Talk:Stertinia gens

Polyonymy makes a mess of everything

My attention was drawn to the entry for Lucius Stertinius C. f. Quintilianus Acilius Strabo Gaius Curiatius Maternus Clodius Nummus who is identified here as one of the consuls of 146. However, checking against List of Roman consuls, he lacks an entry for that year. Moreover, we happen to know all of the consuls of that year, & the names of none of them match Clodius Nummus. Not to say there was never a consul with Clodius Nummus' full name. If you look at the article for Gaius Clodius Nummus, consul in 114, you will find him tentatively identified with Lucius Stertinius C. f. Quintilianus Acilius Strabo Gaius Curiatius Maternus Clodius Nummus. (The polyonymous Clodius Nummus offers little further information for his flourit than that polyonymy was far more common in the 2nd century than any other period, thus encouraging us to date him to that century, or at the earliest that last quarter of the 1st century.) Obviously there is a problem here, apparently due to Martin Klonnek's authority, & I'd like to look at this explanation for dating Clodius Nummus here.

That's not to say a Lucius Stertinius Quintillianus Acilius Strabo wasn't consul in this year: the full name of Quintus Cornelius Proculus is Lucius Stertinius Quintillianus Acilius Strabo Quintus Cornelius Proculus. Could these two have been inadvertently confused? (I'll admit that it is often hard to keep Roman names distinct, not only due to polyonymy but the annoying habit of oldest sons having the identical name as their father. Note the full names of the emperors Vespasian & his oldest son Titus.) Olli Salomies identifies the consul of 146, Cornelius Proculus, as the adoptive son of the consul of 114, C. Clodius Nummus. We really can't be entirely sure of many identifications due to polyonymy, a practice which serves to hide relationships from modern historians, & raises issues of just how many families died out & which survived from Republican times into the second century & beyond. Until I understand Klonnek's reasoning, I'm inclined to follow Salomies. In any case, we have another person to add to this list. -- llywrch (talk) 23:15, 13 March 2021 (UTC)