In the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

legend of the kingdom era, the Horatii were triplet warriors who lived during the reign of

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, believ ...

. The accounts of their epic clash with the Curiatii and the murder of their sister by Publius, the sole survivor of the battle, appear in the writings of

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, 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 traditiona ...

.The names ''Horatii'' and ''Curiatii'' are derived from the plural of their surnames: "'' Horatius''", and "''

Curiatius The ''gens Curiatia'' was a distinguished family at Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. Members of this gens are mentioned in connection with the reign of Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome, during the seventh century BC. The ...

''". The English equivalents could be "the Horatius Brothers" and "The Curiatius Brothers".

War with Alba Longa

Livy recounts this tale in the first book of his ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

''. During the

Roman king The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...

Tullus Hostilius' war with the neighboring city of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was d ...

, it was agreed that fighting a costly war between their armies would leave the door open for an

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

invasion. Sabine dictator

Mettius Fufetius Mettius Fufetius (died in ~670 BC) was a dictator of Alba Longa, an ancient town in central Italy near Rome. He was appointed to his position after the death of Alban king Gaius Cluilius. When a full-blown war threatened to erupt between the Alban ...

appealed to Tullus Hostilius that the conflict should be settled by a fight to the death between the Roman Horatii triplets and their Alban counterparts, known as the Curiatii. They met on the battlefield between the lines as the two armies and their countrymen looked on. With so much at stake, both sides fought bravely. The Horatii had wounded all three Curiatii, but two of the Romans were killed in the process. That left their brother Publius alone and surrounded by the three Albans. Though he was uninjured, Publius realized he stood no chance against all three of his enemies together. So he began to run across the battlefield instead. The Albans pursued him, each as fast as their individual injuries permitted. This was exactly what he had hoped they would do, and after they had gone far enough, he saw that the Curiatii had become staggered and were separated from each another. His plan had worked perfectly. He turned and launched a furious attack on the first, least-injured Curiatius and slew him. The Roman spectators, who, moments before, had been sure of defeat, began cheering wildly as the Albans began shouting at the Curiatii to regroup in the face of Publius' onslaught. But before they could, the Horatius caught up to the second Curiatius and killed him as his brother, helpless, looked on. The final Curiatius was physically spent from his wounds and the chase. His hope had been crushed by watching both of his brothers die. He managed to unsteadily stand his ground and faced the Horatius, who was heartened by his wildly successful strategy and confident of his imminent victory. Publius declared that he had killed the first two Curiatii for his fallen brothers. He would kill this last one for the Roman cause and their rule over the Albans. He thrust his sword down the Alban's throat and took the armor of his slain enemies as the spoils of his victory. Afterwards, the Alban dictator Mettius honored the treaty and Alba Longa briefly accepted Roman rule, before provoking a war with the

Fidenates Fidenae ( grc, Φιδῆναι) was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the '' Via Salaria'', which ran between Rome and the Tiber. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etr ...

and betraying Rome.

Homecoming of Publius

Lagrenée Horace venant de frapper sa soeur

The victorious Horatius returned to a hero's welcome. Before the war had broken out, Publius' sister, Camilla, had been engaged to one of the Alban triplets. When she saw the cloak that she herself had woven and given to the Curiatius on her brother's shoulder, now stained with his blood, she realized that her betrothed had been slain. Camilla was overcome with grief and began wailing and crying out his name. Proclaiming that no Roman woman should mourn Rome's fallen enemies, Publius killed his sister on the spot. For his crime, he was condemned to death. On the advice of a jurist named Tullus, Publius appealed to one of the

popular assemblies A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Assemblies tend to be freely open to participation and operate by direct democracy. Some assemblies are of people from a location ...

. In defense of his son, the Horatius' father, also Publius, spoke of the recent victory and entreated them to spare his last surviving son (his fourth son, a brother of the Horatii, had also died). The assembly was persuaded and Publius' sentence was commuted. This may be the source of the Roman tradition of allowing the condemned to appeal their sentences to the populace. Publius the elder was required to offer a sacrifice to atone for his son's crime and from that time forward, the Horatia family made it a tradition to offer the same. The spoils of the victory were hung in a place that became known as Pila Horatia. A wooden beam was erected on the slope of the

Oppian Hill The Oppian Hill (Latin, ''Oppius Mons''; it, Colle Oppio) is the southern spur of the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven hills of Rome, Italy. It is separated from the Cispius on the north by the valley of the Suburra, and from the Caelian Hill ...

, which was called the

Sororium Tigillum The ''Sororium Tigillum'', which translates as the "sister's beam", was a wooden beam said to have been erected on the slope of the Oppian Hill in Ancient Rome by the father of Publius Horatius, one of the three brothers Horatii. Publius Horatiu ...

(Sister's Beam). It symbolized a yoke, under which Publius the younger was made to pass. It remained standing long after his death.

References

Sources

, ''

'', 1:24-26 {{Authority control 7th-century BC Romans Characters in Roman mythology Horatii Curiatii Triplets

War with Alba Longa

Homecoming of Publius

See also

References

Sources