The gens Atilia, sometimes written Atillia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which rose to prominence at the beginning of the fourth century BC. The first member of this gens to attain the consulship was Marcus Atilius Regulus, in 335 BC. The Atilii continued to hold the highest offices of the state throughout the history of the Republic, and well into imperial times.[1]
Origin
Chase classifies the nomen Atilius with a small group of gentilicia probably formed from praenomina ending in -ius using the suffix -ilius, a morphology common in names of Latin origin.[2] The root might then be a praenomen Atius, otherwise unknown, although there was a Sabine praenomen Attius.[2]
Praenomina
The Atilii favored the praenomina Lucius, Marcus, and Gaius, the three most common names throughout Roman history, to which they sometimes added Aulus and Sextus. Under the Empire, some of the Atilii bore the praenomen Titus.
Branches and cognomina
Under the Republic, the cognomina of the Atilii included Bulbus, Calatinus, Luscus, Priscus, Regulus, Nomentanus, and Serranus. Of these, only Regulus and Serranus appear to constitute a distinct family, with the Serrani being descended from the Reguli.[1] The only cognomina found on coins are Saranus, which appears to be the same as Serranus, and Nomentanus.[3][4]
Luscus, the first surname associated with the Atilii appearing in history, was a common name originally describing someone with poor eyesight, belonging to a large class of cognomina derived from the physical characteristics of individuals.[5] This is the surname as given in Dionysius, although some sources amend it to Longus, originally referring to someone particularly tall. It has been argued that Lucius Atilius Luscus, one of the first consular tribunes elected in 444 BC, was a patrician, since the first plebeians were elected to that office in 400; and most if not all of the ancient patrician gentes possessed plebeian branches, which frequently came to eclipse the fame of their patrician forebears.[1] However, the lists of consular tribunes from both 444 and 422 contain names that are otherwise regarded as plebeian, and according to tradition the office was created with the intention that its members should be elected from either order, so in all probability Luscus, like all of the other Atilii, was plebeian.[6]
Priscus, a personal cognomen belonging to one of the early Atilii, usually translates as "elder", and probably served to distinguish its bearer from younger Atilii of his era.[7][8]
Bulbus, an onion, belongs to a class of surnames derived from everyday objects, although the circumstances by which such cognomina were acquired by individuals is seldom known. The name is comparable to Caepio, a cognomen with much the same meaning.[9][10]
The Atilii Reguli were the most illustrious of their gens. The surname Regulus is a diminutive of Rex, a king.[9] This family rose to prominence in the time of the Samnite Wars, and continued down to the interval between the First and Second Punic Wars, at which time it was supplanted by that of Serranus or Saranus. The Atilii Serrani continued down to the time of Cicero, before fading into obscurity.
Calatinus, also found as Caiatinus, the surname of Aulus Atilius Calatinus, a hero of the First Punic War, probably refers either to the town of Cales in Campania, or to the neighboring town of Caia. One of the Atilii Reguli had previously obtained the surname Calenus, in consequence of a battle fought at Cales in 335 BC.[11] Likewise, Nomentanus, the name of one of the Atilii during the late Republic, is derived from the Nomentum, an ancient city of Latium, although his particular connection with that town is unknown.
Members
Denarius of Lucius Atilius Nomentanus. On the obverse is a head of Roma, while on the reverse Victoria drives a biga.
This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.
Lucius Atilius Luscus, one of the first consular tribunes, elected in 444 BC. In consequence of a defect in the auspices, he and his colleagues resigned, and consuls were appointed in their stead.[12][13]
Lucius Atilius L. f. L. n. Priscus, consular tribune in 399 and 396 BC.
Marcus Atilius, duumvir in 216 BC, with Gaius Atilius, dedicated the temple of Concordia, which Lucius Manlius Vulso, the praetor of 218, had vowed.[15]
Gaius Atilius, duumvir in 216 BC with Marcus Atilius.[15]
Lucius Atilius, commander of the Roman garrison in Locri, escaped with his troops by sea, when the town was surrendered to Hannibal in 215 BC.[16]
Atilius, a freedman, built an amphitheatre at Fidenae in the reign of Tiberius, which collapsed, killing between twenty and fifty thousand spectators.[20][21]
Atilius Vergilio, a standard-bearer who deserted Galba in AD 69.
Marcus Atilius (M. f. C. n.) Serranus, praetor in Hispania Ulterior in 152 BC, defeated the Lusitani, and took their principal city, Oxthracae.[29]
Marcus Atilius (M. f. M. n.) Serranus, triumvir monetalis in 151 BC, probably the son of Marcus Atilius Serranus, the praetor of 152. His coins bear the inscription Saran.[4]
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).
Michael Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, Cambridge University Press (1974, 2001).
Timothy J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC), Routledge, London (1995).
John C. Traupman, The New College Latin & English Dictionary, Bantam Books, New York (1995).
Werner Eck & Peter Weiß, "Hadrianische Konsuln. Neue Zeugnisse aus Militärdiplomen" (Hadrianic Consuls: New Evidence from Military Diplomas), in Chiron, vol. 32 (2002).
Anthony R. Birley, The Roman Government of Britain, Oxford University Press (2005).
Sarah B. Pomeroy, The Murder of Regilla: a Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity, Harvard University Press (2009).
