Rethinking Hostire as Aequare in Festus, s.v. Status dies

This paper offers a reexamination of Festus’ gloss on status dies, with a particular focus on the equation hostire as aequare and the statement that hostes were pari iure cum populo Romano. It contends that both formulations are properly understood only within the procedural context explicitly posited by the gloss. The equality under discussion is thus neither a broad parity of status nor an concept derived from hospitality or reciprocity, but the precise legal equivalence necessary for a regulated dispute between a Roman and a foreigner. From this standpoint, the study advances a novel reading of hostis, hostire, and aequare within the conceptual and linguistic framework of archaic Roman law.