Opiter Verginius Tricostus Esquilinus is the reconstructed name of the

consul suffectus 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 politic ...

who replaced

Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala (died 478 BC) was a Roman senator from the early Republic, who held the office of consul in 478 BC. During his term of office he commanded two legions in a war against the Volsci. His lack of success and the heavy ...

as consul 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 478 BC. The fact of Servilius' death is not recorded by

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 ...

(who only mentions Servilius when he takes the fasces), nor by

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 sty ...

(who states that Servilius campaigned against the Volscians, but had no success). However 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 ...

'' states that Servilius died in office and was replaced by a man most of whose name is obliterated except for the cognomen "Esquilinus". In discussing the identification of this consul suffectus, T. Robert S. Broughton notes that Bartolommeo Borghesi suggested the name may be "Opiter Verginius Tricostus Esquilinus", while Cichorius suggested his gentile name may be Sergius, which is often confused with Servilius. Cichorius also points out that the space on the ''Fasti Capitolini'' would not fit the entire name and filiation as Borghesi proposed. However, Broughton favors Verginius, assuming his name on the ''Fasti Capitolini'' included only his possible father in the filiation, Opiter Verginius Tricostus, the consul of 502 BC, and only one cognomen. Regardless of these speculations, it is likely that Opiter Verginius existed and held the fasces at some point in the 5th century. In another passage, Livy names him as the colleague of

Lucius Aemilius Mamercus Lucius Aemilius Mamercus was a Roman statesman who served as consul three times: in 484, 478 and 473 BC.Livy, '' Ab urbe condita'', 2.42 In 484 BC, as consul, Aemilius led the Roman forces in battle against the Volsci and Aequi. The Romans were ...

, consul for the third time in 473 BC, while admitting other sources name

Vopiscus Julius Iulus Vopiscus Julius Iullus ( 473 BC) was a Ancient Rome, Roman statesman, who held the consulship in 473 BC, a year in which the authority of the Roman magistrates was threatened after the murder of a tribune of the plebs.''Dictionary of Greek and R ...

.Livy, ii.54.3 The filiation of the unfortunate

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 ...

of 402 BC, Lucius Verginius Tricostus Esquilinus, is recorded on the ''Fasti Capitolini'' as including one Opiter Verginius Tricostus Esquilinus who would have lived in the 470s BC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verginius Tricostus Esquilinus, Opiter 5th-century BC Roman consuls 5th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown Tricostus Esquilinus, Opiter

See also

References