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Marcus Furius Camillus (; possibly – ) was a Roman statesman and politician during the early Roman republic who is most famous for his capture of
Veii Veii (also Veius; ) 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 city-st ...
and defence of Rome from Gallic sack after the
Battle of the Allia The Battle of the Allia was fought between the Senones – a Gauls, Gallic tribe led by Brennus (leader of the Senones), Brennus, who had invaded Northern Italy – and the Roman Republic. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tibe ...
. Modern scholars are dubious of Camillus' supposed exploits and believe many of them are wrongly attributed or otherwise wholly fictitious.


Historicity

The traditional account of Camillus' life comes from Livy and Plutarch's eponymous ''Life''. But these were based on a larger annalistic tradition which painted Camillus as the dominant figure in this period of history; Livy, for his part, organised his fifth and sixth books around Camillus' career (Camillus enters public office at the start of the fifth book and leaves it at the end of the sixth). Little evidence of this tradition survives, though fragments of
Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius was a Roman historian. Little is known of Q. Claudius Quadrigarius's life, but he probably lived in the . Work Quadrigarius's annals spanned at least 23 books. They began with the conquest of Rome by the Gauls (BCE), ...
' work indicate that the myth of Camillus was well-established by the 80s and 70s BC. The ''name'' Camillus is attested in the Etruscan
François Tomb The François Tomb is an important painted Etruscan tomb from the Ponte Rotto Necropolis in the Etruscan city of Vulci, Lazio, in central Italy. It was discovered in 1857 by Alessandro François and Adolphe Noël des Vergers. It dates to the ...
, built near
Vulci Vulci or Volci ( Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis wrote, "Vulci is a city whose very name... was scarcely remembered, ...
. One of the paintings therein describes a "Gneve Tarchunies Rumach" (probably Gnaeus Tarquinius the Roman) being killed by a "Marce Camitlnas" (possibly Marcus Camitilius or Marcus Camillus). It is not known, however, what specific legend the tomb depicts. Some scholars have suggested that Camitlnas refers to the Camillus of this article, but such attribution is problematic. Scholars believe Camillus qua ''person'' probably existed: the , if believed, record his importance and influence in Roman public life at this time. But, in general, the quality of the sources – which interject "plenty of myth, embellishment, and fantasy" – led Mary Beard, in the book ''SPQR'', to write "Camillus is probably not much less fictional than the first Romulus". Mommsen, writing in ''Römisches Strafrecht'', called Camillus' legend "the most dishonest of all Roman legends". Tim Cornell, writing of Camillus, calls him "the most artificially contrived of all Rome's heroes". Other scholars have suggested that Camillus emerged from a popular oral tradition which linked the ''names'' Camillus, Manlius Capitolinus, and Sulpicius to inscriptions placed on the temple of
Juno Moneta In Roman mythology, Moneta (Latin Monēta) was a title given to two separate goddesses: It was the name of the goddess of memory (identified with the Greek goddess Mnemosyne), and it was an epithet of Juno, called Juno Moneta (Latin Iūno Mon� ...
(erected in 345 BC by Lucius Furius Camillus).


Biography

The
cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...
derives from the title of an aristocratic youth who helped in religious duties; it is possible that a young Camillus served in such a position. His filiation is identical with that of the consul of 413 BC,
Lucius Furius Medullinus Lucius Furius Medullinus (c. 445 BC – c. 375 BC), of the patrician '' gens Furia'', was a politician and general of the Roman Republic who was consul twice and Consular Tribune seven times. First two consulships Medullinus was elected consul f ...
, which may indicate that Medullinus and Camillus were brothers.


