request: clarification of 'curia'

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request: clarification of 'curia'

Postby Lucius Tyrrhenus Garrulus on Thu Feb 05, 2004 9:48 am

SALVETE OMNES, S.V.B.E.V.

I'm reading T.J. Cornell's The Beginnings of Rome and I'm having trouble understanding the curia mentioned on p116:
Each curia had a leader with the title curio, who had to be over 50 years of age and held office for life. One of these leaders was chosen as head of all the curiae, the curio maximus. In the early Republic this post was always held by a patrician, which is not suprising; but in 209 BC a plebeian curio maximus was elected, which means that the curiae included plebeians in the third century, and probably always had.
So... what was their purpose? Were they the government in the early Republic?

Cornell says in the previous paragraph that "Romans who did not belong to gentes, if indeed such people existed, could not belong to curiae."
Does this mean that these curiae were hereditary instead of elected?

MULTAS GRATIAS VALETEQUE BENE!
NOX EST PERPETVA VNA DORMIENDA
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Postby Aulus Dionysius Mencius on Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:57 am

Salve

What are Curiae? What I have found is this:


Technically speaking, the Curia is the house where the senators met and the Senate House was the Curia Hostilia (named for the king, Tullus Hostilius, who built it prior to the founding of the Republic). It was repaired often, especially and finally by Sulla and his son. Relocated by Caesar, the Curia Julia was finished after his death honor of Julius Caesar.

The word "curia" refers to the original 10 elected curiae (Clan leaders) of the three original tribes of Romans: Tities, Ramnes and Luceres. These 30 men met in the Comitia(meeting) Curiata. This assembly was responsible for ratifying the succession of kings (Lex Curiata) from which the king derived his Imperium. Whether the curiae became lictors or the lictors replaced the curiae, it was the lictors (by 218 BC) who met in the comitia curtiata to grant imperium to the newly elected consuls and praetors and dictators of the Republic. This same assembly was required to witness a man changing from Patrician to Plebian, a move that opened up many moThe Pontifex Maximus convened the assembly to confirm certain priestsre political offices than the Patricians could hold in the later Republic. , and to witness certain testimentary wills and adoptions (required to perpetuate patrician status of the heir whose blood might not be partician).

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Postby Aulus Dionysius Mencius on Thu Feb 05, 2004 11:04 am

Hello again.

If you want quick reference to an ancient term, I can recommend Questia, which is the largest online library.

see http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp?CRID=r ... &OFFID=se1
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