Sestia gens

The gens Sestia was a family at ancient Rome. The gens was originally patrician, but in later times there were also plebeian members. The only member of the family to obtain the consulship under the Republic was Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus, in 452 BC.[1]

Coin of Lucius Sestius,
consul suffectus in 23 BC

Origin

The nomen Sestius is frequently confounded with that of Sextius, and the two names may originally have been the same; but the ancient writers evidently regarded them as two distinct names. If they are in fact two forms of the same name, then Sestius is probably a patronymic surname, based on the common praenomen Sextus, meaning "sixth". The same name gave rise to the plebeian gens Sextilia.[2]

Praenomina

The praenomina used by the Sestii included Publius, Lucius, Vibius, and Titus. The Sestii are the only patrician family known to have used Vibius.[3]

Branches and cognomina

The only cognomen of the early Sestii is Capitolinus, probably referring to the Capitoline Hill, where the family may have lived. The consul of 452 BC bore the agnomen Vaticanus, apparently referring to the Vatican Hill, across the Tiber from the Capitol. Towards the end of the Republic, the surnames Pansa, meaning "splay-footed," and Gallus, a cock or a Gaul, are found.[4][5]

Members

This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.

See also

References

  1. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
  2. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
  3. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
  4. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
  5. D.P. Simpson, Cassell's Latin & English Dictionary (1963).
  6. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, iii. 32-34.
  7. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, x. 54.
  8. Sextus Pompeius Festus, epitome of Marcus Verrius Flaccus, De Verborum Significatu, s. v. peculatus.
  9. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, iii. 33, 34.
  10. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, iv. 50.
  11. Fasti Capitolini.
  12. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Sestio, 3. The inconsistent names in Cicero and the Capitoline Fasti have led some to speculate that the grandson was a member of another family, although the substitution of a common praenomen for a rare one was quite common. Another explanation would be that the filiation in the Capitoline Fasti was "borrowed" from Sestius' ancestor, Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus, whose father and grandfather were named Publius and Vibius, respectively.
  13. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem, ii. 11.
  14. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares, v. 17.
  15. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Pro Milone, 31.

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