Gaius Veturius Cicurinus was a Roman

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 455 BC with

Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 455 BC, and decemvir in 451 BC. Family He was the only member of the patrician family to become consul. The '' gens Romilia'' disappears after him in the an ...

. His term saw continued divisions between the

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 ...

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 ...

. His father was named Publius Veturius Cicurinus, possibly identifying him with the consul of 499 BC.

Biography

Consulship

In 455 BC, he was elected consul with Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus.

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, ''Bibliotheca Historica'', XII. 4 They issued orders during a period of high tension between the patricians and the plebeians. 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 of ...

, representatives of the people, demanded in vain for many years that the power of the consuls be limited in written law. The ''Lex Terentilia'', first drafted in 462 BC, was deferred each year by the tribunes who proposed numerous identical drafts of the law.

Proceedings

In the wake of their decision, Veturius and Romilius were taken to court by the plebeian

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

Lucius Alienus and by the tribune of the plebs, Gaius Calvus Cicero, in early 454 BC. The testimony of

Lucius Siccius Dentatus Lucius Siccius or Sicinius Dentatus (died ) is a supposed Roman soldier, ''primus pilus'', and tribune, famed for his martial bravery. He was cast as a champion of the plebeians in their struggle with the patricians. His exploits are likely fict ...

implicated Titus Romilius, but Siccius retracted his testimony when the old consul offered to send an ambassador to the Greek cities as a sign of appeasement during political tensions. Nevertheless, Romilius and Veturius were found guilty and ordered to pay a considerable indemnity of 10,000

asses Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (album ...

. This proved impracticable, and so a law was passed allowing the indemnity to be satisfied by an equivalent value in cattle and bronze.

Augur

In 453 BC Veturius was elected as

augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...

to replace

Gaius Horatius Pulvillus Gaius Horatius Pulvillus (died 453 BC) was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was consul in 477 and 457 BC. Family Ancient sources disagree on his ''praenomen''. Livy and Diodorus Siculus give ''Gaius'' for the year 477 BC, but ' ...

who had died in a large pestilence that ravaged Rome. Broughton, vol i, pp.44

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Veturius Cicurinus, Gaius 5th-century BC Roman consuls