Titus Menenius Lanatus (died 476 BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

patrician who was elected

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 thro ...

for the year 477 BC. He unsuccessfully fought the

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 ...

entes, and was later prosecuted by the

tribunes of the plebs 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 ...

for his failure to prevent the disaster of the Cremera.

Family

Menenius was the son of

Agrippa Menenius Lanatus Agrippa Menenius Lanatus (died 493 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC, with Publius Postumius Tubertus. He was victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April 503 BC. According to Livy, he a ...

, who was consul in 503 BC, and the grandson of Gaius Menenius. He was the father of Lucius Menenius Lanatus, consul in 440 BC and

, the consul of 439 and

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 ...

in 419 and 417.

Life

Menenius was consul in 477 BC, together with Gaius Horatius Pulvillus. The Senate entrusted the conduct of the war against Veii to him, in support of the

Fabia gens The gens Fabia was one of the most ancient patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens played a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic, and three brothers were invested with seven successive consulships, from ...

, who were guarding the frontier against the Etruscan city, while his colleague prepared to face the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an 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 Samnites on the ...

ans. When the Fabii were ambushed at the Cremera, Menenius failed to intervene, although his forces were close enough to turn the tide without losing the strategic position. Not only were the Fabii destroyed and their position lost, but the Veientes continued toward Rome, where they defeated Menenius and occupied the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; ), occasionally known as 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 the pro ...

. Horatius Pulvillus was recalled in haste to defend the city. While Horatius won a first battle on the Janiculum against the Veientes, it was the consuls of the following year who were able to defeat the enemy and drive them out of Roman territory. In 476 BC, after he had left office, Menenius was prosecuted by the tribunes Quintus Considius and Titus Genucius, ostensibly for his conduct of military operations during his consulate, in particular for allowing the gens Fabia to be slaughtered. However,

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 ...

points out that the prosecution may have been motivated more by his opposition to the agrarian law that the plebeians been calling for since the death of

Spurius Cassius Vecellinus Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first ''magister equitum'', and the author of the first ag ...

in 486. He was defended by the Senate as strenuously as they defended

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

a few years earlier, and was helped by the reputation of his father, who was popular for having reconciled the plebeians and patricians after the first secession of the plebs.Livy
ii. 52
According to Livy, Menenius was able to avoid the death penalty or exile, and was fined 2000 ''

asses Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Ass'' (album), 1973 alb ...

''; but unable to bear his humiliation, Menenius soon fell sick and died. However,

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

reports that Menenius was sentenced to death by the court (likely based on ancient sources that still use the term "lender" to mean a consul).Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', v. 21.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menenius Lanatus, Titus 277 5th-century BC deaths 5th-century BC Roman consuls Lanatus, Titus 277

Family

Life

See also

References