The primary sources of both Dio and Livy agree on this point: Livy's version is:[17]. Lucretia. Prince Tarquinius (Grzegorz Sobczak) hurries to Lucretia in the play 'The Desecration of Lucretia' by Benjamin Britten (rehearsal photo of 24.09.2020). Superbus would indeed turn out to be Rome's last king, and the Republic set off on its road to greatness. Again according to the Roman historian Livy, the new king swiftly removed all dissenting senators and established himself as the dictator of Rome, modelling his reign on the Greek tyrants of that period. By kinship he was a Tarquin on his mother's side, the son of Tarquinia, daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the third king before last. Sie war berühmt für ihre Schönheit und noch mehr für ihre Tugendhaftigkeit. Lucius Tarquinius' early reign saw the king embark on a campaign of ambitious expansion, waging war against the Etruscans, Volci, and Latins. He then ruled the city state as an absolute despot, hence his epithet “Superbus” or “the Proud.” During Tarquin’s reign of terror, many senators were put to death. In 1932, the play Lucrece was produced on Broadway, starring legendary actress Katharine Cornell in the title part. Ernst Krenek set Emmet Lavery's libretto Tarquin (1940), a version in a contemporary setting. "Lucius Tarquinius Superbus." This is the internal deliberation Lucrece suffered from, following the rape.[25]. Titian 's Tarquin and Lucretia (1571) Tarquinius and Lucretia (1610), by Rubens ( Hermitage Museum) Sextus Tarquinius was the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, according to Livy, but by Dionysius of Halicarnassus he was the oldest of the three. According to Dionysius, "This dreadful scene struck the Romans who were present with so much horror and compassion that they all cried out with one voice that they would rather die a thousand deaths in defense of their liberty than suffer such outrages to be committed by the tyrants."[10]. Tarquin was received with great hospitality at the governor's mansion, home of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, son of the king's nephew, Arruns Tarquinius, former governor of Collatia and first of the Tarquinii Collatini. There are no contemporary sources of Lucretia and the event. Spurius Lucretius, father of Collatinus' wife Lucretia and prefect of Rome,[7] made sure that the king's son was treated as a guest and a figure of his rank. The sons of the King of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, are at Ardea, a city which the army is attempting to conquer, when they hear of the virtue of the Roman matron Lucretia. Such colourful descriptions by a Roman author writing five centuries after the events are likely tinged with a bias eager to display the difference between virtuous republic-loving Romans and dastardly foreign kings from immoral Etruria. It was this incident which catapulted the downfall of the Roman monarchy and made Rome a … Lucretia became an important embodiment of political and literary ideals for different authors throughout the ages, specifically because "stories of sexual violence against women serve as foundational myths of Western culture."[20]. Tarquin tried to convince Lucretia that she should be with him, using "every argument likely to influence a female heart. Version two of the story, the more credible one, has Porsenna victorious and Rome surrendering to the Etruscan king, who then, far from reinstalling Superbus, acted to abolish the monarchy of Rome and then used the city as a base to attack the Latin cities starting with Aricia in 504 BCE. Cartwright, M. (2017, March 03). Shakespeare's poem, based on the rape of Lucretia, draws on the beginning of the Livy's account of the incident. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. She is tall, around the same height as her 5'10\" husband, and has blue eyes. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ('Tarquin the Proud') was traditionally the seventh and last king of ancient Rome before it became a republic. According to Roman tradition, Lucretia , anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subsequent suicide precipitated a rebellion that overthrew the Roman monarchy and led to the transition of Roman government from a kingdom to a republic. Needing to acquire the assent of the population as a whole, they paraded Lucretia through the streets, summoning the plebeians to legal assembly in the forum. The semi-legendary Roman histories tell that while the king was away on campaign, his son Sextus Tarquinius raped a noblewoman, Lucretia. In the alternative story, he returned from camp a few days later with one companion to take Collatinus up on his invitation to visit and was lodged in a guest bedroom. Sextus Tarquinius Superbus, een van de koningszonen, vatte bij de aanblik van Lucretia's schoon- en kuisheid een ongeoorloofde begeerte naar haar op. Lucretia was the daughter of magistrate Spurius Lucretius and the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. According to Roman tradition, his rape of Lucretia was the precipitating event in the overthrow of the monarchy and the … One day, Sextus invited his friends for supper and drinks at his house. WikiMatrix According to legend, while Collatinus was away from home, his cousin, Sextus Tarquinius , son of the king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, came to his house by night. Books It is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. In Book VII, he tells the "Tale of the Rape of Lucrece." Ovid recounts the story of Lucretia in Book II of his Fasti, published in 8 AD, concentrating on the bold over-reaching character of Tarquin. "[9] However, Lucretia stood firm in her devotion to her husband, even when Tarquin threatened her life and honor, while ultimately raping her. Web. Late at night, the prince entered Lucretia's room, and … The men fight over which of their wives best exemplified sophrosyne, an ideal of superb moral and intellectual character. When she awoke, he identified himself and offered her two choices: she could submit to his sexual advances and become his wife and future queen, or he would kill her and one of her slaves and place the bodies together, then claim he had caught her having adulterous sex (see sexuality in ancient Rome for Roman attitudes toward sex). This he achieved with the backing of the Roman people. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 03 Mar 2017. Because of her devotion to her husband, Roman writers Livy and Dionysus outline Lucretia as the role model for Roman girls. Failing to take their capital of Ardea by storm, the king determined to take the city by siege. She is also mentioned in the poem "Appius and Virginia" by John Webster and Thomas Heywood, which includes the following lines: Two fair, but ladies most infortunate, Italy. Collatinus, seeing his wife dead, became distraught. [1] While her husband was away at battle, Lucretia would stay at home and pray for his safe return. [4], As the events of the story move rapidly, the date of the Lucretia's rape is most likely the same year as the first of the fasti. Toen hij als gast in het huis van Tarquinius Collatinus verbleef, [2] onteerde hij Lucretia met geweld, waarmee hij twee misdaden in een keer beging (zowel tegen een Romeinse dame, als tegen de wetten van de gastvrijheid). Lucretia, the spouse of Roman general Collatinus, is a paragon of virtue and true love. Tarquin and Lucretia is an oil painting by Titian completed in 1571, when the artist was in his eighties, for Philip II of Spain.It is signed, and considered to have been finished entirely by Titian himself. He entered Lucretia's room while she lay naked in her bed and started to wash her belly with water, which woke her up. Following Mamilius' defeat at the Battle of Lake Regillus (499 or 496 BCE) to the Romans aided by Castor and Pollux, Lucius Tarquinius moved on to Cumae in Campania where he was hosted by the tyrant Aristodemus until his death in 495 BCE. The story of Esther lay somewhere between these two extremes. Brutus happened to be a politically motivated participant. [29], late 6th century BC Roman noblewoman whose rape by an Etruscan prince led to the overthrow of the monarchy, "Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book I. Lucius Tarquinius' early reign saw the king embark on a campaign of ambitious expansion, waging, by Georges Jansoone (JoJan) (Public Domain). A few days later, Sextus Tarquinius secretly returned to the house of Collatinus Tarquinius, where he was given dinner and lodging by Lucretia. Etruscan Civilizationby NormanEinstein (GNU FDL). Lucius Tarquinius Superbus' wife was Tullia, the younger daughter of Servius Tullius, Rome's 6th king. Once again, the legend conveniently portrays the Etruscans as lacking any class and the Romans as saviours of virtue, but, in all probability, the whole story covers a more mundane dynastic struggle for power between the royal household and the upper aristocracy which were both, perhaps uncomfortably so for later Roman writers, largely of Etruscan origin. In as much as Tarquinius neither obtained the sovereignty in accordance with our ancestral customs and laws, nor, since he obtained it—in whatever manner he got it—has he been exercising it in an honourable or kingly manner, but has surpassed in insolence and lawlessness all the tyrants the world ever saw, we patricians met together and resolved to deprive him of his power, a thing we ought to have done long ago, but are doing now when a favourable opportunity has offered. Lucretia enters, calm but obviously devastated. Seeing herself the target of so much animosity, she fled from the palace in fear of her life and proceeded to the camp at Ardea.[17]. As with much of Rome's early history, where legend replaces actual facts, the chronology and events of Lucius Tarquinius' life are often confused and irreconcilable. In 509 BC, Sextus Tarquinius, son of the king of Rome, raped Lucretia (Lucrece), wife of Collatinus, one of the king's aristocratic retainers. It follows their lives from their rise into power and their fall into adversity. Lucretia calls for her father and husband, but Chaucer's tale also has her call for her mother and attendants as well, whereas Livy's has both her father and husband bring a friend as witness. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome, ruled from 534 to 509 BCE after his ascension to the throne by means of murdering his brother-in-law Servius. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the Publishing Director at AHE. Superbus had taken his inheritance and left him a pittance, keeping him at court for entertainment.[15]. Afterwards she revealed the offence to various Roman noblemen, and then committed suicide. In Livy's version, Lucretia acts quickly and calmly, deciding not to go to Rome, but instead sends for her father and her husband, asking them to bring one friend each to act as an witness. