} Aulus Aternius Varus Fontinalis ( 454–449 BC) was

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 throu ...

in 454 BC, with Spurius Tarpeius Montanus Capitolinus. The consuls of the previous year, Titus Romilius and Gaius Veturius Cicurinus had defeated the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early hist ...

Mount Algidus The Algidus Mons, known in English as Mount Algidus, 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 ''la Cava d'Aglio''. It was the site of the ...

, but were now prosecuted for having sold the captured material and equipment in order to replenish the treasury, without having received the approval of the troops, who would otherwise have been entitled to a share of the proceeds. The former consuls were tried and fined for their misappropriation. This occurrence appears to have led to the passage of the '' lex Aternia Tarpeia'', regulating the payment of fines, and fixing the maximum fine which magistrates could impose. Aternius and Tarpeius also maintained the opposition of the Senate and the

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

to a law passed two years earlier by the

tribunes of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) 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 o ...

, opening the Aventine Hill to settlement. With the two orders deadlocked, an agreement was forged to appoint a body consisting of both patricians and

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called 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 ...

, which should pass measures for the benefit of all. Three envoys (all patricians) were sent to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, to study the laws of

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

and Greek political institutions, and report their findings upon their return. This settlement led to the creation of the '' Decemviri Legibus Scribundis'', who held power from 451 to 449, and established 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 Hornblowe ...

of Roman law.Livy, ''Ab Urbe Condita'' iii. 31, 32 ff. The Decemvirate failed to bring about the reconciliation of the orders, and was itself abolished, as the consulship was re-instituted in 449. A plan was then proposed by which the senate would accede to the illegal re-election of several of the tribunes, if the consuls should also be re-elected. The object of this scheme was to discredit both the tribunes and the consuls, who had previously earned the people's trust. However, the president of the elections, Marcus Duilius, himself a former tribune, secured the pledge of the consuls not to accept a second year in office.Livy, ''Ab Urbe Condita'' iii. 65. Duilius then called for the election of the tribunes, and refused to acknowledge the re-election of the tribunes of 449. As only five other men were elected, Duilius announced that the legally-elected tribunes should appoint five others to fill the vacancies, thereby frustrating the tribunes whom the senate had sought to return to office for a second year. As a concession to those patricians who had supported the peaceful resolution of the conflict, the tribunes chose two patricians, Aternius, and his colleague Tarpeius, to fill two of the vacant positions. This was the only time that patricians were permitted to hold this office, in consequence of which the plebeian tribune

Lucius Trebonius Asper Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...

succeeded in passing the ''

lex Trebonia The ''Lex Trebonia'' was a Roman law passed in 55 BC during the second joint consulship of Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pompey, as part of their informal political arrangement known as the First Triumvirate. Sponsored by the tribune of the plebs G ...

'', requiring that in the future, votes should continue to be called until the full number of tribunes had been elected, thereby preventing future tribunes from appointing colleagues who might be opposed to the interests of the people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aternius Varus Fontinalis, Aulus 5th-century BC Roman consuls