The gens Sextilia 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 member of this

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 Gaius Sextilius, consular tribune in 379 BC. None of the family obtained the

consulship The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

, but they endured throughout Roman history from the early

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 ...

into imperial times.

Origin

The nomen ''Sextilius'' is a patronymic surname, derived from the

praenomen 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 ...

'' Sextus''. The nomen of the gens Sextia was derived from the same name, much as the praenomen ''

Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from ''Quintus (praenomen), Quintus'', a common Latin language, Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is ...

'' gave rise to the gentes '' Quinctia'' and '' Quinctilia''.

Praenomina

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 Sextilii included ''

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 ...

'', '' Lucius'', '' Marcus'', '' Publius'', and ''

'', all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Although ''Sextilius'' was derived from ''Sextus'', none of the Sextilii known to history bore that name.

Branches and cognomina

The Sextilii were not divided into families with distinctive surnames. Most of the Sextilii under the Republic bore no

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 ...

, but a few surnames are found in later times and under the Empire.

Members

* Gaius Sextilius, '' tribunus militum consulari potestate'' in 379 BC, in which year an equal number of patricians and

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the Capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Et ...

were elected to the office. * Sextilia, a

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from several s ...

, who was condemned for incest, and buried alive in 273 BC. * Lucius Sextilius, one of the tresviri nocturni, who were accused by the tribunes of the plebs, and condemned, because they had arrived too late to put out a fire in the Via Sacra. * Marcus Sextilius, of Fregellae, assured the consuls of 209 BC, during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, that eighteen of the Roman

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

were ready to furnish the state with soldiers, when twelve had refused to do so. * Publius Sextilius, governor of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in 88 BC, forbade Marius to land in the country. * Sextilius, an Etruscan, betrayed Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo to the assassins of Marius and Cinna, in 87 BC, although he had previously been defended by Caesar, when accused of a very grave offense. * Sextilius, legate of Lucius Licinius Lucullus during the Mithridatic War, was sent to attack Tigranocerta. * Sextilius, a

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

, was carried off by the pirates, shortly before Pompeius was appointed to the command of the war against them. * Aulus Sextilius, a negotiator or money-lender in

Acmonia Acmonia or Akmonia () is an ancient city of Phrygia Pacatiana, in Asia Minor, now known as Ahat Köyü in the district of Banaz, Uşak Province. It is mentioned by Cicero and was a point on the road between Dorylaeum and Philadelphia. Under ...

, a town in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

, described by

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 ...

as a ''homo improbus''. * Gaius Sextilius, the nephew of Marcus Aufidius Lurco, described by

as a man ''et pudens et constans et gravis.'' He may be the same man as the praetor Sextilius mentioned by

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

. * Publius Sextilius,

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 ...

in 61 BC. * Quintus Sextilius, a friend of Titus Annius Milo. * Sextilius Andro, of

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river ...

, mentioned by Cicero. * Publius Sextilius Rufus, succeeded to the property of Quintus Fadius Gallus in a dishonorable manner. * Gaius Sextilius Rufus, quaestor in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in 47 BC. In the wars following the death of Caesar, he commanded the fleet of Gaius Cassius Longinus. * Sextilius Hena, a poet of Corduba, in

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

, wrote a poem on the death of Cicero, of which the first line is quoted by Seneca. * Sextilia, a virtuous Roman matron, and the mother of the emperor Vitellius; she lived to see her son emperor, but died shortly before his fall. * Sextilius Felix, was stationed on the frontiers of

Raetia Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with Transalpine ...

by Marcus Antonius Primus in AD 70, to watch the movements of Porcius Septimius, procurator of the province under Vitellius. There he remained until the following year, when he helped to quell an insurrection of the Treviri. * Sextilius Agesilaus Aedesius, vicar of Hispania between 355 and 376.,

References

Works cited