Verraderlijke moord op Lucius Siccius Dentatus, RP-P-1904-2870

Lucius Siccius or Sicinius Dentatus (died ) is a supposed Roman soldier, '' primus pilus'', and tribune, famed for his martial bravery. He was cast as a champion of the plebeians in their struggle with the patricians. His exploits are likely fictitious.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

gives him the crucial role in a battle between the consul Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus of 455 BC and the Aequi. Sent on a suicide mission against the enemy camp, instead he captured it while the main force was inconclusively fighting the enemy; Siccius' achievement panicked the Aequians and sent them fleeing from the field, and achieved victory for the Romans. The following year (454 BC), after Romilius' term as consul ended, Dionysius reports that Siccius was elected as one of the tribunes of the plebs, he secured Romilius' conviction but mended relations when Romilius proposed a commission to travel to Greece and study their laws. He was supposedly murdered for his opposition to the

Second Decemvirate The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing ...

, which itself may be fictitious.

Honours

According to various Roman antiquarian sources, likely originating largely from Varro, Siccius participated in many military campaigns. He engaged in a variety of military exploits, received many wounds, and was decorated with many honours.

Aulus Gellius Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, or ...

called him the "Roman Achilles". SP Oakley, a classicist, wrote in the ''Classical Quarterly'' that these exploits are "exaggerated beyond credibility". Those antiquarian sources report that Siccius was eight times champion in single combat, with forty five scars on the front of his body and none on the rear. He is reported to have been awarded no less than eighteen '' hastae purae, '' twenty-five ''

phalerae {{RomanMilitary A phalera was a sculpted disk, usually made of gold, silver, bronze or glass, and worn on the breastplate during parades by Roman soldiers who had been awarded it as a kind of medal.torques'', more than 160 ''

armillae An armill or armilla (from the Latin: ''armillae'' remains the plural of armilla) is a type of medieval bracelet, or armlet, normally in metal and worn in pairs, one for each arm. They were usually worn as part of royal regalia, for example at a ...

'', and twenty six ''coronae'', of which fourteen were '' coronae civicae'' awarded for saving the life of a Roman citizen, eight ''coronae aureae'', three '' coronae murales'', and one ''corona obsidionalis'' or ''corona graminea'', the highest honour for valour, awarded for the deliverer of a besieged army.

References

; Citations ; Sources * * * *

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siccius Dentatus, Lucius Ancient Roman generals 5th-century BC Romans 450s BC births Year of death unknown Tribunes of the plebs Dentatus, Lucius Romans who received the grass crown

Honours

See also

References

External link