Tarpeia (gens)

Last updated February 26, 2019

The gens Tarpeia was a minor patrician family at ancient Rome. Only a few members of this gens are known, and the Tarpeii vanish from history after the early Republic. The Tarpeian Rock, a promontory on the Capitoline Hill, from which those condemned for treason were thrown to their deaths, is said to have been named after Tarpeia, the archetype of all Roman traitors.^[1] There seems to have been a senatorial family of this name in imperial times.

The patricians were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders, and by the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance.

In historiography, ancient Rome is Roman civilization from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire until the fall of the western empire. The civilization began as an Italic settlement in the Italian peninsula, dating from the 8th century BC, that grew into the city of Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it ruled and to the widespread civilisation the empire developed. The Roman empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world, though still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants and covering 5.0 million square kilometres at its height in AD 117.

In ancient Rome, a gens, plural gentes, was a family consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps. The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the period of the Roman Republic. Much of an individual's social standing depended on the gens to which he belonged. Certain gentes were considered patrician, others plebeian, while some had both patrician and plebeian branches. The importance of membership in a gens declined considerably in imperial times.

Origin

The nomen Tarpeius belongs to a common class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -eius. Such names are typical of Sabine gentes, perhaps explaining the association of the Tarpeii with the war of Romulus against the Sabines at the beginning of Roman history.^[2]

The Sabines were an Italic people that lived in the central Apennine Mountains of ancient Italy, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome.

Romulus was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these traditions incorporate elements of folklore, and it is not clear to what extent a historical figure underlies the mythical Romulus, the events and institutions ascribed to him were central to the myths surrounding Rome's origins and cultural traditions.

Branches and cognomina

The only cognomina associated with the Tarpeii of the Republic are Montanus and Capitolinus, both of which belong to a class of surnames derived from the names of places, in this case both probably referring to the original residence of the Tarpeii, on the Capitoline Hill.^[3] The Tarpeii of imperial times bore common surnames such as Valens, powerful, and Faustus, fortunate.^[4]^[5]

A cognomen was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings.

Members

This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.

Spurius Tarpeius, commander of the Roman citadel, a fortress atop the Saturnian Hill in the time of Romulus.^[6]
Tarpeia Sp. f., daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, was tempted by the golden armlets of the Sabine soldiers led by Titus Tatius, and agreed to open the citadel to them in exchange for "what they wore on their arms." Afterward, her betrayal was repaid when the Sabines crushed her under the shields that they also carried on their arms.^{[lower-roman 1]}^[6]^[7]
Tarpeia, one of the first Vestal Virgins appointed by Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome.^[8]
Marcus Tarpeius, grandfather of the consul Spurius Tarpeius.^[9]
Marcus Tarpeius M. f., father of Spurius Tarpeius Montanus Capitolinus, the consul of 454 BC.^[9]
Spurius Tarpeius M. f. M. n. Montanus Capitolinus, was consul in 454 BC, together with Aulus Aternius Varus. They passed the lex Aternia Tarpeia , regulating the payment of fines. He was one of the senate's envoys to the plebeians on the fall of the decemvirs in 449, and was one of two patricians coöpted by the tribunes of the plebs in order to oppose the lex Trebonia in 448.^[10]^[11]^[9]^[12]
Lucius Tarpeius Valens Saloninus, a man of senatorial rank, according to the most likely reading of a funerary inscription from Salona in Dalmatia.^[13]
Tarpeius Anneius Faustus, a senator named in an inscription from Rome.^[14]

Spurius Tarpeius is a mythological/historical character. He was the commander of the Roman citadel under King Romulus. His daughter, Tarpeia, betrayed the city to the fathers of the kidnapped Sabine women and asked for everything the Sabine warriors had on their left arms: it is thought Sabine warriors had gold bracelets and rings on their left arms. However, they crushed her with the shields they had on their left arms instead.

The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome.

In Roman mythology, Tarpeia, daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of their women's abduction for what she thought would be a reward of jewellery. She was instead crushed to death and her body cast from the southern cliff of Rome's Capitoline Hill, thereafter called Tarpeian Rock.

Footnotes

↑ This is the more famous version of the story; however, according to Dionysius, the historian Piso gave an alternate tradition, in which Tarpeia only pretended to betray the citadel into the hands of the Sabines, and sent a messenger to Romulus, stating that she intended to demand their shields, when they intended to offer only their golden armlets, thereby leaving the soldiers defenseless. The messenger, however, betrayed Tarpeia's scheme to the Sabines, who then crushed her with the very shields that she demanded. Livy also alludes to this tradition, although he does not name the source.

Related Research Articles

The Tarpeian Rock is a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome. It was used during the Roman Republic as an execution site. Murderers, traitors, perjurors, and larcenous slaves, if convicted by the quaestores parricidii, were flung from the cliff to their deaths. The cliff was about 25 meters (80 ft) high.

The gens Veturia, originally Vetusia, was an ancient patrician family of the Roman Republic. According to tradition, the armourer Mamurius Veturius lived in the time of Numa Pompilius, and made the sacred ancilia. The Veturii occur regularly in the Fasti Consulares of the early Republic, with Gaius Veturius Geminus Cicurinus holding the consulship in 499 BC. Like other old patrician gentes, the Veturii also developed plebeian branches. The family declined in the later Republic, with the last consular Veturius holding office in 206 BC, during the Second Punic War.

Lucretia (gens) families from Ancient Rome who shared the Lucretius nomen

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 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.

