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Historiae Romanorum
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BrutusLucius Junius BrutusHe was a nephew of the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus. Tarquin was quick to murder any man who posed any threat to himself, or even any man who had a great deal of wealth. Therefore, Brutus acted as an idiot (the cognomen 'Brutus' literally means 'stupid') and even allowed Tarquin to take his entire estate. During Tarquin's reign, a snake appeared in the court. Thinking it a bad omen, he sent Brutus and two of his sons (Titus and Arruns) to the Oracle at Delphi for an answer. The three men asked the kings question and received a reply. Then they asked a further question, who would be the next king of Rome. The oracle responded that it would be the first of them to kiss their mother. Swearing Brutus to secrecy, the two sons of Tarquin drew lots to determine who would kiss their mother first when back at Rome. After leaving the temple, Brutus purposefully tripped and kissed the ground. He had realized the oracle was talking about 'mother' earth. When Lucretia, the husband of his cousin Collatinus was raped, Brutus abandoned his guise of stupidity. He rallied the people of Rome against Tarquinius Superbus and had the king expelled. Then, he oversaw the creation of the Republic, with Collatinus and himself as the first two consuls. As consul, one of Brutus' first actions was to sentence to death his own sons, for they had conspired with Superbus to overthrow the Republic. Soon afterward, in a battle with an Etruscan army led by Superbus, Brutus was slain. Source(s):
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This page was last updated on July 21, 2004. |