Furia (gens)

Marcus Furius Camillus, detail of a fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–1494).

The gens Furia, originally written Fusia, was one of the most ancient and noble patrician houses at Rome. Its members held the highest offices of the state throughout the period of the Roman Republic. The first of the Furii to attain the consulship was Sextus Furius Medullinus in 488 BC.[1]

Origin

The antiquity of the Furii is confirmed by the ancient form of the nomen, Fusius, found in the earliest days of the Republic. A similar process derived the nomina Papirius, Valerius and Veturius from Papisius, Valesius and Vetusius. History leaves us in darkness as to the origin of the Furia gens. A legendary figure named Spurius Fusius appears representing the Roman priests in the time of Tullus Hostilius. From sepulchral inscriptions found at Tusculum, we see that the name Furius was very common at that place, and hence it is generally inferred that the Furia gens, like the Fulvia, had come from Tusculum.[1][2]

As the first member of the gens that occurs in history, Sex. Furius Medullinus, BC 488, is only five years later than the treaty of isopolity which Spurius Cassius Viscellinus concluded with the Latins, to whom the Tusculans belonged, the supposition of the Tusculan origin of the Furia gens does not appear at all improbable. However, the cognomen Medullinus, which belonged to the oldest branch of the gens, may indicate that the family came from the ancient Latin city of Medullia, which was conquered by Ancus Marcius, the fourth King of Rome, toward the end of the 7th century BC.[1][3]

The nomen Furius is a patronymic surname derived from Fusus, apparently an ancient praenomen that had fallen out of use before historical times. This name was preserved, however, as a cognomen used by many of the early Furii, including the families of the Medullini and the Pacili. Cossus, a surname of the gens Cornelia, which they later revived as a praenomen, may have had a similar origin.[1][2]

Praenomina

The principal names used by members of this family are Lucius, Spurius, Publius, Marcus, Agrippa, Sextus, and Quintus. The Furii Pacili used Gaius, a name not used by other branches of the gens.

Other praenomina appear towards the end of the Republic, and may represent plebeian branches of the family. The Furii Brocchi are distinguished by their use of Gnaeus and Titus. A late 2nd century BC poet bore the praenomen Aulus, while a Furius of equestrian rank during the time of Cicero was named Numerius.[1]

Branches and cognomina

The cognomina of this gens are Aculeo, Bibaculus, Brocchus, Camillus, Crassipes, Fusus, Luscus, Medullinus, Pacilus, Philus, and Purpureo. The only cognomina that occur on coins are Brocchus, Crassipes, Philus, and Purpureo.[1]

The oldest branch of the Furii bore the surname Medullinus, which may indicate that they had originally come from the Latin town of Medullia.[1][4] All of the early Medullini probably bore the additional surname Fusus, probably an ancient praenomen that had fallen out of use before historical times, from which the nomen Furius (originally Fusius) was derived.[lower-roman 1][2] This surname was also borne by the Furii Pacili, who were probably a cadet branch of the Medullini; Chase considers Pacilus a surname of Oscan origin, suggesting that this branch of the family had Sabine connections.[5] Fusus was probably applicable to all of the early Furii, but was sometimes dropped or used in place of other surnames. Those Furii mentioned without any surname other than Fusus probably belonged to either the Medullini or the Pacili, and did not constitute a separate family.[1]

The Furii Camilli were descended from the dictator Marcus Furius Camillus, one of the most famous heroes of the early Republic, credited both with the final defeat of Veii, and with driving the Gauls from Rome following the Gallic sack of Rome in 390 BC.[6] He was a younger son of Lucius Furius Medullinus Fusus, who had thrice served as consular tribune. A camillus was a youth entrusted with certain religious obligations, a role likely to be filled by the younger son of a prominent magistrate.[7]

Of the other surnames borne by families of the Furii, Aculeo, "sharp", is probably derived from aculeus, a spur;[4] Bibaculus originally referred to a tippler;[8] Brocchus to someone with prominent teeth;[9] Crassipes means "thick-footed";[10] Luscus "one-eyed";[9] Philus is borrowed from the Greek Φιλος;[11] and Purpureo, "rosy", probably referred to a person's complexion.[10]

There are some persons bearing the gentile name Furius, who were plebeians, since they are mentioned as tribunes of the plebs; and those persons either had gone over from the patricians to the plebeians, or they were descended from freedmen or a particular family of the Furii, as is expressly stated in the case of one of them.[1]

Members

Silver Denarius of Marcus Furius Philo, 119 BC. The obverse bears a head of Janus, while on the reverse Victoria, carrying a sceptre, places a wreath on a military trophy.
This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.

Early Fusii

Furii Medullini

Furii Fusi

Furii Pacili

Furii Camilli

Furii Phili

Furii Bibaculi

Furii Purpureones

Furii Crassipedes

Furii Brocchi

Others

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Chase classes Fusus as a cognomen, although he concurs that the nomen was derived from it.

See also

List of Roman gentes

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, pp. 190, 192, 1005.
  2. 1 2 3 Chase, p. 130.
  3. ↑ Livy, i. 32, 33.
  4. 1 2 Chase, p. 113.
  5. ↑ Chase, p. 115.
  6. ↑ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, pp. 591, 592.
  7. ↑ Chase, p. 112.
  8. ↑ Chase, p. 111.
  9. 1 2 Chase, p. 109.
  10. 1 2 Chase, p. 110.
  11. ↑ Chase, p. 114.
  12. ↑ Livy, i. 24.
  13. ↑ Dionysius, ix. 63.
  14. ↑ Livy, iii. 5.
  15. ↑ Livy, iv. 25, 35, 45.
  16. 1 2 3 Fasti Capitolini
  17. ↑ Livy, vi. 31.
  18. ↑ Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 35.
  19. ↑ Livy, v. 32.
  20. ↑ Livy, vii. 1.
  21. ↑ Suda, s. v. Πραιτωρ.
  22. ↑ Tacitus, Annales xii. 52, Historiae ii. 75.
  23. ↑ Livy, xxii. 53.
  24. ↑ Livy, xli. 21, xliii. 2.
  25. ↑ Livy, xlii. 28, 31, xliii. 13.
  26. ↑ Livy, xxii. 49.
  27. ↑ Valerius Maximus, i. 1. § 9.
  28. ↑ Cicero, Pro Ligario.
  29. ↑ Valerius Maximus, vi. 1. § 13.
  30. ↑ Livy, iii. 1.
  31. ↑ Livy, iii. 54.
  32. ↑ Livy, ix. 42.
  33. ↑ Livy, xxxi. 21.
  34. ↑ Livy, xxxviii. 55.
  35. ↑ Cicero, In Verrem, v. 43.
  36. ↑ Cicero, De Oratore, iii. 23.
  37. ↑ Marcus Tullius Cicero, In Catilinam, iii. 6.
  38. ↑ Sallust, The Conspiracy of Catiline, 50.
  39. ↑ Besier.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "article name needed". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 

Bibliography

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