Proculus (or Lucius) Verginius Tricostus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 435 BC. He was possibly re-elected as consul in 434 BC. Verginius belonged to the patrician Verginia gens which had flourished in the early years of the Republic but would fade into obscurity in the early 4th century BC. Verginius was most likely a grandson or great-grandson of Opiter Verginius Tricostus, consul in 502 BC, but as no filiation has survived in our sources it is impossible to trace his descent. If his

praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...

is Lucius, there is a possibility that he can be identified as the father to Lucius Verginius Tricostus Esquilinus, the

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 402 BC.

Career

Verginius was elected consul in 435 BC together with Gaius Julius. The year was occupied by the rising threat from the Fidenates and a dictator was appointed to resolve the situation. The dictator, Servilius Fidenas, saw great success in the war and Fidenae itself was captured. The year also saw the election of two censors,

Gaius Furius Pacilus Fusus Gaius Furius Pacilus Fusus was a Roman statesman of the early Republic.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 80 ("Pacilus", Nos. 1, 2). He was a descendant of the ancient patrician house of the Furii, which fille ...

and

Marcus Geganius Macerinus Marcus Geganius Macerinus was a Roman statesman who served as Consul in 447, 443, and 437 BC, and as Censor in 435 BC. Family Geganius came from the rather small patrician Gegania gens, which had only once before risen to the consulship, thi ...

, who for the first time held the census at the Villa Publica in the Campus Martius. In some traditions, Verginius and his colleague was re-elected to the consulship the following year and would again relinquish their '' imperium'' in favor of another appointment of a dictator. The new dictator, Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus, fought the Falerii and

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

and enacted a law limiting the censorship down to a term of one and half year from the previous term of five years. The tradition placing Verginius as consul re-elect in 434 BC is based mainly on Livy who in turn cites Licinius Macer. Livy also provides a second tradition placing Marcus Manlius Capitolinus Vulso and

Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Praetextatus Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Praetextatus was a consul or consular tribune of the Roman Republic in 434 BC. Sulpicius belonged to the patrician Sulpicia gens. Sulpicius is the first named member of the branch within the gens known as the Praetexta ...

as consuls for the year, this based on the writings of Valerius Antias and Aelius Tubero. As the writings of Licinius, Valerius and Aelius are all lost, we can only base it on the references given by Livy. A third version of the college of 434 is provided by

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 ...

who lists both Manlius and Sulpicius and a third individual,

Servius Cornelius Cossus The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any othe ...

, as

s, not consuls, during the year. The modern consensus generally favor the second or third tradition, with the classicist Broughton commenting that the re-election of the consuls of 435 remains the least likely version.Broughton, vol i, pp.61-62, (62:note 1)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verginius Tricostus, Proculus 5th-century BC Roman consuls