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Cloelia ( grc, Κλοιλία) was a legendary woman from the early history of
Cloelia has been depicted in several paintings and in the libretto ''
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Cloelia ( grc, Κλοιλία) was a legendary woman from the early history of ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
.
Biography
She was one of the women taken hostage byLars 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 ...
, as a part of the peace treaty which ended the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC. There are two different stories explaining her escape and it is unclear which one is true as both are accepted by different scholars and historians. The first version of Cloelia's escape recognizes that the female hostages went to the river to bathe. Once having persuaded their guards to leave them alone at the river, in order to remain modest, they swam across the river into Roman territory. Once in Roman territory the female hostages were then safe from their captures. The second version of Cloelia's escapes claims that she escaped from the Etruscan camp, leading away a group of Roman virgins. According to Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...
, she fled upon a horse, and swam across the river 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 ...
through a barrage of hostile darts thus bringing her band of girls to safety.
When Porsena learnt of their escape, he quickly sent emissaries to Rome demanding her return. However, Porsena soon reconsidered deciding that her deeds were worthy of admiration, equal to that of Cocles and Mucius. He declared to the Romans that if she were restored to him he would send her back to Rome safe and inviolate, but if his demands were not met he should regard the treaty as broken.
The Romans agreed to the conditions and returned the pledge of peace, as the treaty required. Porsena praised Cloelia on her arrival and as a reward for her heroism, promised to release half the share of his hostages of her choice. It is said that she selected the young boys, as was unanimously decided by the hostages, since they were particularly at risk of abuse.
Once peace had been established The Romans celebrated her valour by building a statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of a maiden seated in a horse, set up on the summit of the Via Sacra
The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum.
The ro ...
.
Cultural depictions
Cloelia has been depicted in several paintings and in the libretto ''Il trionfo di Clelia
''Il trionfo di Clelia'' is an Italian opera libretto by Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered th ...
'' (1762) by Pietro Metastasio.
See also
*Cloelia gens
The gens Cloelia, originally Cluilia, and occasionally written Clouilia or Cloulia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was prominent throughout the period of the Republic. The first of the Cloelii to hold the consulship was Quin ...
* Gaius Mucius Scaevola
*Horatius Cocles
Publius Horatius Cocles was an officer in the army of the early Roman Republic who famously defended the Pons Sublicius from the invading army of Etruscan King Lars Porsena of Clusium in the late 6th century BC, during the war between Rome and ...
References
Sources
*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
''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...
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Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...
, ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium
''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia'') by Valerius Maximus (c. 20 BC – c. AD 50) was written arou ...
''3.2.2
External links
* {{Authority control 6th-century BC Roman women Ancient Roman women in warfare Cloelii