The gens Nautia was an old
patrician family at
ancient Rome. The first of the
gens to obtain the
consulship was
Spurius Nautius Rutilus in 488 BC, and from then until the
Samnite Wars the Nautii regularly filled the highest offices of the
Roman Republic. After that time, the Nautii all but disappear from the record, appearing only in a handful of inscriptions, mostly from Rome and
Latium.[1] A few Nautii occur in
imperial times, including a number who appear to have been
freedmen, and in the provinces.
Origin
Little is known about the origin of the
nomenNautius, or whether it has any connection with nauta, a sailor. The Nautii themselves claimed to be descended from Nautes or Nautius, a companion of
Aeneas, who brought the
Palladium, a sacred statue of
Athena from
Troy. His descendants, the Nautii, were said to have protected and maintained the Palladium into Roman times.[2][3][1]
Praenomina
All of the Nautii known from the early Republic bore the
praenominaSpurius or Gaius. The later Nautii used Marcus, Gaius, Publius, Lucius, and Quintus, all of which were very common names throughout Roman history.
Branches and cognomina
All of the Nautii mentioned in history bore the surname Rutilus, which means "reddish", and probably signified that one of the early Nautii had red hair.[1][4]
Members
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Gaius Nautius Sp. f. Sp. n. Rutilus, consul in 475 BC, had the conduct of the war against the Volsci. Unable to force a confrontation, he ravaged their territory. During his second consulship in 458, he fought successfully against the
Sabines, but when his colleague was defeated by the
Aequi, he was asked to nominate
Roman dictator, and chose
Cincinnatus.[8][9][10]
Gaius Nautius Sp. f. Sp. n. Rutilus,[ii] consul in 411 BC.[16][17]
Spurius Nautius Sp. f. Sp. n. Rutilus, consul in 316 BC.[18][14][19]
Spurius Nautius Rutilus, an officer serving under the consul Lucius Papirius Cursor in 293, was rewarded for his bravery against the
Samnites at Aquilonia.[20][21]
Nautius (Rutilus), a military tribune in 256 BC, during the
First Punic War, opposed the plan of the consul
Marcus Atilius Regulus the war to Africa, but Regulus threatened him with death if he did not obey his orders.[23]
^Under 404 BC, Livy describes Rutilus as consular tribune for the second time, although he also described the two prior occasions.
^Broughton notes that this Nautius is only named Gaius in Livy; in other sources he is Spurius, and Broughton identifies him with the consular tribune of 419, 416, and 404.