Cloelia Fleeing the Camp of Porsena LACMA M

Cloelia () was a legendary woman from the early history of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

Biography

She was one of the women taken hostage by

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 p ...

as a part of the peace treaty which ended the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC. Ancient historians present two different stories explaining her escape. The first version of Cloelia's escape recognizes that the female hostages went to the river to bathe. Having persuaded their guards to leave them alone at the river, in order to remain modest, they swam across the river into Roman territory. The second version claims that Cloelia 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: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...

, she fled upon a horse, and swam across the river

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, 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 the R ...

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

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 civilization, Etruscan King Lars Porsena of Clusium in the late 6th century BC, during the ...

and

Gaius Mucius Scaevola Gaius Mucius Cordus, better known with his later cognomen Scaevola ( , ), was an ancient Roman youth, possibly mythical, famous for his bravery. In 508 BC, during the war between Rome and Clusium, the Clusian king Lars Porsena laid siege to Ro ...

. 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 Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

of a maiden seated on 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 road ...

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 the ...

'' (1762) by

Pietro Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and Libretto, librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early ...

. She was also portrayed by

Sylvia Syms Sylvia May Laura Syms (6 January 1934 – 27 January 2023) was an English stage and screen actress. Her best-known film roles include '' My Teenage Daughter'' (1956), '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA ...

in the 1961 Italian movie '' Le Vergini di Roma''.

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 i ...

, ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

''
2.13
*

, '' Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium''
3.2.2

External links

* {{Authority control 6th-century BC Roman women Ancient Roman women in warfare Cloelii Legendary Romans

Biography

Cultural depictions

See also

References

Sources

External links