Ancient Rome: An Introductory History (14 page)

Page 59

Coriolanus made sure that his soldiers did not destroy the property of any patricians. Rome was in trouble. Envoys from Rome went to Coriolanus' camp to ask him to withdraw, but he refused. Again, envoys were sent, and again he declined to move. Next the priests, wearing their sacred garments, went to beg him to withdraw, but they too failed in their mission. While the Romans hurriedly gathered together their army, Coriolanus' mother Veturia, his wife Volumnia and their children, and other women of Rome, weeping, marched out of the city to meet Coriolanus in his camp.


"If my eyes aren't fooling me," one of Coriolanus' officers said to him, "your mother, wife, and children are here."

Coriolanus, almost crazy and in a panic, got up from his seat to hug his mother. She changed from begging to anger. "Before you hug me," she said, "let me know whether I have come to my son or to my enemy, and whether I am your prisoner or your mother in your camp. Have my long life and unhappy old age brought me to this, that I should see you first an exile and then an enemy of Rome? Could you destroy this land that produced and nourished you? Although you came here with dangerous intentions and threats, didn't your anger die down as soon as you entered the borders? Once Rome came into view, didn't the thought enter your mind, 'Inside those walls are my house, my household gods, my mother, my wife, and my children'?


"I can only conclude that if I hadn't given birth, Rome wouldn't be under attack; if I had no son, I would have died free, in a free country. But I can allow nothing more wretched for me and more disgraceful for you, since I am the most wretched, and will be for a long, long time. And your children? You will decide whether it is a premature death or a long slavery that awaits them."


His wife and children hugged each other; the weeping of the whole crowd of women as they bewailed their and their country's fate finally broke the man. After embracing his family, he sent them away and moved his camp away from the city. (Livy II.40.4-10)

Cincinnatus (Curly)

A hero of Rome during this time was L. Quinctius, called Cincinnatus, or Curly, because of his curly hair. After losing a minor

Page 60

Page 61

Venturia scolding Coriolanus. (Drawing by Christina Marent Westmoreland)

Page 62

battle with the Aequi in 458
B.C.
, the consul Minucius decided to keep his army within the fortifications of his camp so as not to risk any more losses. The Aequi interpreted his actions as fear and consequently built barriers to trap Minucius and his army within their camp. Five Roman soldiers escaped before being trapped and told the Romans about the danger to the army. The Romans decided to bypass the other consul and elect a dictator instead.

The only hope of the Roman empire, L. Quinctius, was then living across the Tiber on a farm three acres in size. . . . Greeted there by the messengers from the Senate, as he was perhaps Working hard on a ditch with his shovel, or plowingit is certain only that he was busy with some type of farm workhe returned their greeting, and he was asked to put on a toga [a man's formal attire] so he could hear the Senate's commands, with their hopes that it might benefit both him and the republic. Surprised, he asked, "Is everything all right?" and told his wife Racilia to quickly bring him a toga from their cottage. After he had wiped off the dust and sweat, and put on his toga, he went to the messengers, who congratulated him and greeted him as dictator, and summoned him to the city; then they informed him of the terror in the army. A state ship was ready for him; his three sons, walking on the road, received him, and then other relatives and friends, and then the greater part of the senators. (Livy III.26.7-11)

Cincinnatus ordered all men of military age to assemble before dawn in the Campus Martius; the army marched that day to Algidus, where Minucius and his men had been trapped by the enemy. That night the Roman soldiers silently surrounded the enemies' camp; the Romans won the ensuing battle, and Cincinnatus rescued Minucius and his army.

Back at Rome, the grateful Senate ordered the victorious Cincinnatus to enter the city with the same retinue that had accompanied him upon his arrival as dictator. "The enemy generals were led before his chariot, then came the army's standards, followed by the army, loaded down with loot. Tables of food are said to have been set before the houses of all the citizens, and the soldiers eating from the tables followed the chariot with a triumphal song and jokes, like a body of partygoers" (Livy III.29.4).

Other books

Lost and Found by Nicole Williams

Sergius: #4 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) by Stevens,Madison

One Heart to Win by Johanna Lindsey

Shadow Conspiracy by Phyllis Irene and Laura Anne Gilman Radford, Phyllis Irene and Laura Anne Gilman Radford

You Don't Know Me: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance by Georgia Le Carre

The Domville 6 (The Domville #6) by C. J. Fallowfield

Jack Ryan 9 - Executive Orders by Clancy, Tom

Más muerto que nunca by Charlaine Harris

Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos by Donna Andrews

The Fix 2 by K'wan