Titus Menenius Lanatus (died 476 BC) was 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 lette ...
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
of the fifth century BC. He was elected
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 ...
for the year 477. He unsuccessfully fought the
Veii
Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
entes, and was later prosecuted by 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 ...
for his failure to prevent the disaster of
the Cremera.
Family
Menenius was the son of
Agrippa Menenius Lanatus
Agrippa Menenius Lanatus (died 493 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC, with Publius Postumius Tubertus. He was victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April, 503 BC. According to Livy, he als ...
, who was consul in 503 BC, and the grandson of Gaius Menenius. He was the father of
Lucius Menenius Lanatus, consul in 440 BC and
Agrippa Menenius Lanatus
Agrippa Menenius Lanatus (died 493 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC, with Publius Postumius Tubertus. He was victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April, 503 BC. According to Livy, he als ...
, the consul of 439 and
consular tribune in 419 and 417.
[
]
Life
Menenius was consul in 477 BC, together with Gaius Horatius Pulvillus
Gaius Horatius Pulvillus (died 453 BC) was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was consul in 477 and 457 BC.
Family
Ancient sources disagree on his ''praenomen''. Livy and Diodorus Siculus give ''Gaius'' for the year 477 BC, but ' ...
. The Senate entrusted the conduct of the war against Veii to him, in support of the Fabia gens Fabia may refer to:
* Fabia gens, an ancient Roman family
* Fabia, the daughter of Marcus Fabius Ambustus (consular tribune 381 BC)
* Fabia (given name), an Italian feminine given name derived from masculine Fabio
* Fabia Arete, Roman actress
* ...
, who were guarding the frontier against the Etruscan city, while his colleague prepared to face 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 ...
ans.
When the Fabii were ambushed at the Cremera, Menenius failed to intervene, although his forces were close enough to turn the tide without losing the strategic position. Not only were the Fabii destroyed and their position lost, but the Veientes continued toward Rome, where they defeated Menenius and occupied the Janiculum
The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...
. Horatius Pulvillus was recalled in haste to defend the city. While Horatius won a first battle on the Janiculum against the Veientes, it was the consuls of the following year who were able to defeat the enemy and drive them out of Roman territory.
In 476 BC, after he had left office, Menenius was prosecuted by the tribunes Quintus Considius and Titus Genucius, ostensibly for his conduct of military operations during his consulate, in particular for allowing the gens Fabia
In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...
to be slaughtered. However, Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a 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 traditional founding in ...
points out that the prosecution may have been motivated more by his opposition to the agrarian law that the plebeians been calling for since the death of Spurius Cassius Vecellinus
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 a ...
in 486. He was defended by the Senate as strenuously as they defended 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 yea ...
a few years earlier, and was helped by the reputation of his father, who was popular for having reconciled the plebeians and patricians after the first secession of the plebs.[Livy]
ii. 52
According to Livy, Menenius was able to avoid the death penalty or exile, and was fined 2000 ''asses
Ass most commonly refers to:
* Buttocks (in informal American English)
* Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus''
**any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus''
Ass or ASS may also refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Ass (album), ''Ass'' (album ...
''; but unable to bear his humiliation, Menenius soon fell sick and died.[ However, ]Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
reports that Menenius was sentenced to death by the court (likely based on ancient sources that still use the term "lender" to mean a consul).[Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', v. 21.]
See also
* Menenia gens
The gens Menenia was a very ancient and illustrious patrician house at ancient Rome from the earliest days of the Roman Republic to the first half of the fourth century BC. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Agrippa Menenius Lana ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menenius Lanatus, Titus 277
5th-century BC deaths
5th-century BC Roman consuls
Lanatus, Titus 277