Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/423

Rh ATILICINUS. was the son of Apollo, who had intercourse with her in the fonn of a dragon, while she was sleeping on one occasion in the temple of the god. (Dion Cass. xlv. 1; Suet. Oct. 94.) She carefully at- tended to the education of her son, and is on this account classed by the author of the Dialogue on Orators (c. 29) along with Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, and Aurelia, the mother of C. Julius Caesar. Her husband died in b. c. 59, when her son was only four years of age, and she afterwards married L. Marcius Philippus, who was consul in B. c. 56. On the death of Julius Caesar, she and her husband tried to dissuade her son from accept- ing the inheritance which his great-uncle had left him. (Plut. Oic. 44 ; Suet. Oct. 8 ; Veil. Pat. ii. 60 ; Appian, B. C. iii. 10.) She died in the first con- sulship of her son, B. c. 43, and was honoured with a public funeral (Suet. Oct. 61 ; Dion. Cass, xlvii. 17.) A'TIA GENS, plebeian. The word is always written on coins with one t ; but in manuscripts we find hoii Attius oxidiAtvis. This gens does not appear to have been of any great antiquity, and none of its members ever attained the consulship ; but, since Augustus was connected with it on his mother's side [Atia], the flattery of the poets derived its origin from Atys, the son of Alba, and father of Capys. (Virg. Aen. v. 568.) The cognomens of the Atii are Balbus, Labienus, Rufus, Varus : for those who have no cognomens, see Atius. The only cognomens which occur on coins are Balbus and Labienus. ( Eckhel, v. p. 1 45.) ATI'DIUS GE'MINUS. [Geminus.] ATI'LIA GENS, patrician and plebeian. On coins the name always occurs with only one I, but in MSS. usually- with two. The cognomens of the Atilii under the republic are, Bulbus, Cajlatinus, LoNGUS, Regulus, Serranus ; and of these the Longi were undoubtedly patricians. (Dionys. xi. 61.) The first member of this gens who obtained the consulship was M. Atilius Regulus, in B. c. 335 ; and the Fasti contain several consuls of this name under the emperors. The only cognomen found on coins is Sarunus, which appears to be the same as Serranus. (Eckhel, v. p. 146.) For those Atilii who have no cognomen, see Atilius. The annexed coin of the Atilia Gens represents on the obverse the head of Pallas winged, and on the reverse the Dioscuri, with the inscription M. Atili. and underneath Roma. ATILIUS. 405 ATILICI'NUS, a Roman jurist, who probably lived about the middle of the first century of the Christian era. He seems to have been attached to the sect of Proculus (Heinec. Hist. Jur. Bom. § 230), to whom he addressed a letter, which is contained in the Digest in an extract from Proculus. (Dig. 23. tit. 4. s. 17.) He is several times referred to in the Digest, and is also cited in the Institutes (2. tit. 14, pr.) as an authority ; but there is no direct extract from him, and the names of his works have not been preserved, though Bach (Hist. Jur. Rom. p. 411) seems to infer from Dig. 12. tit. 4. 8. 7. pr., that he piblished rcsj>onsa. [J. T. G.] ATI'LIUS. 1. L. Atilius, a plebeian, consular tribune b.c. 399, and again in 396. (Liv. v. 13, 18} Diod. xiv. 54, 90.) He must be distinguished from L. Atilius, the consular tribune in b. c. 444 (Liv. iv. 7), who was a patrician, and whose cognomen was Longus, as we learn from Dionysius (xi. 61). 2. L, Atilius, tribune of the plebs, b. c. 311, brought forward a bill, in conjunction with his colleague, C. Marcius, giving the people the power of electing 16 military tribunes in the four legions, the usual number levied annually. (Liv. ix. 30.) As there were six tribunes in each legion, the peo- ple by this bill had the election of two-thirds of the whole number. Previously they appointed only six ; the remaining eighteen were nominated by the consuls. (Comp. Liv. vii. 5.) 3. L. Atilius, quaestor in b. c. 216, slain at the battle of Cannae in the same year. (Liv. xxii. 49.) 4 and 5. M. and C. Atilii, duumviri in B. c. 216, dedicated the temple of Concord, which L. Manlius, the praetor, had vowed. (Liv. xxiii, 22.) 6. L. Atilius, commander of the Roman gar- rison in Locri, escaped with his troops by sea, when the town was surrendered to Hannibal in B. c. 215. (Liv. xxiv, 1.) 7. L. Atilius, praetor b, c. 197, obtained Sar- dinia as his province. (Liv. xxxii. 27, 28.) 8. L. Atilius, served in the fleet of Cn. Octa- vius, who was sent by the consul Paullus to Saraothrace in b, c. 168, to demand Perseus, who had taken refuge there. Atilius addressed the Samothracian assembly in support of this demand. (Liv. xlv. 5.) 9. L. Atilius, the jurist. See below. 10. Atilius, one of the libertini, built an am- phitheatre at Fidenae in the reign of Tiberius, A. D. 27 ; but in consequence of the slight and careless manner in which it was built, it fell down through the weight of the spectators, and upwards of 20,000 persons perished, according to Suetonius (Tib. 40), and as many as 50,000, according to Tacitus, were either injured or destroyed. Atilius was banished in consequence. (Tac. Ann. iv. 62, 63.) L. ATI'LIUS, a Roman jurist, who probably lived in the middle of the sixth century of the city. By Pomponius (Dig. 1. tit. 2. s. 2. § 38) he is called Pubiius Atilius, and in some manuscripts of Cicero (Ainic. c. 2), Acilius, not Atilius. He was among the earliest of the jurisconsults, after Corun- canius, who gave public instruction in law, and he was remarkable for his science in profitendo. He was the first Roman who was called by the people Sapiens, although, before his time, the jurist P. Sempronius (who was consul B. c. 304) had ac quired the cognomen Sophtts, less expressive to Latin ears. Sapiens was afterwards a title fre- quently given to jurists. (Gell. iv. 1.) He wrote Commentaries on the laws of the Twelve Tables. (Cic. de Leg. ii. 23 ; Heinec. Hist. Jur. Rom. § 125.) [J. T. G.] M. ATI'LIUS, one of the early Roman poets, is classed among the comic poets of Rome by Vul- catius Sedigitus, who assigns him the fifth place among them in order of merit. {Ap. Gell. xv. 24.) But as Atilius translated into Latin the Eiectra of Sophocles (Cic. de Fin. i. 2 ; comp. Suet. Caes. 84), it would appear that he wrote tragedies as well as comedies. The latter, however, may have been both superior to, and more numerous