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

Lucius Siccius or Sicinius Dentatus (died ) is a supposed

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 lette ...

soldier, ''

primus pilus The ''primus pilus'' or ''primipilus'' was the senior centurion of the first cohort in a Roman legion, a formation of five double-strength centuries of 160 men, was called the ''primus pilus''; he was a career soldier and advisor to the le ...

'', and

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

, famed for his martial bravery. He was cast as a champion of the

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

in their struggle with the

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

. His exploits are likely fictitious. Dionysius of Halicarnassus gives him the crucial role in a battle between the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus Titus Romilius Rocus Vaticanus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 455 BC, and decemvir in 451 BC. Family He was the only member of the patrician family to become consul. The '' gens Romilia'' disappears after him in the an ...

of 455 BC and the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early hist ...

. 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 Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

, 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, which itself may be fictitious.

Honours

According to various Roman antiquarian sources, likely originating largely from

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

, 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 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'', 83 ''

torques In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of the ...

'', more than 160 '' armillae'', 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