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Ancient History Encyclopedia. For chastity.[26]. Related Content Another achievement was to complete construction of the massive Temple of Capitoline Jupiter in Rome, a project begun by Tarquinius Priscus and finished by Etruscan sculptors imported especially for the job. According to Roman tradition, Lucretia (/luːˈkriːʃə/ loo-KREE-shə, Classical Latin: [lʊˈkreːtɪ.a]; died c.  510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subsequent suicide precipitated a rebellion that overthrew the Roman monarchy and led to the transition of Roman government from a kingdom to a republic. At the forum, the committee heard grievances against the Tarquins and began to enlist an army to abolish the monarchy. [14], In this version, Collatinus and Brutus were encountered returning to Rome unaware of the incident, were briefed, and were brought to the death scene. A force attacked Rome but was defeated at the battle of Silva Arsia. Once the men found Lucretia in her room, her explanation of the facts leads the men to state that "it is the mind that sins, not the body, and where there has been no consent there is no guilt. While engaged in the siege of Ardea, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome, sent his son, Tarquin, on a military errand to Collatia. At that time, the Rutuli were a very wealthy nation, and Tarquin was keen to obtain the spoils that would come with victory, in hopes of assuaging the ire of his subjects. “The early Roman story of Lucretia is an important theme in European culture (one of the versions is the painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529). Cartwright, Mark. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. The newly sworn revolutionary committee paraded the bloody corpse of Lucretia to the Roman Forum where it remained on display as a reminder of the dishonor committed. As with every other part of the king's life, the legend of his downfall has been confused and manipulated over time and by later Roman writers in order to paint an idealised and symbolic transition from monarchy to republic. Chr.) She follows her statement by plunging the dagger into her chest and promptly dying. In Dio's version, Lucretia's request for revenge is: "And, whereas I (for I am a woman) shall act in a manner which is fitting for me: you, if you are men, and if you care for your wives and children, exact vengeance on my behalf and free your selves and show the tyrants what sort of woman they outraged, and what sort of men were her menfolk!" Lucius Junius Brutus is the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. Tarquinius gehört zu den drei etruskischen Königen in Rom, deren Geschichtlichkeit von manchen Althistorikern angezweifelt, von der Etruskologie aber zumindest im Kern überwiegend akzeptiert wird. Lucretia was the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, great nephew of Tarquinius Priscus, and she was raped at knifepoint by Sextus, the son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Collatinus and the others were welcomed into the house, among them Sextus Tarquinius, son of the king. Some ancient sources have Lucius Tarquinius the son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome (r. 616 - 579 BCE) who was originally from the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, some 90 km north of Rome. Have in their ruins rais'd declining Rome, Jacopo Francia. Tarquin was received with great hospitality at the governor's mansion, home of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus , son of the king's nephew, Arruns Tarquinius , former governor of Collatia and first of the Tarquinii Collatini . Following her perceived dishonour of this attack, she committed suicide and thus became forever after a symbol of Roman matronly chastity. "[12] After exacting an oath of vengeance while the men were discussing the matter—"Pledge me your solemn word that the adulterer shall not go unpunished"—[13] Lucretia drew a poignard and stabbed herself in her heart. In contrast, they find Lucretia home alone, working with her wool in silence. This approximate date is met with consensus by other historians; however, the exact year is debatable within a range of about five years.[6]. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. The poem begins with a bet between husbands about the virtuousness of their wives. The narrative begins with a bet between the sons of Tarquinius and their kinsmen, Brutus and Collantinus. He proposed Brutus and Collatinus as the first two consuls and that choice was ratified by the curiae. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Following his exile from Rome, Lucius Tarquinius joined forces with the Etruscan cities of Cerveteri, Tarquinia, and Veii. It is one of a series of great works from Titian's last years, but unlike some of these, is fully finished. [21], John Gower's Confessio Amantis (Book VII),[22] and John Lydgate's Fall of Princes recount the myth of Lucretia. He suggested that the king's wife, Tullia, was in fact in Rome and probably was a witness to the proceedings from her palace near the forum. Together they arranged, first to kill Tullia's husband, Arruns Tarquinius, and then murder the king, allowing Lucius Tarquinius to seize the throne. In this excerpt, he repeats a legend which was extremely important to Romans during the Republic. There, he was warmly welcomed the governor and his wife (Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus and Lucretia).. Lucretia was the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, great nephew of Tarquinius Priscus, and she was raped at knifepoint by Sextus, the son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Dio stated that after seeing the hand of Destiny in these events, Brutus called the grieving party to order, explained that his simplicity had been a sham, and proposed that they drive the Tarquins from Rome. Spurius Lucretius was swiftly elected interrex; he was prefect of the city already. