The gens Fonteia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned toward the end of the third century BC; Titus Fonteius was a legate of Publius Cornelius Scipio during the Second Punic War. The first of the Fonteii to obtain the consulship was Gaius Fonteius Capito, consul suffectus in 33 BC. [1] [2]
In his oration, Pro Fonteio, Cicero mentions that the Fonteii came originally from Tusculum, of which municipium it was one of the most distinguished families. The Fonteii claimed descent from Fontus, the son of Janus. A two-faced head appears on a coin of Gaius Fonteius, which Jean Foy Vaillant and others suppose to be the head of Janus, in reference to this tradition. But as Janus is always represented in later times with a beard, Eckhel maintains that the two heads refer to the Dioscuri, who were worshipped at Tusculum with especial honours, and who may be regarded as the Di Penates of the gens. Michael Crawford likewise favours a depiction of the Dioscuri, instead of Fontus, as they appear on other coins of the Fonteii. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The Fonteii used the praenomina Titus , Publius , Marcus , Gaius , Manius , and Lucius . [2]
The Fonteii bore the cognomens Agrippa, Balbus, and Capito, which is the only cognomen which occurs on coins of this gens. The cognomen Crassus is an error of the manuscripts, since there were no Fonteii Crassi. [2]
The Fonteii Balbi were not related to the other Fonteii as an inscription found in Etruria tells that they belonged to the tribe Sabatina – prevalent in this area – whilst the other Fonteii were from Tusculum, associated with the tribe Papiria. [8] [9] [10]
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 Cassia was a Roman family of great antiquity. The earliest members of this gens appearing in history may have been patrician, but all those appearing in later times were plebeians. The first of the Cassii to obtain the consulship was Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, in 502 BC. He proposed the first agrarian law, for which he was charged with aspiring to make himself king, and put to death by the patrician nobility. The Cassii were amongst the most prominent families of the later Republic, and they frequently held high office, lasting well into imperial times. Among their namesakes are the Via Cassia, the road to Arretium, and the village of Cassianum Hirpinum, originally an estate belonging to one of this family in the country of the Hirpini.
The gens Aquillia or Aquilia was a plebeian family of great antiquity at ancient Rome. Two of the Aquillii are mentioned among the Roman nobles who conspired to bring back the Tarquins, and a member of the house, Gaius Aquillius Tuscus, was consul in 487 BC.
The gens Minucia was an ancient Roman family, which flourished from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The gens was apparently of patrician origin, but was better known by its plebeian branches. The first of the Minucii to hold the consulship was Marcus Minucius Augurinus, elected consul in 497 BC.
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.
The gens Annia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Livy mentions a Lucius Annius, praetor of the Roman colony of Setia, in 340 BC, and other Annii are mentioned at Rome during this period. Members of this gens held various positions of authority from the time of the Second Punic War, and Titus Annius Luscus attained the consulship in 153 BC. In the second century AD, the Annii gained the Empire itself; Marcus Aurelius was descended from this family.
The gens Apronia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome throughout the history of the Republic and into imperial times. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Apronius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC. None of the Apronii obtained the consulship until the first century AD.
The gens Memmia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Memmius Gallus, praetor in 172 BC. From the period of the Jugurthine War to the age of Augustus they contributed numerous tribunes to the Republic.
The gens Hostilia was an ancient family at Rome, which traced its origin to the time of Romulus. The most famous member of the gens was Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome; however, all of the Hostilii known from the time of the Republic were plebeians. Several of the Hostilii were distinguished during the Punic Wars. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Aulus Hostilius Mancinus in 170 BC.
The gens Maria was a plebeian family of Rome. Its most celebrated member was Gaius Marius, one of the greatest generals of antiquity, and seven times consul.
The gens Caninia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome during the later Republic. The first member of the gens who obtained any of the curule offices was Gaius Caninius Rebilus, praetor in 171 BC; but the first Caninius who was consul was his namesake, Gaius Caninius Rebilus, in 45 BC.
The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC; the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC.
The gens Sextilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of this gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Sextilius, consular tribune in 379 BC. None of the family obtained the consulship, but they endured throughout Roman history from the early Republic into imperial times.
The gens Considia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The Considii came to prominence in the last century of the Republic, and under the early Empire, but none of them rose any higher than the praetorship.
The gens Cossutia was a plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome. It never attained any importance.
The gens Curtia was an ancient but minor noble family at Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The only member of the gens invested with the consulship under the Republic was Gaius Curtius Philo, in 445 BC. A few Curtii held lesser magistracies during the Republic, and there were two consuls suffectus in imperial times. However, the gens is best remembered from a series of legends dating from the traditional founding of the city to the early Republic.
The gens Egnatia was a plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome. Only a few of the Egnatii held any magistracies, of whom the most important may have been Gnaeus Egnatius, who held the praetorship during the second century BC, and served as governor of Macedonia, shortly after its institution as a Roman province.
The gens Juventia, occasionally written Jubentia, was an ancient plebeian family at Rome. After centuries of obscurity, the gens emerges into history with the appearance of Titus Juventius, a military tribune, in the beginning of the second century BC. The first of the Juventii to obtain the consulship was Marcus Juventius Thalna in 163 BC. But the family is renowned less for its statesmen than for its jurists, who flourished during the second century AD.
The gens Naevia, occasionally written Navia, was a plebeian or patrician family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned at the time of the Second Punic War, but the first of the Naevii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Naevius Surdinus, in AD 30.
The gens Saufeia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the final century of the Republic, and from then to the early Empire their name occurs regularly in history, but none of them ever attained the consulship.
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)