Tullus Hostilius defeating the army ofVeii andFidenae, modern fresco.
Thegens Hostilia was an ancient family atRome, which traced its origin to the time ofRomulus. The most famous member of thegens wasTullus Hostilius, the thirdKing of Rome; however, all of the Hostilii known from the time of theRepublic wereplebeians. Several of the Hostilii were distinguished during thePunic Wars. The first of the family to obtain theconsulship was Aulus Hostilius Mancinus in 170 BC.[1]
The Hostilii came originally fromMedullia, an ancient city inLatium, and are thought to have settled at Rome in the time ofRomulus. Although the Hostilii of the Republic had no specific tradition about Medullia, coins minted by one of the later Hostilii bear the heads of Pallor and Pavor, the gods of fear and panic, in an allusion to Tullus Hostilius, who vowed temples to Pallor and Pavor during his war withVeii andFidenae. If the later Hostilii were descended from the Hostilii of the regal period, then they were of Medullian origin.[2]
ThenomenHostilius is a patronymic surname, based on thepraenomenHostus, which was borne by the ancestors of the gens. The same praenomen gave rise to another gens, with the nomenHostius. The earliest known member of the Hostilii wasHostus Hostilius, a Roman champion in the earliest days of the city. However, if he also bore the nomenHostilius, then that name must have originated at an earlier time. The meaning of the praenomen remains obscure; but it could possibly have originated as a variation ofFaustus, another ancient name meaningfortunate; inEtruscan we find two possible cognates, the feminine praenominaFasti andHasti, of which the latter is a variation of the former.[3][4]
The principal first names used by the Hostilii wereAulus,Lucius, andGaius. There are also instances ofMarcus andPublius. The ancient Hostilii appear to have made regular use of the praenomenHostus.Tullus, also used by the gens in the earliest times, appears to have been revived by the family during the later Republic. A woman of the gens is known to have used the praenomenQuarta.[5]
The Hostilii of the Republic bore the surnamesCato, Mancinus, Saserna, andTubulus. Of these, the Mancini were the most distinguished, with three obtaining the consulship during the second century BC.Firminus andRutilus are found in imperial times. Some of the Hostilii do not appear to have hadcognomina.[6]
Hostilius, a poet, perhaps as late as the age of Cicero, known solely from a line quoted byPriscian.[15]
Hostilius, proposer of thelex Hostilia, permitting legal actions to be brought on behalf of persons absent due to public service, whether civil or military. The date of the law is uncertain, but a series of cases mentioned by Cicero may have been related to it.[16]
Hostilius Firminus, legate ofMarius Priscus,proconsul ofAfrica in AD 101, during the reign ofTrajan; forfeited his senatorial privileges as a result of charges of extortion and cruelty.[20]
^Marcus Tullius Cicero,Epistulae ad Atticum, xii. 5. § 3,De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, ii. 16, iv. 28, v. 22,De Natura Deorum, i. 23, iii. 30,Pro Scauro, 1.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.