Corioli was a town in ancient times in the territory of 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 ...

in central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in

Latium adiectum Latium adiectum () or Latium Novum was a region of Roman Italy between Monte Circeo and the river Garigliano, south of and immediately adjacent to Old Latium, hence its name of ''attached Latium''. Sources As a geographical term, it was used at l ...

Etymology

Linguist Roger Woodard, based on McCone, suggests the name of the town, ''Corioli'', may derive from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

root *''

kóryos The ''kóryos'' (Proto-Indo-European: "army, people under arms" or "detachment, war party") refers to the theoretical Proto-Indo-European brotherhood of warriors in which unmarried young males served for several years, as a rite of passage into ma ...

'', meaning 'army'. Therefore, the town name would mean something akin to 'army camp'.

Historical location

The town was located south of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, north of the Volscian capital

Antium Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conquere ...

. The site is apparently to be sought in the North-Western portion of the district between the sea, the and the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...

; but it cannot be more accurately fixed (the identification with Monte Giove, South of the Valle Aricciana, rests on no sufficient evidence), and even in the time of

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

it ranked among the lost cities of Latium. Scholarship points that Corioli, along with Polusca and Longula, are mentioned together in ancient sources, yet disappear from the historical record "after the legendary age". In 493 BC 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

army under the command of the consul

Postumus Cominius Auruncus Postumus Cominius Auruncus was a two-time consul of the early Roman Republic. In 501 BC, Cominius was consul with Titus Larcius, who Livy says was appointed as the first ''dictator'' of Rome. Other sources indicate the beginnings of hostilities ...

laid

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

to the town. However, whilst the Romans were focussed on the siege, another Volscian force arrived from Antium and attacked the Romans, and at the same time the soldiers of Corioli launched a sally. A young noble Roman, Gaius Marcius held watch at the time of the Volscian attack. He quickly gathered a small force of Roman soldiers to fight against the Volscians who had sallied forth from Corioli. Not only did he repel the enemy, but he charged through the town gates and then began setting fire to some of the houses bordering the town wall. The citizens of Corioli cried out, and the whole Volscian force was dispirited and was defeated by the Romans. The town was captured, and Marcius gained the

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "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 here ...

Coriolanus. It was retaken for the Volsci in around 488 BC by Coriolanus who, in disgust at his treatment by his countrymen, had deserted to the enemy. These events were fictionalized in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

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 Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...

''. After this it does not appear in history, and we hear soon afterwards (446 BC) of a dispute between Ardea and Aricia about some land which had been part of the territory of Corioli,Martinez-Pinna, Jorge. "Los santuarios federales latinos". In: ''Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire'', tome 92, fasc. 1, 2014. Antiquité - Ouheid. p. 45. OI: https://doi.org/10.3406/rbph.2014.8539 www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2014_num_92_1_8539 but had at an unknown date passed to Rome with Corioli.

References

* {{EB1911, wstitle=Corioli, volume=7, page=154

Etymology

Historical location

References

Further reading