The gens Poetelia or Poetilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of the Decemvirs, and from thence down to the Second Punic War, they regularly held the chief magistracies of the Roman state. After this, however, they fade into obscurity, and are only occasionally mentioned. The nomen Poetelius is sometimes confused with Petillius, and can be found with either a single or double 'l'. Branches and cognomina The only distinct family of the Poetelii is Libo, a sprinkler, probably referring to one who pours libations during a sacrifice. Most of this family also bore the surname Visolus. Livy refers to the consul of 360 BC as Gaius Poetelius Balbus, but other sources refer to him as Libo. Members Quintus Poetelius Libo Visolus, one of the plebeian members of the second decemvirate, which held power at Rome from 450 to 449 BC, before being overthrown. Gaius Poetelius Q. f. Libo Visolus, the father of Gaius Poetilius Libo Visolus, consul in 360 BC. Gaius Poetelius C. f. Q. n. Libo Visolus, consul in 360 BC, defeated the Tiburtines and the Gauls, and was awarded a triumph. As tribune of the plebs in 358, he had passed a law intended to curb ambitus (bribery). He was consul again in 346 and 326, and in the latter year passed the lex Poetelia Papiria, abolishing a form of debt bondage. Gaius Poetelius C. f. C. n. Libo Visolus, dictator in 313 BC, during the Second Samnite War, he had some success against the Samnites, but some authorities credit the consul, Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus. Niebuhr and Müller suggest that it was he, rather than his father, who brought forward the lex Poetelia Papiria. Marcus Poetelius M. f. M. n. Libo, consul in 314 BC, and magister equitum to the dictator Gaius Poetelius Libo in 313. Despite his victories over the Samnites, he was denied the honour of a triumph. Publius Poetelius, one of three ambassadors sent to Syphax, the king of Numidia, in 210 BC. Gaius Poetilius C. f. Paullus, a soldier in the praetorian guard, buried at Rome, aged twenty-seven, having served for eight years. Publius Poetellius P. l. Syrys, a freedman who worked as a lanista, or gladiator trainer, buried at Rome, aged forty-eight. Footnotes See also List of Roman gentes References Bibliography Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica (Library of History). Titus Livius