Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus ( 452–451 BC) was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 452 BC and
decemvir in 451 BC.
Family
He was a member 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 ...
Sestii''. He was the son of Quintus and his complete name is ''Publius Sestius Q.f. Vibi.n. Capitolinus Vaticanus''.
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 i ...
gives the form ''Sextius'' then ''Sestius''.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus (,
; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.
...
uses the form ''Siccius''. His ''
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 ...
'' ''Capitolinus'' is not certain—we also see ''Capito'' being used. He was the only member of his family to attain the rank of
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 ...
.
Biography
Consulship
In 452 BC, he was consul with Titus Menenius Lanatus. During their consulship, the delegates left to study Greek law in Athens. After returning to Rome, the
tribunes of the plebs
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate ...
called together officials to create a commission to write the law down. Publius Sestius supported this proposition, contrary to his colleague Titus Menenius, who pondered the question before falling ill—then was rendered inactive until the end of his term as consul. Publius Sestius refused to take sole initiative in creating the commission, and so deferred the decision to the following year.
''Decemvirate''
In 451 BC, because of his vocal support, he was taken into the
first commission of the decemvirs which drew up the first ten tables of the
Law of the Twelve Tables
The Laws of the Twelve Tables () was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornbl ...
.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus (,
; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.
...
, ''Roman Antiquities'', X. 55
References
Bibliography
Ancient bibliography
*
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 i ...
, ''
Ab urbe condita
''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...
''
*
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...
,
Universal History'
at
Philippe Remacle
Philippe Remacle (born on September 19, 1944 in Warnant; - March 11, 2011 in Hannut) was a Walloon Belgian Latinist and Hellenist, and professor of ancient languages. He created and developed the Remacle.org website devoted to ancient authors, ...
*
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus (,
; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.
...
,
Roman Antiquities'
an
at
LacusCurtius
LacusCurtius is the ancient Graeco-Roman part of a large history website, hosted as of March 2025 on a server at the University of Chicago. Starting in 1995, as of January 2004 it gave "access to more than 594 photos, 559 drawings and engravings, ...
Modern bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus, Publius
5th-century BC Roman consuls
Ancient Roman decemvirs
Publius, Capitolinus Vaticanus