Talk:Gaius Servilius Geminus (praetor before 218 BC)

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Move

Latest comment: 5 months ago4 comments3 people in discussion

I'm boldly moving this page for the following reasons:

WP:ROMANS states that highest office is preferred to a descriptive phrase to distinguish men of the same name. The son's article is Gaius Servilius Geminus (consul). No year is needed because we have no articles on other consuls of this same name. The same principle applies to this man; Broughton gives the year of his praetorship only as "before 218," but we don't need a year. He's the only praetor with this name who has an article.
The figure is arguably most notable to modern scholars in regard to transitio ad plebem, so it's debatable as to whether "prisoner of war" is what makes him most encyclopedically notable.
It's debatable whether he was even a prisoner of war, technically. His captivity is a curious story because the circumstances are more like hostage-taking. He is said to have been serving on an administrative commission, not captured in battle. And usually when the Carthaginians or Celts seized high-value captives they let the Romans know about it as leverage, boast, or ransom demand. Instead our man was presumed dead for fifteen years? The story is intriguingly murky.
In "The House of the Servilii Gemini," a source for the article, Badian (p. 50) specifically introduces and distinguishes him among the other Servilii Gemini as "C. Servilius, praetor".
(Added after moving and fixing links). Every article that linked to this figure identified him as "Gaius Servilius Geminus, the praetor …", most with a mention of the plebeian question and not in reference to his captivity.

WP:ROMANS recommends using a descriptive phrase only for men whose public role, if any, goes unrecorded. It's a workable guideline that prevents needless debate over notability, and while I'm all for useful exceptions, I see no case against doing so here. Cynwolfe (talk) 13:43, 2 June 2024 (UTC)Reply

The new title isn't good because Gaius Servilius Geminus, his son, was also a praetor in 206. The way scholars disambiguate between these men would still be difficult to follow for the casual reader. I think there ought to be a date in the title; Gaius Servilius Geminus (praetor before 218 BC) would be better. T8612 (talk) 14:22, 2 June 2024 (UTC)Reply

Agreed with T8612. Ifly6 (talk) 14:26, 2 June 2024 (UTC)Reply

Then I'm assuming that you two will be going through all the articles in which Romans are disambiguated by highest office without a date and changing those? I must confess that isn't something I want to spend time on. Cynwolfe (talk) 15:58, 2 June 2024 (UTC)Reply

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