The gens Hortensia was an ancient
plebeian family in
Rome. Members of this
gens are first mentioned in the fifth century BC, but from that time somewhat infrequently until the final century of the
Republic. The most illustrious of the
gens was the orator
Quintus Hortensius, a man of great learning, and a contemporary of
Cicero. Under the
Empire they seem to have sunk back into obscurity.[1]
Origin
The
nomenHortensius appears to be derived from horto, a garden, and probably signifies that the first to bear the name was a gardener.[1] Chase believed the name was Latin, listing it among those nomina that either originated at Rome, or could not be shown to have come from anywhere else.[2] However,
Ogilvie points to the town of
Urbinum Hortense in
Umbria and the cult of Jupiter Hortensis in
Campania as evidence that the name could have arisen elsewhere in Italy.[3]
That the Hortensii were plebeian, despite Cicero's application of the word nobilis to the family, seems demonstrated by the fact that the first of the Hortensii to appear in history was
tribune of the plebs, and the lack of any other evidence of a patrician family. From this it seems more likely that Cicero was referring to the distinguished record of the Hortensii in the service of the Roman state, rather than identifying the gens as
patrician.[4][1] Ogilvie doubts the existence of Quintus Hortensius, ostensibly tribune of the plebs in 422 BC, suggesting that this story was invented at the time of the marriage of Sempronia with Lucius Hortensius, the father of the famous orator, and concluding that the Hortensii probably arrived at Rome during the fourth century BC.[3]
Praenomina
All of the Hortensii at Rome mentioned in ancient sources bore the
praenominaQuintus,
Lucius, or Marcus, which were very common names at all periods of Roman history. They must occasionally have used other names, but these have not been recorded. An inscription from
Ferentinum suggests
Aulus and
Sextus.
Branches and cognomina
The only surnames found among the Hortensii are Hortalus, which seems to have originated as a nickname for the orator Hortensius, and Corbio, probably from corbis, a basket, both borne by descendants of the orator.[5][6][7][1]
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Quintus Hortensius,
tribune of the plebs in 422 BC, indicted
Gaius Sempronius Atratinus, consul of the preceding year, for his negligence in preparation against the
Volscians; but he was dissuaded from pursuing the charge by the loyalty shown to Sempronius, both by his former soldiers and by the other tribunes.[8][9]
Quintus Hortensius, appointed
dictator in BC 287, in response to a secession of the plebs occasioned, once again, by debt. Hortensius passed a measure giving the force of law to plebiscita, effectively allowing the people to pursue debt relief without first having to obtain the approval of the
Senate. Hortensius died before resigning his office, and was probably replaced by a dictator suffectus, the only instance of such an appointment in Roman history.[i][11]
Lucius Hortensius,
praetor in 170 BC, was given the command of the fleet in the war against
Perseus. When the city of
Abdera appealed from his demands for money and wheat, he stormed the city, had the leaders beheaded, and sold the rest into slavery. The Roman Senate repudiated these acts, and ordered that the people be set free. Hortensius continued to despoil Greece, and was upbraided for his harshness to the
Chalcidians, but does not seem to have been recalled or punished.[12][13]
Lucius Hortensius, father of the orator, was praetor in
Sicily in 97 BC, where his administration was remembered for its honesty and justice. He married Sempronia, daughter of
Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus.[15]
Lucius Hortensius L. f., elder brother of the orator, was
legate under
Sulla during the
First Mithridatic War. He acquitted himself admirably in the build-up to the
Battle of Chaeronea, and again during the battle, despite the inferior size of his force.[16][17][18]
Hortensia L. f., sister of the orator, married Marcus Valerius Messala. Her brother considered naming Hortensia's son as his heir, in preference to his own son, from whom he was estranged.[20]
Quintus Hortensius Q. f. L. n. Hortalus, son of the orator, from whom he was estranged. Just before the
Civil War, he joined
Caesar in
Cisalpine Gaul, and it was Hortensius whom Caesar sent across the
Rubicon. Proscribed after the death of Caesar, Hortensius had
Gaius Antonius, brother of the triumvir, put to death in revenge. For this, he was executed upon Antonius' grave after the
Battle of Philippi.[21][20][22][23]
Hortensia Q. f. L. n., daughter of the orator, intervened on behalf of the wealthy Roman matrons when the
triumvirs proposed a special tax to pay for the war against
Brutus and
Cassius. She spoke with eloquence worthy of her father.[24][25][26]
Hortensius Q. f. L. n. Hortalus, second son of the orator from his marriage to
Marcia.[27]
Quintus Hortensius Q. f. Q. n. Corbio, grandson of the orator, described by
Valerius Maximus "as a person sunk in base and brutal profligacy."[28][27]
Marcius Hortalus, grandson of the orator and Marcia, was impoverished, but
Augustus gave him sufficient income for his senatorial rank, and provided for his marriage. However, he made little of his fortune, and was once again impoverished by the reign of
Tiberius.[29][30][31][27] His name Marcius Hortalus indicates that he or his father was adopted by a male relative of Marcia.[32]
Aulus Hortensius, father of Sextus Hortensius Clarus.
^The names of three dictators of this period have been preserved, whose years of office are unknown; one was probably dictator suffectus following Hortensius' death. They were Marcus Aemilius Barbula,
Appius Claudius Caecus, and
Publius Cornelius Rufinus. Mommsen thought Claudius the most likely to have succeeded Hortensius.[10]
References
^
abcdDictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 525 ("Hortensia Gens").
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (
Cassius Dio), Roman History.
Wilhelm Drumann, Geschichte Roms in seinem Übergang von der republikanischen zur monarchischen Verfassung, oder: Pompeius, Caesar, Cicero und ihre Zeitgenossen, Königsberg (1834–1844).