to take this hill by assault, times, namely, in B. C. 382, 378, 369. (Liv. vi.
he was repulsed with great loss, and would have 22, 31, 36. )
sustained a total defeat, had not his colleague 9. Sp. SERVILIUS Priscus, censor B. C. 378,
Virginius come to his assistance, In consequence with Q. Cloelius Siculus (Liv, vi. 31). As this
of his rashness on this occasion, he was brought Servilius does not bear the surname of Fidenas, he
to trial by the tribunes, as soon as his year of probably was not a descendant of the conqueror of
office had expired, but was acquitted. (Liv. ii. 51, Fidenae.
52 ; Dionys. ix. 25, &c. )
4. Q. SERVILIUS Priscus STRUCTUS, probably * Livy (iv. 21) calls him A. Servilius, in
son of No. 2, was consul B. C. 468, with T. Quin- speaking of his dictatorship of B. C. 435, but
tius Capitolinus Barbatus, and again B. C. 466, R. Servilius when he mentions his dictatorship of
with Sp. Postumius Albus Regillensis. In each B. C. 418 (iv. 46), as well as when he speaks of
year Priscus commanded the Roman armies in the him elsewhere (e. g. iv. 26). There can, there-
wars with the neighbouring nations, but did not fore, be no doubt that the name of Quintus is to be
perform anything worth recording. (Liv. ii. 64, preferred, which we find also in the Capitoline
iii. 2 ; Dionys. ix. 57, 60. )
Fasti.
## p. 529 (#545) ############################################
PROAERESIUS.
529
PROAERESIUS.
PRISCUS SENE'CIO, Q. SO'SIUS, consul the jealousy of the others, who combined against
A. D. 169, with P. Coelius Apollinaris (Fasti). him. Through the intervention of a corrupt pro-
PRISCUS, STA'TIUS, consul a. d. 159, with consul, he was driven from Athens. A new pro-
Plautius Quintillus, two years before the death of consul not only restored him, but, after a public
the emperor Antoninus (Fasti). He was one of trial, bestowed on him public marks of approbation,
the generals sent by his successor, M. Aurelius, to and placed him at once at the head of all the
conduct the war against the Parthians, A. n. 162- teachers of rhetoric in Athens.
The fresh attempts
165. He took Artaxata, the capital of Armenia, and of his enemics to supplant him by splendid enter-
rescued the whole of that country from the Parthian tainments, at which they endeavoured to win over
power. (Capitolin. Anton. Phil. 9, Verus, 7 ; Dion men of power, were rendered nugatory by the ar-
Cass. Ixxi. Fragm. p. 1201, ed. Reimarus. ) rival in Athens of Anatolius, the praefect of Illy-
PRISCUS, TARQUI'NIUS. (TARQUINIUS. ) rium. It is probable that the favour with which
PRISCUS, TARQUI'TIUS, had been a legate that accomplished man regarded Proaeresius, at-
of Statilius Taurus, in Africa, whom he accused, in tracted to the latter the attention of the emperor
order to gratify Agrippina, the wife of the emperor Constans, who sent for him to Gaul, about A. D.
Claudius, who was anxious to obtain possession of 342. Constans detained him for more than one
his pleasure grounds. Taurus put an end to his year (if we may found upon the expression xecuci
life before sentence was pronounced ; and the vas, Eunap. ibid. p. 89), and then sent him to
senate expelled Priscus from its body as an informer. Rome. Here he was highly esteemed, and having
He was restored, however, to his former rank by written or delivered a eulogy on the city, was
Nero, and appointed governor of Bithynia ; but honoured in return with a life-size statue of bronze,
was condemned in A. D. 61, on account of extortion bearing this inscription, “ The Queen of Cities to the
in his province, to the great delight of the senate. Prince of Eloquence. ” On his departure from
(Tac. Ann, xii. 59, xiv.
