Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

But Dionysius is incorrect in saying that Romulus used a chariot.

For it is matter of history that Tarquin, the son of Demaratus, was first of the kings to lift triumphs up to such pomp and ceremony, although others say that Publicula was first to celebrate a triumph riding on a chariot.

And the statues of Romulus bearing the trophies are, as may be seen in Rome, all on foot.

After the capture of the Cinninensians, while the rest of the Sabines were still busy with their preparations, the people of Fidinae, Crustumerium, and Antemnae banded together against the Romans, and in a battle which ensued they were likewise defeated and surrendered to Romulus their cities to be seized, their territory to be divided, and themselves to be transported to Rome.

She longed to be the wedded wife of the Gallic chieftain, and betrayed the homes of her fathers.

And a little after, speaking of her death, Her the Boii and the myriad tribes of Gauls did not, exulting, cast amid the currents of the Po, but hurled the shields from their belligerent arms upon the hateful maid, and made their ornament her doom.

However, Tarpeia was buried there, and the hill was called from her Tarpeius, until King Tarquin dedicated the place to Jupiter, when her bones were removed and the name of Tarpeia died out, except that a cliff on the Capitol is still called the Tarpeian Rock, from which they hurl malefactors.

The citadel thus occupied by the Sabines, Romulus angrily challenged them to battle, and Tatius was bold enough to accept, since he saw that the Sabines, if worsted, had a strong place of retreat.

They feared lest in his wrath he should attach himself to the royal exiles and subvert the established order of the city, which was in a dangerous pass.

But when Brutus, who had his suspicions of certain others also, desired the senators to take a sacrificial oath and set a day for the ceremony, Valerius went down with a glad countenance into the forum and was the first to take oath that he would make no submission or concession to the Tarquins, but would fight with all his might in defense of freedom.

This pleased the senate and inspired the consuls with courage, and his actions speedily confirmed his oath.

For envoys came from Tarquin bringing letters calculated to seduce the people, and specious words by which they thought the multitude were most likely to be corrupted, coming as they did from a king who seemed to have humbled himself and to ask only moderate terms.

All these, by the mother's side, were nephews of Colatinus the consul, and besides the Vitellii were related in another manner to Brutus.

For Brutus had married a sister of theirs, and she had borne him several sons.

Two of these, who had come to manhood, and were near kindred and close companions, the Vitellii won over and persuaded to join the plot for betraying the city, and to ally themselves with the great family and the royal expectations of the Tarquins, and rid themselves of the stupidity and cruelty of their father.

For they gave the name of cruelty to that father's inexorable treatment of criminals, and as for his stupidity, he had for a long time, as it appears, feigned and assumed this to ensure his safety among the cruel designs of the tyrants, and afterwards the surname of Brutus, which had been given him for it, clung to him.

Chapter four, That an usurper is never safe in his princedom while those live whom he has deprived of it.

From what befell the elder Tarquin at the hands of the sons of Ancus, and Servius Tullius at the hands of Tarquin the Proud, we see what an arduous and perilous course it is to strip a king of his kingdom, and yet suffer him to live on, hoping to conciliate him by benefits.

We see, too, how the elder Tarquin was ruined by his belief that he held the kingdom by a just title.

Since it had been given to him by the people and confirmed to him by the Senate, never suspecting that the sons of Ancus would be so stirred by resentment that it would be impossible to content them with what contented all the rest of Rome.

Servius Tullius again was ruined through believing that he could conciliate the sons of Ancus by loading them with favors.

By the fate of the first of these kings, every prince may be warned that he can never live securely in his princedom so long as those from whom he has taken it survive.

While the fate of the second should remind all rulers that old injuries are not to be healed by subsequent benefits, and least of all when the new benefit is less in degree than the injury suffered.

And truly, Servius was wanting in wisdom when he imagined that the sons of Tarquin would contentedly resign themselves to be the sons-in-law of one whom they thought should be their subject.

That's it.

Um, becomes a republic in 509 BC when Tarquin the Proud's kicked out by, um, the nobility there.

And it's from that point onwards the Romans slice away, not always winning by the way.

No.

For centuries, Romans had told themselves that they were different from the kingdoms surrounding them.

Rome had once been ruled by kings, but according to Roman tradition, its last king had been driven out, and the republic was born in his place.