Early career

Camillus is first firmly recorded as entering public office in 401 BC. He served in that year and again in 398 BC as
consular tribune A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...
against the
Falisci The Falisci were an Italic peoples, Italic tribe who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic languages, Italic language, Faliscan language, Faliscan, closely related to Latin. Origina ...
and the Capenates. Both were tribes near Rome and
Veii Veii (also Veius; ) 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 city-st ...
. His first supposed office was that of censor (before having held any other public office) in the year 403 BC. He was then supposed to have, as
dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...
, completed a campaign against Veii which saw the city captured in 396 BC. The specific story of Veii's capture in Livy is mostly legendary. After a ten-year siege (the third Veientine war) – "obviously modelled on the Greek legend of the
Trojan war The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...
" – the
Alban Lake Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Pala ...
rises supernaturally after a supposed prophecy of Veii's destruction in its "Books of Fate". The Romans then extirpate the prodigy by building a tunnel to drain the lake after being so instructed by the
oracle at Delphi Pythia (; ) was the title 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. The Pythia w ...
. Camillus, as commander, then persuades Veii's goddess, Juno Regina, to leave the city and move to Rome. Archaeological remains near Veii include blocked drainage tunnels from the fifth-century, which may indicate the possibility that this story in Livy arises a Romans breakthrough into the city through them. Following the capture of the city, Livy reports that Camillus had its free population sold into slavery before the land was resettled with Roman citizens with land allotments of seven
jugera The jugerum or juger (, ', ', or ') was a Roman unit of area, equivalent to a rectangle 240 Roman feet in length and 120 feet in width (about 71×35½m), i.e. 28,800 square Roman feet () or about hectare (0.623 acre). Name It was the do ...
. Archaeological evidence points to Romans switching quarries: after the capture of Veii's better-quality quarries, Roman structures switch largely to using stone sourced therefrom, which may suggest enslaved Veientine quarry workers. Camillus then celebrates a
triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
and dedicates a temple of
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...
on the Aventine. It is likely that many of the details of his return in Livy were copied from the less historically distant triumphal entrances of
Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...
or
Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...
. In 394 BC, he supposedly secured the surrender of the Falisci in their main town of Falerii Veteres (modern
Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic Falisci, who called it " Falerii". Afte ...
) after refusing to accept pupils from a schoolmaster as hostages. Much of the Livian narrative about the exchange with the schoolmaster is meant to recount an which stresses the importance of Roman good will () and the importance of gentlemanly aristocratic behaviour. After taking Veii and Falisci, Camillus is supposed to have been prosecuted. Accounts differ: he may have been accused by the
quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...
s of misappropriating spoils of war or of his extravagance in purchasing four white horses for his triumph. Whatever the charge, though a quaestorian trial for misappropriation is more likely, Camillus was reportedly convicted and sent into exile. Historians believe this story of disgrace before the courts is modelled on fates of
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...
and
Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...
and is meant to draw comparison with
Themistocles Themistocles (; ; ) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As a politician, Themistocles was a populist, having th ...
and
Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus Gnaeus (or Gaius) Marcius Coriolanus was a ancient Rome, Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymy, toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian ...
. The underlying source for the story likely postdates the Sullan period and is an "evident anachronism". The story of conviction, however, likely did not happen and was instead adduced to place Camillus away from Rome when the Gallic sack occurs, excusing him of any blame for Rome's defeat.


Gallic sack

In 390 BC (
Varronian Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...
), or more likely in 387 BC, a large group of Gauls crossed the Apennines into northern Etruria. They advanced until they reached Roman territory and there defeated Rome's army at the
Battle of the Allia The Battle of the Allia was fought between the Senones – a Gauls, Gallic tribe led by Brennus (leader of the Senones), Brennus, who had invaded Northern Italy – and the Roman Republic. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tibe ...
. In the following days, they entered Rome and sacked it. They then induced the surrender of Roman holdouts on the
Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...
before receiving a large ransom of gold and withdrawing north. This account is corroborated by Greek sources as early as the 4th century BC; Polybius places the sack in the same year as the
Peace of Antalcidas The King's Peace (387 BC) was a peace treaty guaranteed by the Persian King Artaxerxes II that ended the Corinthian War in ancient Greece. The treaty is also known as the Peace of Antalcidas, after Antalcidas, the Spartan diplomat who traveled to ...
and the
siege of Rhegium The siege of Rhegium was undertaken in 387 BC by a Syracusan force against the city of Rhegium. The Syracusans were led by the tyrant Dionysius I.The Oxford Illustrated History of Greece and the Hellenistic World'. Italy, Oxford University Pr ...
. According to Livy, after the fall of the city, Camillus is recalled from exile at Ardea by the people and appointed again as dictator – even though a consular tribune was available to nominate a dictator in the normal fashion – in the city's hour of need. Then, at the climax of the Gallic sack, when a thousand pounds of gold is being weighed out, Camillus and a hastily organised army returns and defeats the Gauls, saving the city and recovering the ransom. This story was probably a creation of Roman annalists during the first century BC; Ogilvie in his ''Commentary on Livy'', calls it "one of the most daring fabrications in Roman history". Other traditions have different narratives: for example, the
Livii Drusi The gens Livia was an illustrious plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the Livii to obtain the consulship was Marcus Livius Denter in 302 BC, and from his time the Livii supplied the Republic with eight consuls, two censors, a dictator, ...
are supposed to have by single combat with a Gaul named Drausus recovered the same ransom; Plutarch records a fragment of Aristotle asserting that "a certain Lucius" (probably a Lucius Albinius who is recorded to have secreted away the Vestal Virgins and sacred objects 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, to ...
) having saved the city. Polybius reports that rather than being defeated by Camillus, the Gauls occupied the city for some seven months before the Romans bought them off and they departed of their own accord to deal with an invasion of their territory by the Veneti. While the literary sources assert Rome was sacked and had to be rebuilt, there is no archaeological evidence of major damage to pre-fourth century BC buildings in the
forum Forum or The Forum may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example * Internet forum, discussion board ...
, which indicates that the sack – if it occurred – consisted largely of stealing portable property. After the sack, Camillus is supposed to have led the opposition to a proposal circulating among the plebs to relocate the city to Veii. This story also cannot be accepted and is more likely "a reflection of the tensions that arose concerning the distribution of the conquered territory of Veii" and to introduce "anti-plebeian elements" into the Camillan narrative. The speech does not appear in Polybius and may have been invented in order to oppose by historical precedent
Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician and soldier who lived during the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, i ...
' proposal to establish a colony at Carthage with further embellishment of its anti-Italian themes during the time of the Social War. Regardless, the ancient tradition records that within a year after Rome was reduced to ruins, the city had been completely rebuilt and all rebellions by Roman allies suppressed due to the extraordinary leadership of Camillus, who is therefore regarded as the city's "second founder". In these victories, he is supposed to have dedicated three gold saucers to Juno for victory against the
Volscians The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic peoples, Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and S ...
,
Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long stru ...
ans, and
Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...
all the next year in 389 BC. None of these achievements are mentioned in Polybius or Diodorus.


