The gens Lutatia, occasionally written Luctatia, was a plebeian family of ancient Rome. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Lutatius Catulus in 242 BC, the final year of the First Punic War. Orosius mentions their burial place, the sepulchrum Lutatiorum, which lay beyond the Tiber.[1][2]

Temple of Juturna at Largo di Torre Argentina, built by Gaius Lutatius Catulus to celebrate his victory at the Aegades.

Praenomina

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The chief praenomina used by the Lutatii of the Republic were Gaius and Quintus, from which they rarely deviated; but there are also instances of Gnaeus and Marcus, which were probably given to younger children.

Branches and cognomina

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The surnames of the Lutatii under the Republic were Catulus, Cerco, and Pinthia, of which only the second is found on Roman coins.

  • Catulus, borne by the most famous family of the Lutatii, is probably derived from the same root as Cato, which originally described someone shrewd, wise, or cautious (catus). An alternative explanation would translate the surname as "puppy, whelp" or "cub".
  • Cerco, borne by some of the Catuli, refers to a tail.[3][4]

Members

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Denarius of Quintus Lutatius, 206–200 BC. The obverse depicts Roma; on the reverse are the Dioscuri.
This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.

Catuli et Cercones

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Denarius of Quintus Lutatius Cerco, c. 109 BC. The obverse depicts Roma (or Mars). On the reverse is a ship within an oak wreath, alluding to Gaius Lutatius Catulus's naval victory and triumph.

Others

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  • Marcus Lutatius Pinthia, an eques who lived in the middle part of the second century BC.[46]
  • Lutatius, the author of a history titled Communis Historia, sometimes attributed to Gaius Lutatius Catulus, but probably by another Lutatius, since Cicero does not mention it among Catulus' works.[47][48][49]
  • Lutatius Daphnis, a grammarian, originally purchased as a slave by Quintus Lutatius Catulus, but afterward manumitted.[50]
  • Quintus Lutatius Diodorus, became a Roman citizen under Sulla, at the behest of Quintus Lutatius Catulus. He settled at Lilybaeum, where he was victimized by Verres.[51]
  • Lutatius, a scholiast on Statius.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Orosius, v. 21.
  2. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 843 ("Lutatia Gens").
  3. ^ Chase, pp. 113, 116.
  4. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, p. 653 ("Catulus").
  5. ^ Polybius, i. 58–64
  6. ^ Livy, Epitome, 19.
  7. ^ Eutropius, ii. 27.
  8. ^ Orosius, iv. 10.
  9. ^ Valerius Maximus, ii. 8. § 2.
  10. ^ Zonaras, viii. p. 398 ff.
  11. ^ a b Fasti Capitolini.
  12. ^ Livy, xxx. 44, Epitome, 19.
  13. ^ Eutropius, ii. 28.
  14. ^ Orosius, iv. 11.
  15. ^ Polybius, i. 65.
  16. ^ Zonaras, viii. 18.
  17. ^ Broughton, vol. I, p. 219, 220 (note 1).
  18. ^ Zonaras, viii. p. 405.
  19. ^ Eckhel, v. p. 240.
  20. ^ Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, p. 207.
  21. ^ Livy, xlii. 6.
  22. ^ SIG, 674.
  23. ^ Broughton, vol. II, p. 492.
  24. ^ Eckhel, v. p. 240.
  25. ^ Broughton, vol. II, p. 27.
  26. ^ Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, p. 315.
  27. ^ Cicero, Pro Plancio, 5; De Oratore, iii. 8; Brutus, 35.
  28. ^ Orelli, Onomasticon Tullianum, ii. p. 366 ff.
  29. ^ Plutarch, "The Life of Marius"; "The Life of Sulla".
  30. ^ Appian, Bellum Civile, i. 74.
  31. ^ Velleius Paterculus, ii. 21.
  32. ^ Florus, iii. 21.
  33. ^ Valerius Maximus, vi. 3, ix. 12.
  34. ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, xxxiv. 19.
  35. ^ Orelli, Onomasticon Tullianum, ii. p. 367 ff.
  36. ^ Sallust, Bellum Catilinae, 35, 49.
  37. ^ Tacitus, Historiae, iii. 72.
  38. ^ Suetonius, "The Life of Caesar", 15; "The Life of Galba", 2.
  39. ^ Valerius Maximus, vi. 9. § 5.
  40. ^ Plutarch, "The Life of Crassus", 13; "The Life of Cato the Younger", 16.
  41. ^ Seneca, Epistulae, 97.
  42. ^ Cassius Dio, xxxvi. 13.
  43. ^ Valerius Maximus, iii. 3. § 3.
  44. ^ Quintilian, i. 1. § 6.
  45. ^ Appian, Bellum Civile, iv. 32.
  46. ^ Cicero, De Officiis, iii. 19.
  47. ^ Probus, In Vergilii Bucolica et Georgica Commentarius, iii. 280.
  48. ^ Servius, Ad Aeneidem, ix. 710.
  49. ^ Krause, Vita et Fragmenta, p. 318 ff.
  50. ^ Suetonius, De Illustribus Grammaticis, 3.
  51. ^ Cicero, In Verrem, iv. 17.

Bibliography

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