Gaius Servilius Axilla (or Servilius Structus; 427–417 BC) was a Roman aristocrat and statesman during the early

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. He held the senior executive offices of

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 ...

in 427 BC and

consular tribune A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...

in 419, 418 and 417 BC. He also served as master of the horse (''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nomi ...

''), or deputy, to the dictator

Quintus Servilius Priscus Fidenas Quintus Servilius Priscus Fidenas (prior to 463 BC390 BC) was a political figure and military leader in the Roman Republic who served as dictator in 435 BC and in 418 BC. Family Servilius belonged to the large and influential Servilia gens and ...

in 418 BC, when the latter had been appointed to wage war against 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 ...

Conflicting traditions

Ancient sources present confused and conflicting accounts of the identity of Servilius and the offices he held. In the tradition of the ''

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

'', a list of Roman magistrates compiled during the rule of emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

, one single person, Servilius Axilla, held the offices of consul in 427 BC, consular tribune in 419–417 and ''magister equitum'' in 418. In the histories of

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 ...

and Diodoros, there is no mention of any Servilius as tribune in 419 BC. For 418, Livy gives the tribune no surname at all and identifies him as a son of the dictator Servilius Priscus Fidenas, but is unsure whether he or one other Servilius Ahala held the office of ''magister equitum'' that year. Finally, for 417, Livy has one Servilius Structus holding office of tribune for the second time, though he does not specify when the first time was. Weber thought that Livy preserved a more genuine tradition and that the official ''Fasti'' had been tampered with, but Mommsen and Münzer, followed by Broughton, have preferred to follow the evidence of the ''Fasti'', identifying all of the recorded officeholders as one person and explaining variations in the narrative as the result of interpolation by annalists. Servilius's surname is also confused in the sources. The ''Fasti'' call him Gaius Servilius Axilla, son of Quintus and grandson of Gaius. Livy uses the more common variant Ahala, while some other sources offer the surname Structus instead. Mommsen and Münzer partly explained the problem by again postulating annalistic interpolations, but Weber here argues that Structus, and not Axilla or Ahala, is more likely to be correct. Weber suggests that later sources mistakenly applied the surname Axilla and its variant Ahala to the consul of 427 BC by confusing him with a later relative who had a similar career,

Gaius Servilius Ahala Gaius Servilius Ahala ( 439 BC) was a 5th-century BC politician of ancient Rome, considered by many later writers to have been a hero. His fame rested on the contention that he saved Rome from Spurius Maelius in 439 BC by killing him with a dagge ...

, consular tribune and ''magister equitum'' in 408. Weber also proposed, against Mommsen, identifying Servilius 'Axilla' with

, the famous murderer of

Spurius Maelius Spurius Maelius (died 439 BC) was a wealthy Roman plebeian who was slain because he was suspected of intending to make himself king. Biography During a severe famine, Spurius Maelius bought up a large amount of wheat and sold it at a low price to ...

Endnotes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Servilius Axilla, Gaius 5th-century BC Roman consuls Magistri equitum (Roman Republic) Roman consular tribunes Axilla, Gaius