The Roman Republic
tionalterm;andasasocialtermitdoesnotrefertoasmallin-groupofthe
descendantsofconsulsandtheirequivalents,buttoanyonewhocouldboast
ofanyancestorwhohadheldpublicoffice.Andthisstillappliedevenafter
alonggap,duringwhichnomembersofafamilyhadheldoffice.^16
Perhapsthenweoughttostartusinginsteadthewordgenerosi,forthose
Romanswhoseancestryreallywas,inaloosesense,‘‘aristocratic’’—orwas
thoughttobe.For,ifonethingiscertainabouttheself-consciousnessofthe
RomanupperclassinthelateRepublic,itis,firstly,thattherewasanout-
burstofinterestinfamilyhistories,and,secondly,thatnotallthesehistories
whollycorrespondedtohistoricalreality.ItishardlynecessarytorecallJulius
Caesar, as quaestor in , addressing the Roman populace from the Rostra
ontheoccasionofhisaunt’sfuneral.Amongotherthingshegavethemthe
followinghistoricalinformation(Suetonius,Div.Jul.):
ThematernaldescentofmyauntJuliasprangfromthekingsandher
paternaldescentwaslinkedwiththegods.ForAncusMarciuswasthe
ancestor of the Marcii Reges, from which family her mother came.
FromVenustheredescendedtheJulii,agensofwhichourfamiliaisa
branch.This information would probably have occasioned some surprise if it had
been contained in a speech delivered not in but in ..(five years
beforethecustombeganofmarkingprominentfuneralswithagladiatorial
show).ForthefirstJuliusCaesarknowntohaveheldofficeinRomedidnot
appearuntil,andthefirstMarciusRexnotuntilthemiddleofthesecond
century.^17 Theclaimisinfacttypicalofthegenealogieslinkingoftenquite
new families to mythical ancestors which werewidelyevolved in the last
two centuries of the Republic.^18 The essential warning about bogus gene-
alogiesisprovidedbyCicerointheBrutus.Weallquotethisparagraph(),
butbyandlargewethencontrivetoignoreit.Ithinkitisworthquoting
onceagain:
Thevariousfamiliaeusedtopreservethem[i.e.,laudationsofthedead]
as theiradornments and monuments so to speak, and also for use, if
anyoneofthatstock[genus]died;alsoasamemorialofthehonours
ofthehouse,andtoadorntheirnobilitas.However,theeffectofthese.P.A.Brunt,‘‘NobilitasandNovitas,’’JRS():.
. Broughton,MRRI, (Sex. Iulius Caesar, praetor in ); (P. Marcius Rex,
legatusin);(Q.MarciusRex,praetorin).
. Seeesp.T.P.Wiseman,‘‘LegendaryGenealogiesinLate-RepublicanRome,’’G&R
():,nowreprintedinhisRoman Studies, Literaryand Historical(Liverpool,),.