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome was involved in a war against Ardea, and he sent his son Sextus Tarquinius to Collatia on a military mission. Her vengeance upon the Roman monarchy began when she was raped by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. They decided on a republican form of government with two consuls in place of a king executing the will of a patrician senate. Following his exile after the infamous rape of Lucretia by his son Sextus, he joined forces with the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna who besieged Rome c. 508 BCE. Tarquin, Latin in full Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, (flourished 6th century bc —died 495 bc, Cumae [near modern Naples, Italy]), traditionally the seventh and last king of Rome, accepted by some scholars as a historical figure. Tarquinius Superbus was, in Roman tradition, the son (according to Fabius Pictor) or grandson (according to Calpurnius Piso Frugi) of Tarquinius … Her tragedy began when she was raped by Sextus Tarquinius, son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the tyrannical Etruscan king of Rome. [2] Much like the rape of the Sabine women, Lucretia's story provides explanation for historical change in Rome through a recounting of sexual assault against women. The final straw, however, was the rape of Lucretia by Tarquin’s son, Sextus Tarquinius. He levelled a number of charges against the king and his family: the outrage against Lucretia, whom everyone could see on the dais, the king's tyranny, the forced labor of the plebeians in the ditches and sewers of Rome. Christine de Pizan used Lucretia just as St. Augustine of Hippo did in her City of Ladies, defending a woman's sanctity. Similar to Livy, Dionysius' depiction of Lucretia separates her from the rest of Roman women in a story about the men returning home from a battle. 1506–1540. A final vote of the curiae carried the interim constitution. Summoning them on the spot, he transformed the crowd into an authoritative legislative assembly and began to address them in one of the more noted and effective speeches of ancient Rome. In Donna Leon's 2009 Venetian novel, About Face, Franca Marinello refers to the tale of Tarquin and Lucrezia, as recounted in Ovid's Fasti (Book II, for February 24, "Regifugium") to explain her actions to Commissario Brunetti. after being raped by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the king of Rome, the tyrannical Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. https://www.ancient.eu/Lucius_Tarquinius_Superbus/. He "solemnly invoked the gods as the avengers of murdered parents." Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BCE), or Tarquin the Proud, ruled Rome between 534 and 510 BCE and was the last king the Romans would tolerate. The subject also enjoyed a revival in the mid twentieth century; André Obey's 1931 play Le Viol de Lucrèce [fr] was adapted by librettist Ronald Duncan for The Rape of Lucretia, a 1946 opera by Benjamin Britten which premiered at Glyndebourne. He held her, kissed her, called her name and spoke to her. [3] The men return home to find the women socializing with each other, presumably drinking and in conversation. Lucretia appears to Dante in the section of Limbo reserved to the nobles of Rome and other "virtuous pagans" in Canto IV of the Inferno. The Last King of Rome: Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Undeterred, Lucius Tarquinius then convinced the king of Chiusi, Lars Porsenna, to lay siege to Rome c. 508 BCE. Porsenna did not restore Tarquinius to the throne, though, and the ex-king fled to Cumae where he died in 495 BCE. Shakespeare also alludes to her in Macbeth, and in Cymbeline he further refers to the story, though without mentioning Lucretia by name. The tale also deviates from Livy's account, as it begins with her husband coming home to surprise her, rather than the men placing a bet on the virtue of their wives. Sextus Tarquinius was the son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome who was engaged in the siege of Ardea at the time. Tarquinius' despotic reign earned him the title Superbus (proud, haughty). The story of Lucretia was a popular moral tale in the later Middle Ages. Cite This Work Mark is a history writer based in Italy. And we have called you together, plebeians, in order to declare our own decision and then ask for your assistance in achieving liberty for our country .... A general election was held and the vote won in favor of the republic. "Lucius Tarquinius Superbus." : Tarquinio e Lucrezia) ist ein Gemälde des italienischen Malers Tizian. The subject was one of a group showing women from legend or the Bible who were either powerless, such as Susanna and Verginia, or only able to escape their situations by suicide, such as Dido of Carthage and Lucretia. According to modern sources, Lucretia's narrative is considered a part of Roman mythohistory. