Ma'rcius
an Italian seer, whose prophetic verses (
Carmina Marciana) were first discovered by M. Atilius, the praetor, in B. C. 213. They were written in Latin, and two extracts from them are given by Livy, one containing a prophecy of the defeat of the Romans at Cannae. and the second, commanding the institution of the Ludi Apollinares. (
Liv. 25.12;
Macr. 1.17.) The Marcian prophecies were subsequently preserved in the Capitol along with the Sibylline books, under the guard of the same officers as had charge of the latter. (Serv.
ad Virg. Aen. 6.72.) Livy (
l.c.), Macrobius (
l.c.), and Pliny (
Plin. Nat. 7.33), speak of only one person of this name; but Cicero (
de Div. 1.40, 2.55) and Servius (
l.c.) make mention of two brothers, the Marcii.
It may well admit of doubt whether this Marcius ever existed; and it is certainly quite useless to inquire into the time at which he lived. (Hartung,
Die Religion der Römer, vol. i. p. 129; Göttling, Geschichte der
Römisch. Staatsverfassung, p. 213; Niebuhr,
Hist. of Rome, vol. i. n. 688.) Modern scholars have attempted to restore to a metrical form the prophecies of Marcius preserved by Livy. (Comp. Hermann,
Elem. Doctr. Metr. 3.9.7; Duntzer and Lersch,
De Vers. Sat. p. 38.)
