A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology

plebeian. Towards the end of the republic the Pomponii, like other Roman gentes, traced their origin to the remote times of the Roman state. They pretended to be descended from Pompo, one of the alleged sons of Numa (Plut. Num. 21); and they accordingly placed the image of this king upon their coins. In the earliest times the Pomponii were not distinguished by any surname; and the only family that rose to importance in the time of the republic was that of MATHO ; the first member of which who obtained the consulship was M. Pomponius Matho in B. C. 233. On coins we also find the cognomens MOLO, MUSA and RUFUS, but these surnames do not occur in ancient writers. The other cognomens in the time of the republic, such as ATTICUS, were not family names, but were rather descriptive of particular individuals. An alphabetical list of them is given below, as well as of the cognomens in the imperial period, which were rather numerous. (Comp. Drumann, Geschichte Roms, vol. v. p. 1, &c.)