The gens Sicinia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens occur throughout the history of the Republic, but only one of them obtained the consulship, Titus Sicinius Sabinus in 487 BC. Throughout the long Conflict of the Orders, the Sicinii were celebrated for their efforts on behalf of the plebeians.

In Roman mythology, the Battle of the Lacus Curtius was the final battle in the war between the Roman Kingdom and the Sabines following Rome's mass abduction of Sabine women to take as brides. It took place during the reign of Romulus, near the Lacus Curtius, future site of the Roman Forum. It concluded when the abducted Sabine women intervened and the two sides sued for peace.

The gens Hirtuleia was a minor plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome, which appears in history during the final century of the Republic, and under the early Empire.

The gens Nautia was an old patrician family at Rome. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Spurius Nautius Rutilus in 488 BC, and from then until the Samnite Wars the Nautii regularly filled the highest offices of the Roman Republic. After that time, the Nautii all but disappear from the record, appearing only in a handful of inscriptions, mostly from Rome and Latium. A few Nautii occur in imperial times, including a number who appear to have been freedmen, and in the provinces.

The gens Opsidia or Obsidia was a minor plebeian family at Rome. Few members of this gens are known to have held any magistracies, but several are found in inscriptions.

The gens Oscia was an obscure plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in imperial times, when a few of them appear among the Roman aristocracy. None of them are known to have held any magistracies, but an Oscia Modesta was the wife of a Roman consul during the time of Severus Alexander. A number of Oscii appear in inscriptions.

The gens Poetelia or Poetilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of the Decemvirs, and from thence down to the Second Punic War, they regularly held the chief magistracies of the Roman state. After this, however, they fade into obscurity, and are only occasionally mentioned. The nomen Poetelius is sometimes confused with Petillius, and can be found with either a single or double 'l'.

The gens Quirinia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens appear in history, but several are known from inscriptions.

The gens Rabuleia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the early decades of the Republic, and Manius Rabuleius was a member of the second decemvirate in 450 BC. However, the Rabuleii subsequently fell into obscurity, and only a few of this family are known from later inscriptions.

The gens Terentilia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Only one member of this gens appears in history; Gaius Terentilius Arsa was tribune of the plebs in 462 BC. A few others are known from inscriptions.

The gens Burbuleia, occasionally written Burboleia, was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in the time of Cicero, but the only one who achieved any distinction in the Roman state was Lucius Burbuleius Optatus, consul in AD 135.

The gens Resia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. The Resii traced their ancestry to Fertor Resius, King of the Aequicoli, in the time of the Roman monarchy. However, few members of this gens are mentioned in history.

The gens Romilia or Romulia was a minor patrician family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in the time of the Roman monarchy, and again in the first century of the Republic. Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus was consul in 455 BC, and subsequently a member of the first Decemvirate in 451. From this time, the Romilii fell into obscurity for centuries, only to appear briefly in imperial times. A number of Romilii are known from inscriptions.

The gens Sibidiena, sometimes written Sabidiena, was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens attained any of the higher offices of the Roman state, but several are known from inscriptions.

The gens Sabucia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in imperial times. The most illustrious of the family was Gaius Sabucius Major Caecilianus, who obtained the consulship in AD 186. Other Sabucii are known from inscriptions.

The gens Scantia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens occur in history, and none of them attained any of the higher offices of the Roman state, but a number are known from inscriptions.

References

↑ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III. p. 976 ("Tarpeia", "Tarpeia Gens").
↑ Chase, pp. 120, 121.
↑ Chase, p. 114.
↑ New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. valens.
↑ Chase, p. 111.
1 2 Livy, i. 11.
↑ Dionysius, ii. 38–40.
↑ Plutarch, "The Life of Numa", 10.
1 2 3 Fasti Capitolini, AE 1900, 83; 1904, 114.
↑ Livy, iii. 31, 50, 55.
↑ Dionysius, x. 48, 50.
↑ Broughton, vol. I, pp. 42, 43, 49, 50.
↑ CIL III, 9354.
↑ CIL VI, 1765.

Bibliography

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia (Roman Antiquities).
Titus Livius (Livy), History of Rome .
Plutarchus, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans .
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology , William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present).
René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897).
T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association (1952–1986).
John C. Traupman, The New College Latin & English Dictionary, Bantam Books, New York (1995).

Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Atticistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.

Titus Livius – simply rendered as Livy in English – was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people – Ab Urbe Condita Libri – covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own lifetime. He was on familiar terms with members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history.

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[7] This is the more famous version of the story; however, according to Dionysius, the historian Piso gave an alternate tradition, in which Tarpeia only pretended to betray the citadel into the hands of the Sabines, and sent a messenger to Romulus, stating that she intended to demand their shields, when they intended to offer only their golden armlets, thereby leaving the soldiers defenseless. The messenger, however, betrayed Tarpeia's scheme to the Sabines, who then crushed her with the very shields that she demanded. Livy also alludes to this tradition, although he does not name the source.

[1] Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III. p. 976 ("Tarpeia", "Tarpeia Gens").

[2] Chase, pp. 120, 121.

[3] Chase, p. 114.

[4] New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. valens.

[5] Chase, p. 111.

[Livy_i_11-6] 1 2 Livy, i. 11.

[8] Dionysius, ii. 38–40.

[9] Plutarch, "The Life of Numa", 10.

[Fasti_Capitolini-10] 1 2 3 Fasti Capitolini, AE 1900, 83; 1904, 114.

[11] Livy, iii. 31, 50, 55.

[12] Dionysius, x. 48, 50.

[13] Broughton, vol. I, pp. 42, 43, 49, 50.

[14] CIL III, 9354.

[15] CIL VI, 1765.