The gens Fabia was one of the most ancient patrician families at Rome. The gens played a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic, and three brothers were invested with seven successive consulships, from 485 to 479 BC, thereby cementing the high repute of the family. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the Battle of the Cremera, 477 BC. But the Fabii were not distinguished as warriors alone; several members of the gens were also important in the history of Roman literature and the arts.

Background

The family is generally thought to have been counted amongst the gentes maiores, the most prominent of the patrician houses at Rome, together with the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Manlii, and Valerii; but no list of the gentes maiores has survived, and even the number of families so designated is a complete mystery. Until 480 BC, the Fabii were staunch supporters of the aristocratic policies favoring the patricians and the senate against the plebs. However, following a great battle that year against the Veientes, in which victory was achieved only by cooperation between the generals and their soldiers, the Fabii aligned themselves with the people. Throughout the history of the Republic, they were frequently allied with other prominent families against the Claudii, the proudest and most aristocratic of all Roman gentes, and the champions of the established order.

Fabius (foaled April 6, 1953) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career that lasted from 1955 through 1957, he ran sixty-two times and won eighteen races. He is best known for his performances in the 1956 Triple Crown: after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. he won the Preakness Stakes and finished third in the Belmont Stakes.

Background

Fabius was a "delicate-looking" brown horse bred and raced by Lexington, Kentucky's Calumet Farm. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Citation, who won the 1948 U.S. Triple Crown for Calumet in 1948 and became an inductee of the Hall of Fame. Citation was considered a disappointment as a stallion, and Fabius was his only winner of a Triple Crown race. He was out of the mare Shameen, a daughter of British Eclipse Stakes winner Royal Minstrel, who was a son of 2,000 Guineas Stakes winner Tetratema. As a member of Thoroughbred "Family" 3-o, Fabius was distantly related to the British Classic winners Santa Claus, Carrozza and Shahrastani. Although Fabius was bred in Kentucky, his pedigree was overwhelmingly European: of the sixteen horses in the fourth generation of his pedigree, only two were of American origin.

Fabius was a Roman family name, the nomen of the gens Fabia.

Fabius may also refer to:

People

Places in the United States

Other uses

See also