The gens Duilia or ''Duillia'' was a

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

family at

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. The first of the

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

to achieve prominence was Marcus Duilius,

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the pow ...

in BC 470. The family produced several important statesmen over the first three centuries of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

, before fading into obscurity.

Origin

The plebeian character of this gens is attested by the fact of Marcus Duilius being tribune of the plebs in BC 470, and further by the statement of

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; ) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name of the Greek god, Dionysus, parallel ...

, who expressly says, that the decemvir Caeso Duilius and two of his colleagues were plebeians. In

Livius Livius may refer to: * Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, a Roman senator opposing the autocracy of Augustus *''Livius'', a genus of spiders with the sole species '' Livius macrospinus'' *Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English a ...

we indeed read, that ''all'' of the decemvirs had been patricians; but this must be regarded as a mere hasty assertion which Livius puts into the mouth of the tribune Canuleius, for Livius himself in another passage expressly states, that Gaius Duilius, the military tribune, was a plebeian.

Praenomina used

The

praenomina The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the ...

used by the Duilii included '' Marcus, Caeso'', and ''

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD) *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gal ...

''.

Branches and cognomina

The only

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") 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 hereditar ...

that occurs in this gens is ''Longus''.

Members

:''This list includes abbreviated

. For an explanation of this practice, see

filiation Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec: Filiation is the relationship ...

.'' * Marcus Duilius,

in BC 470. The following year, he and his colleague, Gaius Sicinius, summoned Appius Claudius Sabinus, who had been

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 thro ...

in 471, before the assembly of the people, for the violent opposition he made to the agrarian law of Spurius Cassius. During the unrest at the time of the decemvirate, Duilius served as one of the champions of the plebeians, and helped restore order to the Roman state, with moderation and wisdom. * Caeso Duilius Longus, elected one of the decemvirs for 450. During the war with the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long stru ...

and

Sabines The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

, he and four of his colleagues were sent against the Aequi at

Mount Algidus Mount Algidus (, "Chilly Mountain") is the eastern rim of the dormant Alban Volcano in the Alban Hills, about southeast of Rome, Italy. The ridge is traversed by a narrow crevasse called the . It was the site of the ancient Roman Battle of Mount ...

. After the fall of the decemvirate, Duilius voluntarily went into exile, and his property was publicly sold by the

quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

s. * Caeso Duilius K. f. Longus, father of the consular tribune of BC 399. * Gaius Duilius K. f. K. n. Longus,

consular tribune A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...

in BC 399, with five colleagues. * Marcus Duilius, tribune of the plebs in BC 357, in which year he and his colleague, Lucius Maenius, carried a rogation ''de unciario foenore'', and another which prevented the irregular proceedings in the camps of the soldiers, such as the enactment of a law by the soldiers out of Rome, on the proposal of a consul. * Gaius Duilius, appointed one of the '' quinqueviri mensarii'' for the liquidation of debts, by the consuls of BC 352. He and his colleague conducted their business with such skill and moderation, that they gained the gratitude of all parties. * Caeso Duilius, consul in BC 336, and two years later triumvir for the purpose of conducting a colony to

Cales Cales was an ancient city of Campania, in today's ''comune'' of Calvi Risorta in southern Italy, belonging originally to the Aurunci/ Ausoni, on the Via Latina. The Romans captured it in 335 BC and established a colony with Latin rights of ...

, a town of the

Ausones "Ausones" (; ), the original name and the extant Greek form for the Latin "Aurunci", was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. The term was used, specifically, ...

, against which a war had been carried on during his consulship, and which had been reduced the year after.

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, ''Epistulae ad Familiares'' ix. 21. * Marcus Duilus, grandfather of the consul of BC 260. * Marcus Duilius M. f., father of the consul of BC 260. * Gaius Duilius M. f. M. n., consul in BC 260, during the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

. He had command of the newly built Roman fleet, and devised the strategy of using grappling irons to draw the enemy's ships close enough for hand-to-hand combat. He won several important victory, and ensured the support of various allies. On his return to Rome, he celebrated a splendid triumph. He was censor in 258, and in 231 he served as

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

for the purpose of holding the

comitia The Roman assemblies were meetings of the Roman people duly convened by a magistrate. There were two general kinds of assemblies: a '' contio'' where a crowd was convened to hear speeches or statements from speakers without any further arrangem ...

References

{{SmithDGRBM Roman gentes

Origin

Praenomina used

Branches and cognomina

Members

See also

References