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Porcia (male - Porcius) was a celebrated name of the well known plebeian gens of ancient Rome. They were divided into three families during the republic; Laeca, Licinus and Cato. The most well-known line is the Cato cognomen, who were descended from Cato the Elder who obtained the consulship in 195 BC. They were related to several other families during the late Republican period (See Brutus family tree).

During the imperial period of Rome three more cognomens, Festus, Latro and Septimus, occurred. The name Porcia is the route of the modern female name Portia.

It may refer to several men around in the late Roman republic:

• Cato the Elder (234 BC–149 BC), consul 195 BC.
• Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus (?–ca. 152 BC), the elder son of the above.
• Marcus Porcius Cato Salonianus (154 BC- ?), the younger son of Cato the Elder.
• Marcus Porcius Cato, son of the above, father of Cato the Younger.
• Lucius Porcius Cato, son of Cato Salonianus, consul in 89 BC.
• Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (95 BC–46 BC), known as Cato the Younger.
• Marcus Porcious Cato, son of the above, died in the Battle of Philippi.

It may refer to one or more men from a later period in the Roman Empire:

• Porcius Festus, Roman leader mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, 24:27.

It may refer to several women around in the late Roman republic:

• Porcia the Elder, (Before 95 BC-46 BC) sister of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis.
• Porcia Catonis, (70 BC-43 BC/42 BC) daughter of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, and wife of Marcus Junius Brutus.
• Porcia, sister of the above, died young.

It can all be used in these adjective phrases:

• Basilica Porcia, the first basilica in Rome, built for judicial and business purposes by Cato the Elder in 184 BC.
• Lex Porcia, a Roman law.
  • (199 BC) proposed by tribune P. Porcius Laeca to give right of appeal in capital cases.
  • (195 BC) M. Porcius Cato prohibited scourging of citizens without appeal.
  • (184 BC) consul L. Porcius Licinus safeguarded citizens from summary execution on military service, all dealing with right of appeal (provocatio).

Porcia may also refer to:

• Porcia also known by the name of Porcie is the name of a French play by Robert Garnier, in which the heroine is Marcus Junius Brutus' wife Porcia Catonis. In the play, she is devastated to hear of the death of her husband and kills herself. Her servant announces to the Romans that Porcia died swallowing live coals, before taking her own life with a dagger.
• Porcia is the name of an Italian commune in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, see Porcia, Italy.

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