PRISCUS, T. CAESO'NIUS, a Roman eques, his first acts was to bring to trial Eprius Marcellus,
was appointed by Tiberius the minister of a new the accuser of his father-in-law ; but as the senti-
office which he instituted, and which was styled a
voluptatibus. (Suet. Tib. 42. )
This statement depends only upon a correction
PRISCUS, CORNE’LIUS, consul, with Pom- of the text of Tacitus (Hist. iv. 5). Some manu-
peius Collega, in A. D. 93, the year in which Agri- scripts have Tarentium or Tarentinae municipio ;
cola died. (Tac. Agr. 44. ) See above PriscUs, but we find in the Florentine manuscript, Carecinas
the friend of Pliny.
municipio, which has been altered, with much pro-
PRISCUS, FA'BIUS, a legatus, the com- bability, into Tarracinue municipio.
66
1
## p. 527 (#543) ############################################
PRISCUS.
527
PRISCUS.
ments of Galba were doubtful, he dropped the accu- | the enemies of Priscus to issue the fatal mandate ;
sation. On the murder of Galba at the beginning for shortly afterwards he sent messengers to recall
of the following year (A. D. 69), he obtained from the executioners ; and his life would have been
Otho the corpse of the emperor, and took care that saved, had it not been for the false report that he
it was buried (Plut. Galb. 28). In the course of bad already perished. The life of Priscus was
the same year he was nominated praetor for the written by Herennius Senecio at the request of his
next year, and as praetor elect ventured to oppose widow Fannia ; and the tyrant Domitian, in con-
Vitellius in the senate. After the death of Vitellius sequence of this work, subsequently put Senecio to
in December, A. D. 69, Priscus again attacked his death, and sent Fannia into exile for the third
old enemy Eprius Marcellus. The contest between time. Priscus left a son, who is called simply
them arose respecting the manner in which the am- Helvidius, without any surname, and is therefore
bassadors were to be chosen who were to be sent spoken of under HELVIDIUS. (Tac. Ann. xiii. 28,
to Vespasian ; Priscus maintaining that they should xvi. 28, 33, 35, list. ii. 91, iv. 5-9, 43, 44, Agric.
be appointed by the magistrates, Marcellus that 2, Dial de Orat. 5 ; Dion Cass. Ixv. 7, lxvi. 12,
they should be chosen by lot, fcaring that if the lxvii. 13; Suet. V'esp. 15; Plin. Ep. vii. 19. )
former method were adopted he might not be ap. PRISCUS, JAVOLE'NUS. (JAVOLENUS. ]
pointed, and might thus appear to have received PRISCUS, JU'LIUS, a centurion, was ap-
some disgrace. Marcellus carried his point on this pointed by Vitellius (A. D. 69) praefect of the
occasion. Priscus accused him, shortly afterwards, praetorian guards on the recommendation of Fabius
of having been one of the informers under Nero, Valens. When news arrived that the army, which
but he was acquitted, in consequence of the support had espoused the side of Vespasian, was marching
which he received from Mucianus and Domitian. upon Rome, Julius Priscus was sent with Alphenus
Although Vespasian was now emperor, and no Varus at the head of fourteen praetorian cohorts
one was left to dispute the throne with him, and all the squadrons of cavalry to take possession
Priscus did not worship the rising sun. During of the passes of the Apennines, but he and Varus
Vespasian's continued absence in the East, Priscus, disgracefully deserted their post and returned to
who was now praetor (A. D. 70), opposed various Rome. After the death of Vitellius, Priscus put
measures which had been brought forward by an end to his life, more, says Tacitus, through shame
others with a view of pleasing the emperor. Thus than necessity. (Tac. Hist. ii. 92, iii, 55, 61, iv.
