Gaius Pontius (fl. 321 BC), sometimes called Gavius Pontius, was a Samnite commander (clan Varry/Varriani) during the

Second Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

. He is most well known for his victory over the

Roman legions The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...

at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC. He was eventually captured and

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

by Fabius Rullianus.

Early command

Gaius Pontius was a Meddix, a Samnite position similar to a Roman

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

Magistratus The Roman magistrates were elected officials in Ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate.Abbott, 8 His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgiver, ju ...

at the beginning of the Second Samnite War. He controlled a force of nearly 9,000, including nearly 1,000 cavalrymen. With this force, he won a series of early victories, which included taking the towns of Canusium and Gnaitha, and defeating the army under the command of

Cornelius Lentulus The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any oth ...

. The Samnites failed to take advantage of these victories, however, and the Romans continued to press into Samnite territory.

Battle of the Caudine Forks

In 321 BC, the Romans were moving into

Samnium Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The lan ...

, and Pontius, who was encamped at

Caudium Caudium (modern Montesarchio) was the main city of the ancient Caudini tribe in Samnium situated on the Appian Way between Beneventum (modern Benevento) and Capua, in what is now southern Italy. It was 21 Roman miles from Capua, and 11 from Beneve ...

, discovered that the army led by the Roman Consuls was near the town of Calatia. He devised a plan to trap the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

, and quickly sent ten shepherds to the Roman encampment. They told the Romans that the Samnite army was laying siege to the town of Luceria, in the region of Apulia. The Romans fell for his trap, and found themselves cornered by the Samnite army in a narrow pass. They were forced to surrender to Pontius.

Aftermath

As recorded by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, Pontius was confused as to what should become of the Roman army which had surrendered to him. He sent a letter to his father, the Samnite statesman Herennius Pontius, and the reply was that he should free them all, and therefore make Rome an ally. Pontius did not like this idea, and sent another letter to his father, saying so. Herennius, in a seemingly hypocritical manner, told his son to execute the entire army, saying that it would destroy the threat of Rome for a long time. Pontius knew that the number of Romans were simply too large to have them all executed, so he sent for his father in person, and asked him if there was a middle road. Herennius advised his son not to take that road, as it would not only humiliate the Romans, but leave them with the means to carry out revenge. Pontius ended up ignoring his father's advice and forcing the Romans to walk under a yoke composed of Roman

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

s. This was supreme humiliation, as it was seen as cowardly for a Roman soldier to lose his spear, and the army went back to Rome smarting but intact. Rome's revenge was swift, and ended up with the Samnites being soundly defeated, and Pontius being executed years after the battle.

Sources

Appian's History of Rome: The Samnite Wars (1)

The Caudine Forks

From Barbarians to New Men: Greek, Roman, and modern perceptions of peoples from the central Apennines
by

Emma Dench Emma Dench (born 1963) is an English ancient historian, classicist, and academic administrator. She has been McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History at Harvard University since 2014, and Dean of its Graduate School of Arts and Science ...

The History of Rome
by Theodor Mommsen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontius, Gaius Generals Samnite people Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 4th-century BC people Pontii People executed by the Roman Republic