From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Potitia (gens)
Potitia (gens)
The gens Potitia was one of the most ancient patrician times by Cicero as one of the guardians of the son of
families at Rome. It never attained any historical impor- Publius Junius, custodian of the temple of Castor, who
tance.[1] died in 80 B.C. Five years later, the boy’s guardians and
The story of the Potitii is inextricably intertwined stepfather became embroiled in a dispute with Verres,
with that of the Pinarii. According to legend, a generation who extracted considerable sums of money, supposedly
before the Trojan War, Hercules came to Italy, where he to make extensive repairs to the temple, which in fact
was received by the families of the Potitii and the Pinarii. was in sound condition.[20]
He taught them a form of worship, and instructed them
in the rites, by which he was later honored. The priest-
hood of this cult was carried out exclusively by members
Potitii in popular culture
of these two families, as a sacrum gentilicum.[2][3][4] The Potitii are the focus of the novels Roma and Empire, by
The position of the Pinarii in the cult was traditional- Steven Saylor. These novels follow the history of Rome,
ly inferior to that of the Potitii, and they were excluded up to the reign of Hadrian, and concern the fortunes of
from partaking of the entrails of the sacrifice, supposedly the Potitii and Pinarii, through the passing down of a
because they had arrived late to the sacrificial banquet family heirloom.
given by Hercules. The historian Michael Grant suggests
that the cult was originally introduced to Italy by the
Phoenicians, and was devoted to one of the Phoenician
See also
gods, who afterwards became assimilated with Her- • List of Roman gentes
cules.[5][6][7] • Pinaria (gens)
For nine hundred years, the Potitii and Pinarii held
the priesthood of Hercules, until Appius Claudius Caecus, Footnotes
during his censorship in 312 B.C., induced the Potitii to
instruct the public slaves in the sacred rites, by the pay- [1] Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and
ment of 50,000 pounds of copper. It was said that this Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
act of impiety induced Hercules to send a plague, which [2] Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, i. 7.
within thirty days carried off the entire gens, consisting [3] Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, i.
of twelve families and thirty grown men; and Claudius 38-40.
was struck blind, which was the source of his cognomen. [4] Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, Saturnalia, iii. 6.
The Pinarii, who refused to relinquish their priestly du- [5] Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, i. 7.
ties, maintained the worship of Hercules until the latest [6] Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, i.
period.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] 38-40.
The disappearance of an entire gens was extraordi- [7] Michael Grant, Roman Myths (1971).
nary, as was the lack of any magistrates or other persons [8] Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, i. 7.
of importance belonging to such an ancient family. This [9] Servius, ad Virg. Aen., viii. 268.
has led to speculation that the legend referred to some [10] Sextus Pompeius Festus, epitome of Marcus Verrius
branch of another gens known to history, such as the Flaccus De Verborum Significatu, p. 237, ed. Müller.
Valerii Potiti. But at the same time it was possible for a [11] Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, Saturnalia, iii. 6.
family to exist for centuries without attracting any no- [12] Johann Adam Hartung, Die Religion der Römer (1836),
tice, and the ancient historians are unanimous in making vol. ii., p. 30.
the Potitii a distinct gens. The historian Niebuhr suggests [13] Barthold Georg Niebuhr, History of Rome, vol. i. p.
that, if the story regarding the destruction of the Potitii is 88.
based on fact, they may have perished in the great plague [14] Karl Wilhelm Göttling, Geschichte der Römische
which raged in 292 B.C., some twenty years after the cen- Staatsverfassung (1840), p. 178.
sorship of Caecus.[15][16][17][18][19] [15] Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, i. 6, 7.
It is not altogether certain that the entire gens per- [16] Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, i.
ished in this disaster; the legendary account says that 38-40.
thirty grown men were killed, but perhaps some children [17] Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, Saturnalia, iii. 6.
survived. Although hardly any members of the gens are [18] Barthold Georg Niebuhr, History of Rome, vol. iii. p.
known to history, a Publius Potitius is mentioned several 309.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Potitia (gens)
[19] Michael Grant, Roman Myths (1971). This article incorporates text from the public domain Dic-
[20] Marcus Tullius Cicero, In Verrem Secundae, i. 50-58. tionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by
William Smith (1870).
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