Novus homo
Also known as: homo novus
- 1Latin term meaning new man.
- 2Refers to the first in a family to serve in the Roman Senate.
- 3Specifically denotes the first in a family to be elected consul.
- 4Highlights the social hierarchy of the Roman Republic.
- 5Represents an exception to aristocratic dominance in politics.
Novus homo or homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul.
Connections1
defines Marius's unique status in the Roman political hierarchy
Marius was the quintessential 'new man' who reached the consulship without a family tradition of high office, breaking the monopoly of the established nobility.
The term novus homo, or "new man," was a specific political designation in Ancient Rome used to describe an individual who was the first in their family to achieve high office. Specifically, it referred to a man who was the first of his lineage to serve in the Roman Senate.
CiceroWikimedia Commons: File:Bust_of_Cicero_(1st-cent._BC)_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg In a more exclusive sense, the title was applied to those who reached the pinnacle of the Roman political career by being elected as consul. This status highlighted the rigid social and political hierarchy of the Republic, where ancestral prestige and family history were typically required for advancement, making the rise of a novus homo a notable exception to traditional aristocratic dominance.