Arruns Tarquinius was the second son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome.

History

During his father's reign, he accompanied his elder brother,

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

, and their cousin, Lucius Junius Brutus, to consult the

Oracle at Delphi Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...

regarding an omen witnessed by the king. After she had interpreted the omen, the princes asked the Oracle who should succeed their father as king; her reply was that he who should first kiss his mother upon their return would succeed the king. While Titus and Arruns assumed that this meant their actual mother, Brutus correctly intuited that mother earth was intended, and so deliberately stumbled and fell upon the trio's return to Italy. Following the overthrow of the monarchy in 509 BC, Titus and Arruns went with their father to

Caere : Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, t ...

, while Brutus was elected one of the first consuls. After the first unsuccessful attempt by the Tarquins to regain the throne in 509, Arruns commanded the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

cavalry at the

Battle of Silva Arsia The Battle of Silva Arsia was a battle in 509 BC between the republican forces of ancient Rome and Etruscan forces of Tarquinii and Veii led by the deposed Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. The battle took place near the Silva Arsia (the Ar ...

. Having spied from afar the

lictors A lictor (possibly from la, ligare, "to bind") was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held ''imperium''. Lictors are documented since the Roman Kingdom, and may have originated with the Etruscans. Origi ...

, and thereby recognising the presence of a consul, Arruns soon saw that his cousin Brutus was in command of the Roman cavalry. The two men charged each other, and were each speared to death. The battle ended in a Roman victory, and the Tarquins remained in exile.

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 ...

, '' Ab Urbe Condita'' 2:6, 7.

Later literature

* In ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'', the first part of the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...

'' of

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, Arruns appears in the fourth bolgia of the Eighth circle of hell, together with sorcerers, astrologers and false prophets.

Notes

References

* Ovid ''Fast.'' 2.725ff. * Dionys., iii, 46 * William Smith (ed.) (1870), ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,'' Vol. 1 p. 378, #1. * ''The Early History of Rome: Books I-V of The History of Rome from Its Foundations'' by Livy,

Aubrey De Sélincourt Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-Germa ...

, Stephen P. Oakley, p. 72, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arruns Tarquinius Etruscans Characters in Roman mythology Tarquinii Ancient Romans killed in action Children of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Sons of Roman kings

History

Later literature

See also

Notes

References