Titus Aebutius Helva

Titus Aebutius T. f. Elva or Helva was the first member of the patrician gens Aebutia to obtain the Roman consulship, which he held in 499 BC.[1] He was magister equitum under Aulus Postumius Albus at the Battle of Lake Regillus. He was the father of Lucius Aebutius Elva, consul in 463 BC.[2]

Consulship

Aebutius was elected consul for the year 499 BC, with Gaius Veturius Geminus. Livius relates that during their consulship, the town of Fidenae was besieged, Crustumeria was taken, and Praeneste joined the Roman cause. However, there is no report of which actions were undertaken by each consul.[3]

Battle of Lake Regillus

For some time, the expectation of war between Rome and the Latins had been growing. The year after Aebutius' consulship, Aulus Postumius Albus was chosen as dictator, and as his magister equitum he nominated Aebutius. They marched into Latium, where they met a Latin army under the command of Octavius Mamilius, the dictator of Tusculum.

In the course of the battle, Aebutius and Mamilius, both on horseback, charged at one another and inflicted serious injuries. The Tuscan prince was wounded in the breast, and taken to the rear, while Aebutius' arm was so severely injured by Mamilius' lance that he had to withdraw from the fighting, and direct his forces at a distance. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Romans.[4][5]

Envoy

About 493 BC, Aebutius was one of ten envoys sent by the senate to treat with the plebeians during the first seccessio plebis.[6][7]

See also

• Aebutia (gens)

References

1. Dionysius (Halicarnassensis) (1758). The Roman Antiquities. pp. 404–.
2. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 11 ("Elva").
3. Livy, ii. 19.
4. Livy, ii. 18-20.
5. Dionysius, v. 58, vi. 2, 4, 5, 11.
6. Dionysius, vi. 69, 81.
7. Broughton, vol. I, p. 15.

Bibliography

• Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia (Roman Antiquities).
• Titus Livius (Livy), History of Rome.
• Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
• T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association (1952–1986).

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Elva (1)". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 2. p. 11.