Lucius Sextius
Encyclopedia
Lucius Sextius Lateranus was a Roman tribune of the plebs
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...

 and is noted for having been one of two men (the other being Gaius Licinius
Gaius Licinius Stolo
Gaius Licinius Stolo, along with Lucius Sextius, was one of the two tribunes of ancient Rome who opened the consulship to the plebeians.Records indicate he was tribune from 376 BC to 367 BC, during which he passed the Lex Licinia Sextia restoring the consulship, requiring a plebeian consul seat,...

) behind the Lex Licinia Sextia
Lex Licinia Sextia
Lex Licinia Sextia was a Roman law introduced around 376 BCE and enacted in 367 BCE. It restored the consulship, allegedly reserved one of the two consular positions for a plebeian , and introduced new limits on the possession of conquered land.- Authors :It is named for the plebeian tribunes Gaius...

, permitting him in 366 BC to become what is often considered the "first plebeian consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

". This last is a controversial statement as some historians consider that something near a third of early consuls have names stemming from plebeian families. It has been suggested that the later Roman historians, from whom we draw this claim, may have been coloring their own class struggles on this time period (See Conflict of the Orders
Conflict of the Orders
The Conflict of the Orders, also referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the Plebeians and Patricians of the ancient Roman Republic, in which the Plebeians sought political equality with the Patricians. It played a major role in the development of the...

). Whatever the truth behind the claim, the Lex Licinia Sextia worked to ensure that one of the two annually elected consuls could be plebeian. It was not until the Lex Genucia
Leges Genuciae
Leges Genuciae were laws proposed in 342 BC by plebeian consul Lucius Genucius.These laws banned lending that carried interest , holding two magistrates at the same time or repeated holding of office within 10 years...

 of 342 BC that one of the consuls had to be plebeian, despite contrary claims by some of our sources.

Perhaps more remarkable than the actual law, if we are to believe the historians of the period, is the degree to which L. Sextius and Gaius Licinius
Gaius Licinius Stolo
Gaius Licinius Stolo, along with Lucius Sextius, was one of the two tribunes of ancient Rome who opened the consulship to the plebeians.Records indicate he was tribune from 376 BC to 367 BC, during which he passed the Lex Licinia Sextia restoring the consulship, requiring a plebeian consul seat,...

 were able to disrupt the normal election of major magistrates (no curule magistrates elected from 375 BC to 371 BC after which problems with Velitrae prompted them to permit the elections) and therefore help to set the stage for the law that would resume the consulship with a forced plebeian seat.

Basic data

  • Full Name: Lucius Sextius Sextus (filius) N. (nepos) Sextinus Lateranus
  • Born:
  • Died:
  • Family:

Offices held

  • Tribune of the Plebs
    Tribune
    Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...

     375 BC – 367 BC
  • Consul
    Consul
    Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

     366 BC (co-consul to Lucius Aemilius Mamercus)

Notable actions

  • Responsible, with Gaius Licinius
    Gaius Licinius Stolo
    Gaius Licinius Stolo, along with Lucius Sextius, was one of the two tribunes of ancient Rome who opened the consulship to the plebeians.Records indicate he was tribune from 376 BC to 367 BC, during which he passed the Lex Licinia Sextia restoring the consulship, requiring a plebeian consul seat,...

    , for the Lex Licinia Sextia
    Lex Licinia Sextia
    Lex Licinia Sextia was a Roman law introduced around 376 BCE and enacted in 367 BCE. It restored the consulship, allegedly reserved one of the two consular positions for a plebeian , and introduced new limits on the possession of conquered land.- Authors :It is named for the plebeian tribunes Gaius...

     in 367 BC
  • Became first of the new yearly required plebeian consuls in 366 BC

See also

  • Sextia (gens)
    Sextia (gens)
    The gens Sextia was a plebeian family at Rome, from the time of the early Republic and continuing into imperial times. The most famous member of the gens was Lucius Sextius Lateranus, who as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of the annual magistrates, until the...

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