he maintained that the retrenchments in the public 11. )
expences, which were rendered necessary by the PRISCUS, JU'NIUS, praetor in the reign of
exhausted state of the treasury, ought to be made Caligula, was put to death by this emperor on ac-
by the senate, and not left to the emperor, as the count of his wealth, though accused as a pretext of
consul elect had proposed ; and he also brought other crimes. (Dion Cass. lix. 18. )
forward a motion in the senate that the Capitol PRISCUS, C. LUTOʻRIUS, a Roman eques,
should be rebuilt at the public cost, and only with composed a poem on the death of Germanicus,
assistance from Vespasian. It may be mentioned, which obtained great celebrity, and for which he
in passing, that later in the year Priscus, as praetor, was liberally paid by Tiberius. When Drusus fel
dedicated the spot on which the Capitol was to be ill, in A. D. 21, Priscus composed another poem on
built. (Tac. Hist. iv. 53. ) On the arrival of the his death, anticipating, if he died, a still more
emperor at Rome, Priscus was the only person who handsome present from the emperor, as Drusus
saluted him by his private name of Vespasian ; was his own son, while Germanicus had been only
and, not content with omitting his name in all the his son by adoption. Priscus was led by his
edicts which he published as praetor, he attacked vanity to recite this poem in a private house in
both the person and the office of the emperor. presence of a distinguished company of women of
Such conduct was downright folly ; he could not rank. He was denounced in consequence to the
by smart speeches and insulting acts restore the senate ; and this body, anxious to punish the
republic; and if his sayings and doings have been insult to the imperial family, condemned Priscus
rightly reported, he had only himself to thank for to death, without consulting Tiberius, and had
his fate. Thus we are told by one of his admirers him executed forth with. The proceeding, how-
that Vespasian having forbidden him on one occa- ever, displeased Tiberius, not through any wish to
sion from appearing in the senate, he replied, save the life of Priscus, but because the senate had
“ You can expel me from the senate, but, as long presumed to put a person to death without asking
as I am a member of it, I must go into the house. " his opinion. He therefore caused a decree of the
-"Well, then, go in, but be silent. ”—“Don't senate to be passed, that no decrees of the body
ask me for my opinion, then, and I will be silent. " should be deposited in the aerarium till ten days
-“ But I must ask you. "
. "-" Then I must say had elapsed ; and as they could not be carried into
what seems to me just. " _" But if you do I will execution till this was done, no one could in
put you to death. " -"Did I ever say to you that future be executed till ten days after his condem-
I was immortal? You do your part, and I will nation. (Tac. Ann. iii. 49–51; Dion Cass. Ivii. 20. )
do mine. Yours is, to kill; mine, to die without It is recorded of this Lutorius Priscus that he paid
fear ; yours is, to banish ; mine, to go into exile Sejanus the enormous sum of 50,000,000 sesterces
without sorrow. " (Epictet. Dissert. i. 2. ) After (quinqucnties sestertium) for an eunuch of the name
such a specimen of the way in which he bearded of Paezon. (Plin. H. N. vii. 39. 8. 40. )
the emperor, we cannot be surprised at his banish- PRISCUS, Q. MU'STIUS, consul suffectus,
ment. His wife Fannia followed him a second A. D. 163 (Fasti).
time into exile. It appears that his place of PRISCUS, NERATIUS. (NERATIUS. ]
banishment was at no great distance from the PRISCUS, Q. NO'NIUS, consul A. D. 149 with
capital ; and he had not been long in exile before he Ser. Scipio Orfitus (Fasti).
was executed by order of Vespasian. It would PRISCUS, NO'VIUŚ, was banished by Nero,
seem that the emperor was persuaded by some of | in a. D. 66, in consequence of his being a friend of
.
## p. 528 (#544) ############################################
628
PRISCUS.
PRISCUS.
Seneca. He was accompanied in his exile by his 5. P. SERVILIUS Sr. F. P. N. PRISCUS STRUC-
wife Artoria Flacilla. (Tac. Ann. xv. 71. ) We rus, son of No. 3, was consul B. C. 463, with L.
learn from the Fasti that D. Novius Priscus was Aebutius Elva, and was carried off in his consul-
consul A. D. 78, in the reign of Vespasian. He ship by the great plague which saged at Rome in
was probably the same person as the one banished this year. (Liv. iii. 6, 7; Dionys. ix. 67, 68 ;
by Nero.
Oros. ii. 12. )
PRISCUS, T. NUMI'CIUS, consul B. C. 469 6. Q. * SERVILIUS P. P. SP. N. PRISCUS STRUC-
with A. Virginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus, fought tus FIDENAS, son of No. 5, was appointed dictator
against the Volscians with success, and took Ceno, B. C. 435, in consequence of the alarm excited by
one of their towns. (Liv. ii. 63; Dionys. ix. the invasion of the Veientes and Fidenates, who
56. )
had taken advantage of the plague, which was then
PRISCUS PANITES. (See above, Priscus, raging at Rome, to ravage the Roman territory,
the Byzantine writer. )
and had advanced almost up to the Colline Gate.
