The gens Cloelia, originally Cluilia, and occasionally written Clouilia or Cloulia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was prominent throughout the period of the Republic. The first of the Cloelii to hold the consulship was Quintus Cloelius Siculus, in 498 BC. [1]
The Cluilii were one of the noble families of Alba Longa, where they succeeded the royal house of the Silvii. According to legend, Numitor, the grandfather of Romulus and Remus, was deposed by his brother, Amulius, and his sons were slain. When the princes had grown to manhood, they killed Amulius and restored their grandfather to the throne. As he had no surviving sons, it may be that upon Numitor's death the throne passed to the Cluilii. The last king of Alba Longa, and the only one following Numitor whose name has survived in tradition, was Gaius Cluilius. [2]
During his reign, Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome (traditionally reigned from 673 to 641 BC), declared his intention to destroy Alba Longa and remove its inhabitants to Rome. Cluilius marched an army to Rome, where according to legend he constructed the Fossa Cluilia , an earthen trench, to fortify his position. During his siege, Cluilius died, and in his place, Mettius Fufetius was appointed dictator. Despite enlisting the help of the Fidenates, Fufetius and the Alban forces were defeated, and their ancient city was destroyed. Its inhabitants were transferred to Rome, where several of the noble families of Alba Longa, including the Cluilii, were enrolled in the senate, and subsequently numbered amongst the patricians. [3] [4] [5]
In later times, when it became fashionable for Roman families to claim mythological origins, it was said that the gens was descended from Clolius, a companion of Aeneas. From an early date, the Cloelii bore the cognomen Siculus, perhaps referring to the legend that the people of Alba Longa was a mixture of two ancient Italic peoples, the Siculi and the Prisci. Whatever the origin of the family, it may be noted that during the first century of the Republic, two leaders of the Aequi, an Oscan people of central Italy, bore the nomen Cloelius. [6] [7] [8] [9]
The principal names of the Cloelii were Titus, Quintus , and Publius , all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Gaius was borne by the earliest Cloelius whose name is known, and at least one respected member of the gens bore the ancient praenomen Tullus . [10] [11]
The only major family of the Cloelii bore the cognomen Siculus, apparently referring to one of the Siculi, an ancient Italic people who had been expelled from the mainland, and subsequently lived in Sicily. Some trade links with Sicily could explain the adoption by the family of this very rare cognomen. [12] The Cloelii Siculi appear at the very beginning of the Roman Republic, and filled the highest offices of the state until the 2nd century BC. The first of the family to achieve prominence is sometimes called Vocula, probably referring to a low or quiet voice. [13] [14] Another patrician cognomen was Tullus. [15] The only other known cognomen was Gracchus, held by one of the Aequian Cloelii. The Cloelii recorded at the end of the Republic were plebeian.
The gens Furia, originally written Fusia, and sometimes found as Fouria on coins, was one of the most ancient and noble patrician houses at Rome. Its members held the highest offices of the state throughout the period of the Roman Republic. The first of the Furii to attain the consulship was Sextus Furius in 488 BC.
The gens Marcia, occasionally written Martia, was one of the oldest and noblest houses at ancient Rome. They claimed descent from the second and fourth Roman Kings, and the first of the Marcii appearing in the history of the Republic would seem to have been patrician; but all of the families of the Marcii known in the later Republic were plebeian. The first to obtain the consulship was Gaius Marcius Rutilus in 357 BC, only a few years after the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia opened this office to the plebeians.
The kings of Alba Longa, or Alban kings, were a series of legendary kings of Latium, who ruled from the ancient city of Alba Longa. In the mythic tradition of ancient Rome, they fill the 400-year gap between the settlement of Aeneas in Italy and the founding of the city of Rome by Romulus. It was this line of descent to which the Julii claimed kinship. The traditional line of the Alban kings ends with Numitor, the grandfather of Romulus and Remus. One later king, Gaius Cluilius, is mentioned by Roman historians, although his relation to the original line, if any, is unknown; and after his death, a few generations after the time of Romulus, the city was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome, and its population transferred to Alba's daughter city.
Alba Longa was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. The ancient Romans believed it to be the founder and head of the Latin League, before it was destroyed by the Roman Kingdom around the middle of the 7th century BC and its inhabitants were forced to settle in Rome. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, had come from the royal dynasty of Alba Longa, which in Virgil's Aeneid had been the bloodline of Aeneas, a son of Venus.