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after the suicide of Lucretia, which led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. His reign is dated from 534 to 509 bc. The spark that set ablaze the ruins of Lucius Tarquinius' reign was the rape of Lucretia. According drunken revel, and Lucretia is the legendary heroine of ancient Rome. The following morning, Lucia and Bianca are glad to discover that Tarquinius has already left the house. [23], Lucretia's rape and suicide is also the subject of William Shakespeare's 1594 long poem The Rape of Lucrece, which draws extensively on Ovid's treatment of the story;[24] he also mentions her in Titus Andronicus, in As You Like It, and in Twelfth Night, wherein Malvolio authenticates his fateful letter by spotting Olivia's Lucrece seal. Jacques Gallot (died c. 1690) composed the allemandes "Lucrèce" and "Tarquin" for baroque lute. He belonged to the Etruscan Tarquinii clan, reigned from 534 to 510 BCE, and was infamous for his tyrannical rule, although Rome did enlarge its territory in that time. Sextus Tarquinius, Tarquinius Superbus’ son, tries to inveigle her and, not having succeeded, rapes her. I: The Republic", "Reinventing Lucretia: Rape, Suicide and Redemption from Classical Antiquity to the Medieval Era", "Full Text of "Fall of Princes, edited by Henrey Bergen, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucretia&oldid=1004855240, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 February 2021, at 18:58. [27] These formed a counterpoint to, or sub-group of, the set of subjects known as the Power of Women, showing female violence against, or domination of, men. A direct excerpt from Livy is used when Shakespeare prefaces his poem with a brief prose called "Argument". In subsequent years, the powers of the king were divided among various elected magistracies. [1] The incident kindled the flames of dissatisfaction over the tyrannical methods of Tarquin's father, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome. Lucretia war laut späterer Tradition eine römische Frau aus der (halb-)mythischen Frühzeit, Tochter des Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus und Gattin des Collatinus aus der königlichen Familie der Tarquinier. Overthrow of the Roman monarchy: | | | Overthrow of L. Tarquinius Superbus | | | ... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Dionysius of Halicarnassus sets this year "at the beginning of the sixty-eighth Olympiad ... Isagoras being the annual archon at Athens";[5] that is, 508/507 BC. These legendary events were further embellished with Brutus killing two of Collatinus' sons when they tried to restore their father, additions made for political expediency following the assassination of Julius Caesar by the descendant of Brutus, Marcus Iunius Brutus in the 1st century BCE and made to show that Brutus and the Iunii Bruti were not blameless defenders of Republican ideals. Later, after her husband's death, she changes her appearance, wearing brunette wigs and darker, less revealing dr… Livy's account in Ab Urbe Condita Libri (c. 25–8 BC) is the earliest surviving full historical treatment. Later, St. Augustine made use of the figure of Lucretia in The City of God (published 426 AD) to defend the honour of Christian women who had been raped in the sack of Rome and had not committed suicide. The constitutional consequences of this event ended the reign of the hereditary king; however, later emperors were absolute rulers in all but name.This constitutional tradition prevented both Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus from accepting a crown; instead, they had to devise a confluence of several republican offices onto their persons in order to secure absolute power. The myth is recounted in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women, and it follows a similar story line to Livy's. Ihr Vater und Ehemann schwören zusammen mit L. Iunius Brutus, die tyrannische Königsfamilie zu vertreiben. Upon their arrival, she was weaving with her maids. Lucius Iunius Brutus (who on the spot swore an oath of revenge for Lucretia) and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus used the tragedy as a catalyst for ridding Rome of their tyrannical king, at that time laying siege to Ardea, and thus set themselves up as Rome's first consuls in 509 BCE. Lydgate's work is a long poem containing stories and myths about various kings and princes who fell from power. Lucius Tarquinius also added seats to the Circus Maximus and extended the Cloaca Maxima drainage system, although his use of forced labour from the plebs aroused wide discontent amongst the populace. Lydgate's poem mentions the fall of Tarquin, the rape and suicide of Lucretia, and her speech prior to death. Shockingly, Tullia was said to have run over her father's corpse in her chariot splattering blood all over her clothes (even a woman riding a chariot was unthinkable to the Romans, nevermind the lack of family respect). The evidence points to the historical existence of a woman named Lucretia and an event that played a critical part in the downfall of the monarchy. In his account, her husband has boasted of the virtue of his wife to Tarquin and others. Gower's work is a collection of narrative poems. Information regarding Lucretia, her rape and suicide, and the consequence of this being the start of the Roman Republic, come from the accounts of Roman historian Livy and Greco-Roman historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus approximately 500 years later.