No Roman politician wanted to be called a king, and yet Caesar was beginning to look like one.

He held extraordinary political power.

His soldiers were fiercely loyal to him, and now his dictatorship had no expiration date.

He had gone to Gaul as an ambitious politician who needed military experience and financial security.

He would eventually leave Gaul as one of the most famous generals in the Roman world, with a fortune, a reputation for extraordinary victories, and an army that would become deeply loyal to him.

Gaul was not a single unified kingdom waiting to be conquered.

Sextus Tarquinius, having retired to Gabii as if to his own dominions, was slain by some persons who were glad of an opportunity of gratifying old animosities which he had excited there by his rapine and murders.

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus reigned twenty-five years.

The government of kings continued from the building of the city to the establishment of its liberty two hundred and forty-four years.

After that, in an assembly of the centuries held by the prefect of the city, were elected, conformably to a plan found in the commentaries of Servius Tullius, two magistrates called consuls.

Priscus first began.

Next indeed reigned Servilius Tullius.

Yet though that interruption occurred, Tarquinius Superbus never lost sight of the crown, so as to consider it the right of another, but by violence and by flagitious means reclaimed it as the inheritance of his family.

Now that Superbus had been expelled, the government was in the hands of Colatinus.

After murdering her sister and her brother-in-law, she overthrows her own father, and that is how she comes alive.

to the throne and how Lucius Tarquinius becomes the king and it is their son, Sextus, who assaults Lucretia.

So what we're looking at is the foundation myth told from Lucretia's point of view and Tullius' point of view, remembering that Livy is doing this.

Ovid gets involved here as well in telling a story in which the ending will be the success of the Romans to extricate themselves from wickedness.

But in the centre thickest were ranged the shields of foes, and from the centre loudest the cry of battle rose.

There Tiber marched and Bedam, beneath proud Tarquin's rule, and Ferentinum of the rock and Gabii of the pool.

There rode the Volscian suckers, there in a dark stern ring, the Roman exiles gathered close around the ancient king.

Though white as Mount Seracti, When winter nights are long, His beard flowed down over mail and belt, His heart and hand were strong, Under his hoary eyebrows Still flashed forth quenchless rage, And if the lance shook in his grip, T'was more with hate than age.

Close at his side was Titus, On an apple-leon steed, Titus the youngest Tarquin, Too good for such a breed.

Now on each side the leaders gave signal for the charge and on each side the footmen strode on with lance and targe and on each side the horsemen struck their spurs deep in gore and front to front the armies met with a mighty roar and under that great battle the earth with blood was red and like the pompteen fog at morn the dust hung overhead and louder still and louder rose from the darkened field the braying of the war-horns the clang of sword and shield the rush of squadrons sweeping like whirlwinds over the plain the shouting of the slayers and screeching of the slain false sextus rode out foremost his look was high and bold his corslet was of bison's hide plated with steel and gold as glares the famished eagle from the Degentian rock on a choice lamb that bounds alone before Bandusia's flock.

Euminius glared on Sextus and came with eagle speed, Euminius on black ooster, brave champion on brave steed, in his right hand the broadsword that kept the bridge so well, and on his helm the crown he won when proud Fidinae fell.

Woe to the maid whose lover shall cross his path to-day false sextus saw and trembled and turned and fled away as turns as flies the woodman in the calabrian brake when through the reeds gleams the round eye of that fell speckled snake so turned so fled false sextus and hid him in the rear behind the dark lavinian ranks bristling with crest and spear but far to the north the master of the knights gave tubero of norba to feed the porcian kites next under those red horse-hooves flaccus of setia lay better had he been pruning among his elms that day maemilius saw the slaughter and tossed his golden crest and towards the master of the knights through the thick battle pressed abutius smote maemilius so fiercely on the shield that the great lord of tusculum well nigh rolled on the field mamilius smote obutius with a good aim and true just where the neck and shoulder join and pierced him through and through and brave obutius elver fell swooning to the ground but a thick wall of bucklers encompassed him around his clients from the battle bare him some little space and filled a helm from the dark lake and bathed his brow and face and when at last he opened his swimming eyes to light men say the earliest word he spake was friends how goes the fight but meanwhile in the centre great deeds of arms were wrought there aulus the dictator and there valerius fought Aulus with his good broadsword a bloody passage cleared, to where amidst the thickest foes he saw the long white beard.