The gens Gegania was an old patrician family at ancient Rome, which was prominent from the earliest period of the Republic to the middle of the fourth century BC. The first of this gens to obtain the consulship was Titus Geganius Macerinus in 492 BC. The gens fell into obscurity even before the Samnite Wars, and is not mentioned again by Roman historians until the final century of the Republic.
The gens Antistia, sometimes written Antestia on coins, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Sextus Antistius, tribune of the plebs in 422 BC.
The gens Servilia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was celebrated during the early ages of the Republic, and the names of few gentes appear more frequently at this period in the consular Fasti. It continued to produce men of influence in the state down to the latest times of the Republic, and even in the imperial period. The first member of the gens who obtained the consulship was Publius Servilius Priscus Structus in 495 BC, and the last of the name who appears in the consular Fasti is Quintus Servilius Silanus, in AD 189, thus occupying a prominent position in the Roman state for nearly seven hundred years.
The gens Horatia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. In legend, the gens dates back to the time of Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome. One of its members, Marcus Horatius Pulvillus, was consul suffectus in 509 BC, the first year of the Republic, and again in 507. The most famous of the Horatii was his nephew, Publius Horatius Cocles, who held the Sublician bridge against the army of Lars Porsena circa 508 BC.
The gens Verginia or Virginia was a prominent family at ancient Rome, which from an early period was divided into patrician and plebeian branches. The gens was of great antiquity. It frequently filled the highest honors of the state during the early years of the Republic. The first of the family who obtained the consulship was Opiter Verginius Tricostus in 502 BC, the seventh year of the Republic. The plebeian members of the family were also numbered amongst the early tribunes of the people.
The gens Lucretia was a prominent family of the Roman Republic. Originally patrician, the gens later included a number of plebeian families. The Lucretii were one of the most ancient gentes, and the second wife of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, was named Lucretia. The first of the Lucretii to obtain the consulship was Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus in 509 BC, the first year of the Republic.
Titus Cloelius Siculus was a Roman statesman of the early Republic, and one of the first consular tribunes in 444 BC. He was compelled to abdicate after a fault was found during his election. Two years later he was one of the founders of the colony of Ardea.
Quintus Cloelius Siculus was a Roman Republican politician and patrician during the beginning of the 5th century BC. He served as Consul of Rome in 498 BC together with Titus Larcius.
Gaius Julius Iullus was a Roman politician from the early Republic. He was the first from the ancient patrician clan of the Julii to attain the consulship, which he held in 489 BC as the colleague of Publius Pinarius Mamercinus Rufus.
The gens Maenia, occasionally written Mainia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned soon after the establishment of the Republic, and occur in history down to the second century BC. Several of them held the position of tribune of the plebs, from which they strenuously advocated on behalf of their order. The most illustrious of the family was Gaius Maenius, consul in 338 BC, and dictator in both 320 and 314. In some manuscripts, the nomen Maenius appears to have been erroneously substituted for Menenius or Manlius; there are also instances of confusion with Manilius, Maelius, and Maevius.
Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 452 BC and decemvir in 451 BC.
Gaius Horatius Pulvillus was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was consul in 477 and 457 BC.
Lucius Sergius Fidenas was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was elected consul in 437 and 429 BC. In 433, 424, and 418 BC he was military tribune with consular power.
The gens Numitoria was an ancient but minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of this gens to appear in history was Lucius Numitorius, elected tribune of the plebs in 472 BC. Although Numitorii are found down to the final century of the Republic, none of them ever held any of the higher magistracies.
The gens Plautia, sometimes written Plotia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens first appear in history in the middle of the fourth century BC, when Gaius Plautius Proculus obtained the consulship soon after that magistracy was opened to the plebeian order by the Licinio-Sextian rogations. Little is heard of the Plautii from the period of the Samnite Wars down to the late second century BC, but from then to imperial times they regularly held the consulship and other offices of importance. In the first century AD, the emperor Claudius, whose first wife was a member of this family, granted patrician status to one branch of the Plautii.
The gens Silvia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. According to legend, the Silvii were the royal dynasty of Alba Longa, Rome's mother city, and presumably came to Rome when that city was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius in the seventh century BC. Notwithstanding their connection with Rome's foundation myths, the Silvii were plebeians, and hardly any members of this gens played a significant role in history. However, from inscriptions, several Silvii appear to have had distinguished military careers, and Silvius Silvanus was governor of Moesia Inferior in the time of Diocletian.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology .{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)