PRISCUS, PETRO'NIUS, banished by Nero, Servilius defeated the enemy without difficulty,
A. D. 66. (Tac. Ann. xv. 71. )
and pursued the Fidenates to their town, to which
PRISCUS, SERVI'LIUS.
The Prisci were he proceeded to lay siege, and which he took by
an ancient family of the Servilia gens, and filled means of a mine. From the conquest of this town
the highest offices of the state during the early he received the surname of Fidenas, which was
years of the republic. They also bore the agno- afterwards adopted by his children in the place of
men of Structus, which is always appended to Structus. Servilius is mentioned again in B. C.
their name in the Fasti, till it was supplanted by 431, when he called upon the tribunes of the plebs
that of Fidenas, which was first obtained by Q. to compel the consuls to elect a dictator, in order
Servilius Priscus Structus, who took Fidenae in to carry on the war against the Volsci and Aequi.
his dictatorship, B. C. 435 (see below, No. 6], In B. c. 418 the Roman army was defeated by the
and which was also borne by his descendants Aequi and the Lavicani, in consequence of the
[Nos. 7 and 8).
dissensions and incompetency of the consular tri-
1. P. Servilius Priscus STRUCTUS, consul bunes of that year. Servilius was therefore ap-
B. C. 495 with Ap. Claudius Sabinus Regillensis. pointed dictator a second time; he carried on the
This year was memorable in the annals by the war with success, defeated the Aequi, and took
death of king Tarquin. The temple of Mercury the point of Lavici, where the senate forth with
was also dedicated in this year, and additional established a Roman colony. (Liv. iv, 21, 22, 26
colonists were led to the colony of Signia, which 45–47. )
had been founded by Tarquin. The consuls car- 7. Q. SERVILIUS Q. F. P. N. (PRiscus) FIDE-
ried on war against the Volscians with success, NAS, the son of No. 6, was consular tribune six
and took the town of Suessa Pometia ; and times, namely in B. C. 402, 398, 395, 390, 388,
Priscus subsequently defeated both the Sabines 386. (Liv. v. 8, 14, 24, 36, vi. 4, 6. ) He was
and Aurunci. In the struggles between the patri- also interrex in B. C. 397. (Liv. v. 17. ) There can
cians and plebeians respecting the law of debt, be no doubt that this Servilius was the son of
Priscus was inclined to espouse the side of the No. 6, both from his praenomen Quintus, and his
latter, and published a proclamation favourable to surname Fidenas, as well as from the circumstances
the plebeians ; but as he was unable to assist them that he is designated in the Capitoline Fasti, Q. F.
in opposition to his colleague and the whole body P. N. A difficulty, however, arises from the state-
of the patricians, he incurred the enmity of both ment of Livy, that the C. Servilius, who was consular
parties. (Liv. ii. 21—27 ; Dionys. yi. 23-32 ; tribune in B. C. 418, was the son of the conqueror of
Val. Max. ix. 3. $ 6; Plin. H. N. xxxv. 3. ) Fidenae (Liv. iv. 45, 46); but this is probably a
2. Q. SERVILIUS Priscus STRUCTUS, a brother mistake, since the consular tribune of B. C. 418 is
of No. 1, was magister equitum, in B. C. 494, to called, in the Capitoline Fasti, C. SERVILIUS Q. F.
the dictator, M'. Valerius Maximus. (Dionys. vi. C. N. AXILLA. Besides which, if he were the son
40. )
of the conqueror of Fidenae, he must have been a
3. Sp. ServiliUS Priscus STRUCTUS, consul younger son, as his praenomen shows; and in that
B. C. 476, with A. Virginius Tricostus Rutilus. In case the younger son would have obtained one of
consequence of the destruction of the Fabii at the the highest dignities in the state sixteen years
Cremera in the preceding year, the Etruscans had before his elder brother.
