Tarpeia (gens)


The gens Tarpeia was a minor patrician family at ancient Rome. Only a few members of this gens are known, and the Tarpeii vanish from history after the early Republic. The Tarpeian Rock, a promontory on the Capitoline Hill, from which those condemned for treason were thrown to their deaths, is said to have been named after Tarpeia, the archetype of all Roman traitors. There seems to have been a senatorial family of this name in imperial times.

Origin

The nomen Tarpeius belongs to a common class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -eius. Such names are typical of Sabine gentes, perhaps explaining the association of the Tarpeii with the war of Romulus against the Sabines at the beginning of Roman history.

Branches and cognomina

The only cognomina associated with the Tarpeii of the Republic are Montanus and Capitolinus, both of which belong to a class of surnames derived from the names of places, in this case both probably referring to the original residence of the Tarpeii, on the Capitoline Hill. The Tarpeii of imperial times bore common surnames such as Valens, powerful, and Faustus, fortunate.

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