Volumnia (according to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, her name was Vergilia) was the wife of

Gaius Marcius Coriolanus Gnaeus (or Gaius) Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He w ...

in ancient Rome. Coriolanus was exiled from Rome following a dispute with 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 ...

, and his family remained in Rome. Coriolanus became a leader of the neighbouring

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 ...

and led them against Rome, besieging it. Envoys from Rome failed to persuade Coriolanus to desist. Then an embassy of Roman matrons, including Volumnia, their two sons, Coriolanus' mother

Veturia Veturia was a Roman matron, the mother of the possibly legendary Roman general Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. According to Plutarch her name was Volumnia. Veturia came from a patrician family and encouraged her son's involvement in Roman politics. A ...

, and other matrons, went to Coriolanus and convinced him to break off the siege. Rome honoured the service of these women by the erection of a temple dedicated to Fortuna Muliebris (a female deity).

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 ...

, '' Ab urbe condita'', 2:39-40 She appears as a character in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's play,

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 ...

, named

Virgilia Virgilia is the wife of Coriolanus in William Shakespeare's play ''Coriolanus'' (1607–1610), in which same play Volumnia is his mother. Origins The life of the legendary figure Caius Marcius Coriolanus has been recorded more than once. In ...

References

External links

''Volumnia'' Erôs in Ancient Greece, edited by Ed Sanders, Chiara Thumiger, Christopher Carey, Nick Lowe. Oxford University Press. 2013. Page 221. ''Volumnia'' Tapestry in the Baroque: New Aspects of Production and Patronage, edited by Thomas Patrick Campbell, Elizabeth A. H. Cleland. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 2010. Page 52. ''Volumnia'' Daily Life of the Ancient Romans, by David Matz. Greenwood Press. 2002. Page 72. ''Volumnia'' A pictorial history of ancient Rome: with sketches of the history of modern Italy, by S. G. Goodrich. H Butler & Co. 1864. Page 42.
5th-century BC Roman women Volumnii {{AncientRome-bio-stub