advanced up to the very walls of Rome, and taken 8. Q. SERVILIUS Q. F. Q. N. (PRISCUS) FIDE-
possession of the hill Janiculus. In an attempt NAS, the son of No. 7, was consular tribune three
which Priscus made to take this hill by assault, times, namely, in B. C. 382, 378, 369. (Liv. vi.
he was repulsed with great loss, and would have 22, 31, 36. )
sustained a total defeat, had not his colleague 9. Sp. SERVILIUS Priscus, censor B. C. 378,
Virginius come to his assistance, In consequence with Q. Cloelius Siculus (Liv, vi. 31). As this
of his rashness on this occasion, he was brought Servilius does not bear the surname of Fidenas, he
to trial by the tribunes, as soon as his year of probably was not a descendant of the conqueror of
office had expired, but was acquitted. (Liv. ii. 51, Fidenae.
52 ; Dionys. ix. 25, &c. )
4. Q. SERVILIUS Priscus STRUCTUS, probably * Livy (iv. 21) calls him A. Servilius, in
son of No. 2, was consul B. C. 468, with T. Quin- speaking of his dictatorship of B. C. 435, but
tius Capitolinus Barbatus, and again B. C. 466, R. Servilius when he mentions his dictatorship of
with Sp. Postumius Albus Regillensis. In each B. C. 418 (iv. 46), as well as when he speaks of
year Priscus commanded the Roman armies in the him elsewhere (e. g. iv. 26). There can, there-
wars with the neighbouring nations, but did not fore, be no doubt that the name of Quintus is to be
perform anything worth recording. (Liv. ii. 64, preferred, which we find also in the Capitoline
iii. 2 ; Dionys. ix. 57, 60. )
Fasti.
## p. 529 (#545) ############################################
PROAERESIUS.
529
PROAERESIUS.
PRISCUS SENE'CIO, Q. SO'SIUS, consul the jealousy of the others, who combined against
A. D. 169, with P. Coelius Apollinaris (Fasti). him. Through the intervention of a corrupt pro-
PRISCUS, STA'TIUS, consul a. d. 159, with consul, he was driven from Athens. A new pro-
Plautius Quintillus, two years before the death of consul not only restored him, but, after a public
the emperor Antoninus (Fasti). He was one of trial, bestowed on him public marks of approbation,
the generals sent by his successor, M. Aurelius, to and placed him at once at the head of all the
conduct the war against the Parthians, A. n. 162- teachers of rhetoric in Athens.
The fresh attempts
165. He took Artaxata, the capital of Armenia, and of his enemics to supplant him by splendid enter-
rescued the whole of that country from the Parthian tainments, at which they endeavoured to win over
power. (Capitolin. Anton. Phil. 9, Verus, 7 ; Dion men of power, were rendered nugatory by the ar-
Cass. Ixxi. Fragm. p. 1201, ed. Reimarus. ) rival in Athens of Anatolius, the praefect of Illy-
PRISCUS, TARQUI'NIUS. (TARQUINIUS. ) rium. It is probable that the favour with which
PRISCUS, TARQUI'TIUS, had been a legate that accomplished man regarded Proaeresius, at-
of Statilius Taurus, in Africa, whom he accused, in tracted to the latter the attention of the emperor
order to gratify Agrippina, the wife of the emperor Constans, who sent for him to Gaul, about A. D.
Claudius, who was anxious to obtain possession of 342. Constans detained him for more than one
his pleasure grounds. Taurus put an end to his year (if we may found upon the expression xecuci
life before sentence was pronounced ; and the vas, Eunap. ibid. p. 89), and then sent him to
senate expelled Priscus from its body as an informer. Rome. Here he was highly esteemed, and having
He was restored, however, to his former rank by written or delivered a eulogy on the city, was
Nero, and appointed governor of Bithynia ; but honoured in return with a life-size statue of bronze,
was condemned in A. D. 61, on account of extortion bearing this inscription, “ The Queen of Cities to the
in his province, to the great delight of the senate. Prince of Eloquence. ” On his departure from
(Tac. Ann, xii. 59, xiv.
