PIETAS AND ROMAN HEROES

Pietas was a quality that was prized by Romans.  It was a

devotion to your family, your country and the gods. Most Roman stories of heroism

focus on heroes who exemplify the quality of

pietas.

PUBLIUS HORATIUS COCLES

Horatius Cocles was a soldier in Republican Rome. He is most famous for his role in a battle against the Etruscans, who were attacking Rome after the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, had been driven out of the city.  

Horatius' job at this battle was to guard the Sublician Bridge, which was the only bridge over the Tiber into the city of Rome. The fighting was getting heavy. The Romans were weakening under the assault of the Etruscans.  

Horatius ordered the Roman soldiers to leave him--to destroy the bridge behind him so the Etruscans could not cross into the city.

With the help of two officers, and a pile of corpses to hide behind, Horatius defended the bridge. Just as the bridge fell behind him, leaving Horatius facing the Etruscans, he was shot with an arrow in his behind, and dove, in full armor, into the water and swam to safety on the Roman side.

Horatius' story was important to Romans because he is an example of someone who sacrificed himself, put

himself in the path of danger, to protect and defend the city of Rome. 

In other words, he showed pietas, because his devotion to the state

was the most important thing to him. 

CAMILLUS

 

Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier.  He served Rome in a particularly tumultuous time and held several positions in the military, including tribune.

He distinguished himself in early wars and soon Rome declared war against the town of Veii, in Etruscan territory.  The seige of Veii was a long process, but Camillus finally took charge and was successful. He

began by defeating Veii's allies, and then had his men dig underneath Veii and enter through the sewer system and take the town.  All the women and

children were enslaved and the resulting plunder, which went into Rome's treasury, was massive. 

In the aftermath of his victory, Camillus took on the only remaining opposition, Falerii, which resulted in all

the Etruscan towns asking for peace with Rome.

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Camillus' story was not over, though, because when the last town fell, Falerii, the Romans were upset that there was no plunder.  Camillus was accused of taking it all for himself.  He was offered a choice of exile or of

a fine.  When his friends offered to pay the fine, he refused and went into exile with his family.

Camillus was now a private citizen and no longer a soldier. However, the Gauls were attacking Rome and

Camillus, even though he had been exiled and wrongly accused, organized forces to fight the Gauls. After a

sound victory, he was elected general by the Romans to deal with the Gauls all together, once and for all.

Camillus was the longest standing dictator in Roman history.  His pietas

was evident, as he felt such devotion to Rome that he fought for it, even though he had been rejected by the city. Were it not for him, Rome might have fallen to

the Gauls.

LUCIUS QUINCTIUS CINCINNATUS

Cincinnatus was a consul of Rome, who was forced to live very simply after his son was tried and convicted without even being present.  He was an outspoken opponent of the lower classes in Rome and as a result was very unpopular.  He tended a small farm.

 

 

As you saw in the previous picture,  Cincinnatus was minding his own business on his farm when Rome was invaded. 

The Romans had a policy whereby if there was a crisis, a dictator could be elected until the crisis was over.

Much to Cincinnatus' surprise, he was the one chosen dictator.  He put down his plow and led the Romans to victory. 

What is significant about Cincinnatus is the fact that the minute the crisis was over, he had no problem giving up ultimate power and returning to his farm. The Romans lauded him as an example of civic virtue and how everyone can contribute to the greater good. 

GAIUS MUCIUS SCAEVOLA

 

The Etruscans, under the leadership of their king, Lars Porsenna, were beseiging Rome.  Mucius snuck into the Etruscan camp under the cover of darkness to kill Porsenna.  But

he made a mistake and killed the wrong man.  He was also captured.

Mucius was brought before Porsenna, and avowed his love of Rome and said that he was not afraid to die in

pursuit of his enemy. 

Porsenna ordered Mucius to be burned alive. Not blinking, Mucius thrust his right hand

into the fire and watched it burn, not making a sound.   As you will see in the next slide, he faced Porsenna's death sentence with

pride and bravery.   When Porsenna saw how Mucius reacted to pain, and heard Mucius say there was a whole army just like him, ready to die to defend Rome, Porsenna let

him go. 

 

 

What is significant about Mucius, who earned the nickname "Scaevola" or "lefty" from his adventure is that he showed a devotion to the state of Rome, or pietas.

CLOELIA

 

Cloelia was a Roman girl who was being held hostage by the Etruscan king, Lars Porsenna.

Cloelia somehow managed to escape and lead several other Roman girls

with her as they swam for safety.  As you might imagine, at first Porsenna was very upset that his hostages had

escaped.   The more he thought about it though,  the more his anger turned to admiration, and he soon offered Cloelia a deal she had to

debate.

He said that if Cloelia would return to him, and stay until the war was over, he would return her safely to her parents.  As you can imagine, this was terrifying for Cloelia, but she was smart, and she realized that she could probably help Rome more if she went back to be one of Porsenna's hostages.

Cloelia was honored by the Romans for her fast thinking and for the fact that once she went back to Porsenna she helped convince him to send back other hostages. 

Obviously the Romans thought she showed great pietas.

THE HORATII

 

 

According to the historian Livy,  The Horatii were three Roman triplets.  As you see in the

Jacques Louis David painting above, called the Oath of the Horatii, there are three of

them.

It was agreed upon by the people of Rome and Alba Longa that the battle would be decided by having the Horatii fight against the Curiatii, triplets from Alba Longa.  As the fight went on, two of the Horatii were killed and all of the Curatii were wounded.  The final Horatius ran and the wounds of the Curatii slowed them down and separated them.  The Horatius was able to turn and kill each one.When the victorious Horatius returned carrying his plunder from his victory, his sister cried because she had been engaged to one of the Curatii.  the Horatius killed her, saying that no Roman should mourn an enemy.

He was convicted of murder, but set free on an appeal to the people of Rome, who thought that he was right to put the concerns of the state of Rome before his sister's personal concerns.  This is another example of pietas.