Sextus Furius ( 488–486 BC) was a Roman politician from the early

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, who served as

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 throug ...

in 488 BC alongside Spurius Nautius Rutilus. It was during their term of office that Rome was besieged by

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 ...

and 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 ...

. Roman tradition credits the consuls with normal duties during the siege, as well as a raid on Volscian territory after their withdrawal. Some sources suggest that Sextus Furius was among a group of nine tribunes (probably

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone to ...

s) who were burnt alive in 486 BC, possibly for supporting the alleged conspiracy of the consul

Spurius Cassius Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first '' magister equitum'', and the author of the first ...

. Münzer, Friedrich (1910), " Furius 26" & " Furius 27", '' Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft'' (''RE'', ''PW''), volume 7, part 1, column 318.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furius, Sextus 5th-century BC Roman consuls

Sextus Sextus is an ancient Roman '' praenomen'' or "first name". Its standard abbreviation is Sex., and the feminine form would be Sexta. It is one of the numeral ''praenomina'', like Quintus ("fifth") and Decimus ("tenth"), and means "sixth". Althoug ...