Later career

Livy next reports Rome sending Camillus to take the city 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 ...
in 381 BC. The city, already surrounded by Roman territory, immediately surrenders and the inhabitants thereof are given Roman citizenship with some level of self-rule, becoming the first Roman ''
municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...
''. Tusculum would be one of the first to revolt in the
Second Latin War The (Second) Latin War of 340–338 BCThe Romans customarily dated events by noting the consuls who held office that year. The Latin War broke out in the year that Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus and Publius Decius Mus were consuls and ende ...
. Both Camillus' role in Manlius' sedition and his later dictatorship (engaging the Gauls and plebeian reforms) may be anachronistic and fictitious insertions.


Manlius

The account of Dio, coming from a Byzantine summary by
Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Roman historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private se ...
, asserts Camillus was elected dictator in 384 BC to put down the sedition of
Marcus Manlius Capitolinus Marcus Manlius Capitolinus (died 384 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 392 BC. He was a brother of Aulus Manlius Capitolinus, consular tribune five times between 389 and 370 BC. The Manlii were one of the leading patrician gentes that do ...
, who is believed to be trying to make himself king. Camillus reportedly has Manlius arrested by a slave before a trial; Manlius is convicted and then thrown from the
Tarpeian Rock The Rock of Tarpeia (; Latin: ' or '; ) is a steep cliff on the south side of the Capitoline Hill that was used in Ancient Rome as a site of execution. Adjudicated murderers, traitors, perjurors, and larcenous slaves, if convicted by the '' ...
. No such attribution is given in the accounts of Livy and Plutarch, who note Camillus merely as one of the six consular tribunes in that year.


