Gaius Nautius Rutilus 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 throug ...

of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

in 475 BC and 458 BC. In his first consulship he was the senior consul, and his colleague was

Publius Valerius Poplicola Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola (died 503 BC) was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the Collegiality#Collegiality in the Roman Republic, collea ...

. Nautius was given command of Roman forces against the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

who had invaded

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

. Nautilus ravaged the Volscian territory, but there was no significant engagement with the enemy. Nautius held the consulship a second time in 458 BC with

Lucius Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus Lucius Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 458 BC, and decemvir in 450 BC. Family Brother of Quintus Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus, consul in 457 BC, he was a member of the ''Minucii Augurini'' br ...

. During his second consulship, he successfully carried on war against the Sabines. That same year, 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 his ...

attacked the allied city of ''

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome ( ...

'' and defeated his colleague, Minucius. Nautius Rutilus returned to Rome to oversee the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

electing a ''

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

'',

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ( – ) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Cincinnatus was ...

, to deal with the invaders. Nautius was probably the brother, or perhaps the son of Spurius Nautius Rutilus, consul in 488 BC.

References

Gaius Nautius Rutilus
in Smith's ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' *

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, 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 traditiona ...

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

, 2.53
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nautius Rutilus, Gaius 5th-century BC Roman consuls Rutilus, Gaius