The gens Sestia () was a minor patrician family at

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 ...

. The only member of this

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

to obtain the

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politi ...

in the time of the

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 ...

was

Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus Publius Sestius Capitolinus Vaticanus ( 452–451 BC) was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 452 BC and decemvir in 451 BC. Family He was a member of the '' Gens Sestii''. He was the son of Quintus and his complete name is '' ...

, in 452 BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 795 ("Sestia Gens").

Origin

The nomen ''Sestius'' is sometimes confused with that of '' Sextius'', and these families may in fact share a common origin; but Roman writers considered them distinct gentes. If ''Sestius'' and ''Sextius'' are two forms of the same name, then ''Sestius'' is probably a patronymic surname, based on the common

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 bir ...

''Sextus'', meaning "sixth". The same name gave rise to the

plebeian 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 o ...

gens Sextilia. The plebeian Sestii known from the later Republic may have been descendants of freedmen, or of Sestii who relinquished their patrician status.

Praenomina

The main praenomina used by the Sestii included '' Publius'', '' Lucius'', '' Vibius'', and '' Titus''. The Sestii are the only patrician family known to have used ''Vibius''. Epigraphy also provides an example of the rare praenomen '' Faustus'', although as it was borne by a freedwoman, it is unclear whether the name previously belonged to members of this ancient family.

Branches and cognomina

The only

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

of the early Sestii is ''Capitolinus'', presumably referring to the Capitoline Hill, where the family must originally have lived. The consul of 452 BC bore the

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between simila ...

''Vaticanus'', apparently referring some association with the

Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The an ...

, across the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

from the Capitol. Towards the end of the Republic, the surnames ''Pansa'', meaning "splay-footed," and ''Gallus'', a cock or a

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the Eas ...

, are found.

Members

* Vibius Sestius Capitolinus, grandfather of Publius Sestius Capitolinus, the consul of 452 BC. * Publius Sestius V. f. Capitolinus, father of Publius, the consul of 452 BC. * Publius Sestius P. f. V. n. Capitolinus Vaticanus,

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 452 BC; the following year, he was one of the

decemvirs The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing ...

charged with drawing up the first ten tables of Roman law. * Publius Sestius, accused of murder by Gaius Julius Iulus, one of the decemvirs, in 451 BC; apparently a different man from the decemvir Capitolinus. * Publius Sestius, quaestor in 414 BC. * Lucius Sestius, tribune of the plebs, probably early in the first century BC.''

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 Ro ...

''. * Publius Sestius L. f.,

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

in 53 BC; he was a friend and ally of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, by whom he was defended in 56. He was with

Pompeius Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

on the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...

, but subsequently went over to

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

, who sent him into Cappadocia in 48 BC. * Lucius Sestius Pansa, made a demand resisted by

Quintus Tullius Cicero Quintus Tullius Cicero ( , ; 102 – 43 BC) was a Roman statesman and military leader, the younger brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some south-east ...

in 54 BC. * Publius Sestius P. f., to whom Cicero wrote ''circa'' 53 BC, had been condemned for an unknown offense. * Titus Sestius Gallus, owned the land where

Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...

was slain in 52 BC. * Lucius Sestius P. f. L. n. Quirinalis Albinianus, consul ''suffectus'' in 23 BC.Syme, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', pp. 41, 383 ''ff.'' * Lucius Sestius L. l. Carres, a freedman buried in a first-century sepulchre at Rome, along with Fausta Sestia Amaryllis and Publius Caesenus Cerdo. * Fausta Sestia Ɔ. l. Amaryllis, a freedwoman buried at Rome, age 20, shares her tomb with the freedmen Lucius Sestius Carres and Publius Caesenus Cerdo.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, ''

Epistulae ad Familiares ''Epistulae ad Familiares'' (''Letters to Friends'') is a collection of letters between Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero and various public and private figures. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's other letters ...

'', ''

Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem ''Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem'' (''Letters to brother Quintus'') is a collection of letters from Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero to his younger brother Quintus. The letters in this collection, when combined with Cicero's other ...

'', ''

Pro Milone The "Pro Tito Annio Milone ad iudicem oratio" (Pro Milone) is a speech made by Marcus Tullius Cicero in 52 BC on behalf of his friend Titus Annius Milo. Milo was accused of murdering his political enemy Publius Clodius Pulcher on the Via Appia. Cic ...

'', ''Pro Sestio''. *

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary styl ...

, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities). * Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a 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 traditional founding in ...

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. *

Sextus Pompeius Festus Sextus Pompeius Festus, usually known simply as Festus, was a Roman grammarian who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo ( Narbonne) in Gaul. Work He made a 20-volume epitome of Verrius Flaccus's voluminous and encyc ...

, ''Epitome de M. Verrio Flacco de Verborum Significatu'' (Epitome of

Marcus Verrius Flaccus Marcus Verrius Flaccus (c. 55 BCAD 20) was a Roman grammarian and teacher who flourished under Augustus and Tiberius. Life He was a freedman, and his manumitter has been identified with Verrius Flaccus, an authority on pontifical law; but for ch ...

' ''On the Meaning of Words''). * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * Theodor Mommsen ''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). * D.P. Simpson, ''Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary'', Macmillan Publishing Company, New York (1963). *

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1989). {{Refend Roman gentes