Licinio-Sextian rogations

According to Livy, there are ten years in which
Gaius Licinius Stolo Gaius Licinius Stolo, along with Lucius Sextius, was one of the two tribunes of ancient Rome who opened the consulship to the plebeians. A member of the plebeian '' Licinia gens'', Stolo was tribune from 376 BC to 367 BC, during which he passe ...
and
Lucius Sextius Lateranus Lucius Sextius Sextinus Lateranus was a Roman tribune of the plebs and is noted for having been one of two men (the other being Gaius Licinius Stolo) who passed the Lex Licinia Sextia, Leges Liciniae Sextiae of 368 BC and 367 BC. Originally, these ...
were elected
plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate ...
s continuously. During the last five or six years, they blocked the election of all magistrates in an attempt to pass what would become the
Licinio-Sextian rogations The Licinio-Sextian rogations were a series of laws proposed by Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs, Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus, enacted around 367 BC. Livy calls them ''rogatio'' – though he does refer to th ...
. Camillus is alleged to have been elected dictator in 368 BC and attempted to obstruct their attempts, without success. But the next year, he is appointed dictator again. He then reconciles the plebeians and the patricians with a proposal to appoint a patrician-only
praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...
and
curule aediles Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...
(in exchange for plebeian eligibility to the consulship); all accept the passage of the rogations and domestic harmony is restored; Camillus then constructs a temple to Concordia. "Very little of this narrative can be accepted as it stands". While
Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (;  1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...
reports the length of the anarchy to have been merely one year, it is implausible that Rome could have been without magistrates for more than a few months. More damningly, a passage of
Aulus Gellius Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, ...
' ''Attic Nights'' (5.4) preserves a fragment of Numerius Fabius Pictor that shows that alleged years where tribunes blocked all elections were a late annalistic invention, likely to line up Greek and Roman chronologies. The three alleged rogations touched on a number of topics. The first rogation was a mechanism for debt relief. The second imposed a possession limit of 500
jugera The jugerum or juger (, ', ', or ') was a Roman unit of area, equivalent to a rectangle 240 Roman feet in length and 120 feet in width (about 71×35½m), i.e. 28,800 square Roman feet () or about hectare (0.623 acre). Name It was the do ...
of public land. The third was the reform that abolished the consular tribunate and required the election of consuls, one of which had to be a plebeian. Gary Forsythe, in ''Critical history of early Rome'', accepts that the first law is consistent with voiced concerns over indebtedness from this period, that the second (limits on public land possession) is attested to in later speeches, and that the third is reflected 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 simil ...
. Livy includes in the same year of this compromise, 367 BC, another alleged victory by Camillus over the Gauls. Modern scholars are especially suspicious of this report, especially because Livy notes confusion in his own sources over this victory, which is alternatively attributed to Titus Manlius Torquatus.


Death

According the ancient Roman tradition, Camillus died during an epidemic that hit Rome in 365 BC. However, it is unlikely that any evidence of Camillus' death was known in later times: Münzer, writing in the '' Realencyclopädie'', believes later annalists simply assumed Camillus died in the epidemic.


Legacy

By the late republic, after centuries of embellishment from the fourth to the first century BC, the Romans believed that Camillus had captured Veii, saved the city from the Gallic sack, saved the city from foreign threats on all sides, opened the highest magistracies to the plebeians, ensured domestic harmony, and largely settled the struggle of the orders. Through it all, they believed he had held six consular tribunates and been dictator five times. For these reasons, he was hailed as the second founder of the city. A bronze statue of Camillus also bedecked itself on the
rostra The Rostra () was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the Comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to t ...
in the
Forum Forum or The Forum may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example * Internet forum, discussion board ...
. His reputation by the late republic and early empire was such that Camillus was a source of : fables giving lessons for Romans on how to act in line both with morals and with Roman tradition and procedures. One of the most famous ones is during Camillus' capture of Faliscii: one of their schoolmasters defects, bringing with him to the camp his pupils who are Faliscan nobles' children. Camillus, displaying his exemplary , has the schoolmaster reprimanded and punished by the pupils; the Faliscans then surrender the city before Camillus' good faith. Camillus is similarly alleged to have resigned a dictatorship to which he was appointed merely because of faulty procedure; Livy mentions it – an event that "almost certainly never took place" – as an example of Roman legal scruples., citing, . In all, Camillus is mentioned in Livy's ''Ab urbe condita'' as an example to be followed eight times, an "unusually high frequency", usually in relation to his alleged successes as a general, moderation in the face of hot-headed colleagues, and triumphant recall from exile. The memory of Camillus became part of the public image of the first Roman emperor
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
. The history of Livy, for example, may have been written to coincide at the beginning of a consisting of 360–365 years. Starting with
Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...
, the cycle reaches a peak under king
Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Pri ...
before a second founding under Camillus, completing the cycle. The next cycle has a second peak in the time of
Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...
before
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
enters as the figure to re-found Rome again and restart the great year, with Livy suggesting that Romulus, Camillus, and Augustus are coequal heroic figures.


References


Citations


Modern sources

* * * * ** ** * * * * ** ** * * * ** **


Ancient sources

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Furius Camillus, Marcus 440s BC births 365 BC deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 4th-century BC Romans 5th-century BC Romans Ancient Roman dictators Ancient Roman generals Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Deaths from infectious disease Camillus, Marcus Ancient Roman censors Ancient Roman triumphators