Spurius Oppius Cornicen was a Roman politician and member of the Second ''Decemvirate'' in 450 and 449 BC.

Biography

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Spurius Oppius Cornicen was plebeian. He was one of the ten members of the Second ''Decemvirate'', presided over by

Appius Claudius Crassus Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis (or Crassinus Regillensis) Sabinus ( 471–451 BC) was a Roman senator during the early Republic, most notable as the leading member of the ten-man board (the Decemvirate) which drew up the Twelve Tables of ...

, and elected in order to draft the

Law of the Twelve Tables The Laws of the Twelve Tables was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornblowe ...

, first body of written law in Roman history. The Second ''Decemvirate'' seemed to be made up just as much by plebeians, like Spurius Oppius, as it was of

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 ...

. At the instigation of Crassus, the decemvirs illegally held on to power the following year, and refused to allow the election of consuls. In 449 BC, a war escalated with the Sabines setting up in

Eretum Eretum (Greek: ), was an ancient town of the Sabines, situated on the Via Salaria, at its junction with the Via Nomentana, a short distance from the Tiber, and about from Rome. History Eretum lay near the frontier between Roman and Sabine territo ...

and with 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 ...

fortified on

Mount Algidus The Algidus Mons, known in English as Mount Algidus, is the eastern rim of the dormant Alban Volcano in the Alban Hills, about southeast of Rome, Italy. The ridge is traversed by a narrow crevasse called ''la Cava d'Aglio''. It was the site of the ...

. Roman forces were divided into two armies commanded each by four decemvirs, in order to fight on two fronts; Appius Claudius Crassus and Spurius Oppius Cornicen remained in Rome in order to assure the defense of the city. The two Roman armies were kept in check on each front respectively, retreating to

Fidenae Fidenae ( grc, Φιδῆναι) was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the '' Via Salaria'', which ran between Rome and the Tiber. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etr ...

Crustumerium Crustumerium (or Crustumium) was an ancient town of Latium, on the edge of the Sabine territory, near the headwaters of the Allia, not far from the Tiber. In the legends concerning Rome's early history, the Crustumini were amongst the peoples whi ...

, and

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome ( ...

. Meanwhile the soldier Lucius Siccius Dentatus, former

tribune 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 staunch opponent of the patricians was murdered. Also,

Verginia Verginia, or Virginia (c. 465 BC449 BC), was the subject of a story of ancient Rome, related in Livy's ''Ab Urbe Condita''.Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology > v. 3, page 1267 /ref> The story of Verginia In 451 BC ...

had her freedom taken in a scandalous trial by Crassus. This caused her to be executed by her own father, Lucius Verginius. The soldiers in both armies mutinied and elected twenty military tribunes in order to command in the place of the decemvirs. The soldiers returned to Rome and set up on the Aventine then joined together on

Monte Sacro __NoToC__ The Mons Sacer, Sacer Mons, or Sacred Mount is a hill in Rome, famed as the location of the first secession of the plebs, in 494 BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'', vol. II, p. 871 ("Sacer Mons"). Geography The Mons Sacer i ...

. Under pressure by the soldiers and the plebeians, the decemvirs resigned. Appius Claudius Crassus and Spurius Oppius Cornicen remained in Rome where they were imprisoned. The other eight decemvirs left in exile. One college of the tribunes of the plebs was elected to restore the old magistrates. Tribune Publius Numitorius took Spurius Oppius to court, but Oppius committed suicide in the process, as did Appius Claudius Crassus, who was charged as well. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'', XI. 46

References

Bibliography

Ancient bibliography

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'' * Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities''

Modern bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oppius Cornicen, Spurius 5th-century BC Romans Ancient Roman decemvirs