History
The Valeria family was one of the most ancient and most celebrated at Rome; and no other Roman family was distinguished for so long a period, although a few others, such as the Cornelia family, produced a greater number of illustrious men. The Valerii are universally admitted to have been of Sabine origin, and their ancestor Volesus or Volusus is said to have settled at Rome with Titus Tatius.
One of the descendants of this Volesus, P. Valerius, afterwards surnamed Publicola, plays a distinguished part in the story of the expulsion of the kings, and was elected consul in the first year of the republic, 509 BC.
The Valeria gens enjoyed extraordinary honours and privileges at Rome. Their house at the bottom of the Velia was the only one in Rome of which the doors were allowed to open back into the street. In the Circus Maximus a conspicuous place was set apart for them, where a small throne was erected, an honour of which there was no other example among the Romans. They were also allowed to bury their dead within the walls, a privilege which was also granted to some other gentes; and when they had exchanged the older custom of interment for that of burning the corpse, although they did not light the funeral pile on their burying-ground, the bier was set down there, as a symbolical way of preserving their right. Niebuhr, who mentions these distinctions, conjectures that among the gradual changes of the constitution from a monarchy to an aristocracy, the Valeria family for a time possessed the right that one of its members should exercise the kingly power for the Tides, to which tribe the Valerii must have belonged, as their Sabine origin indicates; but on this point, as on many others in early Roman history, it is impossible to come to any certainty.
The Valerii in early times were always foremost in advocating the rights of the plebeians, and the laws which they proposed at various times were the great charters of the liberties of the second order.
Current Events
In the time of Pax Romana, House Valerius has fallen upon hard times. Too many of the noble men of the family have died in recent nights. However, their name is strong and there are hopes that the next generation will restore the great house.
Religion
The two patron gods of this house are Mars and Juno.
Valerius is considered to be a patron house god. He was deified after his establishing the republic.
Important Members of House Valerius
Head of House: Quintus Valerius Orca
Captain: Darius Valerius
Historian: Valerius Maximus
Poet: Marcus Valerius Martialis