Talk:Junius (gens)

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[edit] Patrician?

The whole idea that Lucius Brutus & Marcus Brutus were not related is rather circular. The *only* evidence that the former was a patrician is that he is said to have been consul. But it is not at all clear that the consulship was limited to patricians only at that early date (see the article on "Roman Consul", which mentions that some 30% of the early consuls were plebeian).

Cf. The Oxford Classical Dictionary s.v. Iunius Brutus, Lucius: "The plebeian status of the later Iunii has raised doubts about the authenticity of his [sc. Lucius Brutus'] consulship or the alleged early patrician monopoly of the office."

So there is no reason to rule out the idea that the two were, in fact, related as the Romans thought. 66.31.47.139 02:56, 25 August 2007 (UTC)