Spurius Larcius (surnamed Flavus or Rufus; 509–482 BC) was one of the leading men of the early

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 ...

, of which he was twice

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 ...

. 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 civilization, Etruscan king (lar) known for his Roman-Etruscan Wars#War with Clusium in 508 BC, war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ; ...

, 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 Ro ...

.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 175 ("Flavus, Lartius", No. 1).

Background

The Larcii, whose nomen is also incorrectly spelled ''Lartius'' and ''Largius'', were an

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 ...

family at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

during the early years of the Republic. Spurius' brother,

Titus Larcius Titus Larcius (surnamed Flavus or Rufus; 501–493 BC) was a Roman general and statesman during the early Republic, who served twice as consul and became the first Roman dictator.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. ...

, was twice consul, in 501 and 498 BC, and was also nominated

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 tim ...

. Dionysius gives their surname as ''Flavus'', but in some sources it is ''Rufus''. Both were common surnames, originally referring to someone with fair or red hair, respectively, and it may be that the two brothers were distinguished by their surnames as well as by their praenomina.

War with Clusium

Following the expulsion of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last

Roman king The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...

in 509 BC, Lars Porsena, the King of Clusium, resolved to conquer Rome, either to restore the

monarchy, or possibly for himself. The following year he went to war with Rome, and advanced with his army upon the city. After occupying 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 ...

on the west side of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, 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 ...

, the Clusian army approached the ''Pons Sublicius'', a wooden bridge leading into the city. 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 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 C ...

Titus Herminius Aquilinus Titus Herminius, surnamed Aquilinus (died 498/496 BC), was one of the heroes of the Roman Republic. He participated in two of the most famous conflicts that attended the birth of the Republic, and was elected consul in 506 BC. However, his greate ...

, and Spurius Larcius.Livy, ii. 10.Dionysius, v. 24, 25. 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, represented by Horatius; the ''Titienses'', or Sabines, represented by Herminius, and the ''Luceres'', or Etruscans, represented by Larcius. 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, he defended the bridge alone, and perished in the river. Larcius 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.

Career

Larcius was elected consul for 506 BC, the fourth year of the Republic, with Titus Herminius, his companion on the bridge, as his colleague. No significant events occurred during their year of office. 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. Larcius served as

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

under the consul

Publius Postumius Tubertus __NOTOC__ Publius Postumius Tubertus, the son of Quintus, was the first of the patrician '' gens Postumia'' to obtain the consulship, which he held in 505 BC, and again in 503. Ten years later, he was one of the envoys sent by the Roman Senate to ...

against the Sabines in 505, and either he or his brother, Titus, was lieutenant to the consul

Publius Valerius Poplicola 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 ...

in 504. Larcius was consul for the second time in 490 BC, with

Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus ( 490–488 BC) was a Roman politician, and consul in 490 BC. Family He was a member of the ''gens Sulpicia'', specifically he was among the Sulpicii Camerini. His father Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus ...

. In 488, he and Sulpicius were among five ''consulares'' sent to treat with

Gaius Marcius Coriolanus Gnaeus (or Gaius) Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He w ...

as he advanced upon Rome. In the following year, Larcius was ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

'', or warden of the city. In 482, he was the second of two '' interreges'' appointed by

the senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

to hold the consular elections. Larcius finished holding the ''comitia'' that his predecessor, Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, had begun; Sempronius had been unable to finish the elections as the office of interrex was limited to a span of five days. The same year, Larcius advised going to war with the nearby Etruscan city of

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

In literature

The stand of Larcius and his companions against Lars Porsena at the Sublician Bridge in 508 BC is celebrated in Macaulay's '' Lays of Ancient Rome'', the most famous of which is ''Horatius''.Macaulay, "Horatius".

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Polybius, '' Historiae'' (The Histories). * Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities). * Titus Livius (

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 ...

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. *

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 ...

'' (Memorable Facts and Sayings). * Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

), ''

Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

''. * ''

Chronography of 354 The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrator ...

''. *

Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

, ''Lays of Ancient Rome'', Longman, London (1842). * ''

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, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986). * Robert Maxwell Ogilvie, ''Commentary on Livy, books 1–5'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1965). {{DEFAULTSORT:Larcius, Spurius 6th-century BC births 5th-century BC deaths 6th-century BC Roman consuls 5th-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Spurius