Titus Herminius, surnamed Aquilinus (died 498/496 BC), was one of the heroes of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

. He participated in two of the most famous conflicts that attended the birth of the Republic, and was elected

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 506 BC. However, his greatest fame was won as one of the defenders of the Sublician bridge against the army of

Lars Porsena Lars Porsena (or Porsenna; Etruscan: ) was an Etruscan king (lar) known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium ( Etruscan: ; modern Chiusi). There are no established dates for his rule, but Roman sources often ...

, the King of

Clusium Clusium ( grc-gre, Κλύσιον, ''Klýsion'', or , ''Kloúsion''; Umbrian:''Camars'') was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi ( Tuscany) partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The R ...

Background

The Herminii were a patrician family at Rome during the early years of the Republic. The Romans themselves regarded the family as Etruscan, and they were one of the few Roman '' gentes'' to use distinctly Etruscan ''

praenomina The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birt ...

''; Lars Herminius held the consulship in 448 BC. However, in the legend of the Sublician bridge, Titus Herminius may have represented the

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

element of the Roman people.

War with Clusium

Following the expulsion of the king

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I He is commonly known ...

from Rome in 509 BC, Lars Porsena, the King of

, resolved to conquer Rome, either to restore the Etruscan monarchy, or possibly for himself. The following year he went to

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

with Rome, and advanced with his army upon the city. After successfully capturing those parts of the city on the Etruscan side of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...

, including the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...

, the Clusian army approached the ''Pons Sublicius'', a wooden bridge leading into the city proper. The Roman forces withdrew to the eastern side of the river, as engineers began the work of destroying the bridge's supports. Three Romans remained on the bridge to fend off the Etruscans: Publius Horatius Cocles,

Spurius Larcius Spurius Larcius (surnamed Flavus or Rufus; 509–482 BC) was one of the leading men of the early Roman Republic, of which he was twice consul. However, his greatest fame was won as one of the defenders of the Sublician bridge against the army ...

, and Herminius. Niebuhr suggests a symbolic importance to these three men: each represented one of the three ancient ''tribes'' making up the Roman populace: the ''Ramnes'', or

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

, represented by Horatius; the ''Titienses'', or

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

, represented by Herminius, and the ''Luceres'', or Etruscans, represented by Lartius. The bridge was too narrow for more than a few of the approaching army to advance upon its defenders at once, and according to the legend, they held their ground until the bridge was about to collapse. Horatius then urged his colleagues to retreat to safety, leaving him alone on the bridge. There he remained, fighting off one attacker after another, until the bridge at last gave way and plunged into the river. Horatius then jumped into the river. Accounts vary as to whether Horatius survived and swam to shore, or was drowned in the Tiber; in most accounts he survived, but according to

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

, he defended the bridge alone, and perished in the river. Lartius and Herminius appear again in the war with Clusium, commanding troops as part of a trap devised by the consul

Publius Valerius Publicola Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola (died 503 BC) was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the colleague of Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BC, traditionally considered the first year of ...

to capture Etruscan raiding parties.

Consulship

Herminius was elected consul in 506 BC, the fourth year of the Republic, with Spurius Lartius, his companion on the bridge, as his colleague. No significant events occurred during their year of office, and Niebuhr suggests that their names may have been inserted in the

consular fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simi ...

to fill the gap of one year (perhaps due to Lars Porsena holding the city). Their successors sent a delegation to meet with the envoys of Porsena, and established a treaty, by which the Etruscan King gave up his claims to Rome.

Battle of Lake Regillus

In 498/496 BC, war erupted between Rome and the

. Many of the Latin towns had been allies of Rome during the final days of the

Roman monarchy The Roman Kingdom (also referred to as the Roman monarchy, or the regal period of ancient Rome) was the earliest period of Roman history when the city and its territory were ruled by kings. According to oral accounts, the Roman Kingdom began wit ...

; some continued this alliance, while others sided with the Tarquins, who sought to regain the throne. The Latin league was led by Octavius Mamilius, a prince of

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

, and the son-in-law of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome. To meet the Latin army, the Romans appointed a

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...

, Aulus Postumius Albus, and his ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...

'',

Titus Aebutius Elva __NoToC__ Titus Aebutius Helva was a Roman senator and general from the early Republic, who held the consulship in 499 BC. He was '' magister equitum'' under Aulus Postumius Albus at the Battle of Lake Regillus. He was the father of Lucius Aeb ...

. Herminius was a general officer in the Roman expeditionary force, which encountered the army near Lake Regillus. During the course of the battle, Aebutius, the ''magister equitum'', spotted Mamilius and engaged him on horseback. The two men met with great fury, and each suffered serious injuries. Aebutius was forced to retire from the battle, and direct his cavalry from a distance, while Mamilius was taken to the rear. The Latin commander returned to the fray in order to save a company of Roman exiles, who were about to be cut off by Postumius, and in so doing he was recognized by Herminius. In the ensuing charge, described by the historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

as occurring with even greater ferocity than the clash with Aebutius, Herminius killed the Latin dictator with a single thrust through the body. He then stooped to strip the armour from the fallen prince, but was mortally wounded by a javelin. He was carried living to the rear, but he died as his wounds were being dressed.

In literature

The stand of Herminius and his companions against Lars Porsena at the Sublician Bridge in 508 BC is celebrated in Macaulay's ''

Lays of Ancient Rome ''Lays of Ancient Rome'' is an 1842 collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name. M ...

'', the most famous of which is ''Horatius''.''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', William Smith, Editor.

Footnotes