The gens Ancharia, occasionally written Ancaria, was a
plebeian family at
ancient Rome. The first of the
gens to achieve prominence was
Quintus Ancharius, a senator early in the first century BC.[1]
Origin
The origin of the Ancharii is uncertain, but the
nomenAncharius may be derived from Ancharia, a name of the goddess
Angerona, by which she was known at
Faesulae. The ancestor of the Ancharii may have been particularly devoted to the worship of Angerona. As Faesulae was an
Etruscan city, the family may have been of Etruscan origin.[2]
The
cognomina used by the Ancharii included Priscus, a common surname meaning "elder" or "old-fashioned", and Soter, a savior or protector. The latter surname was borne by a
freedwoman, and was probably not used by other members of the gens.
Marcus Ancharius, one of the
duumvirs at
Falerio in
Picenum, who dedicated an inscription in honor of Octavia, the sister of Augustus, between AD 14 and 20.[7]