Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola (died 503 BC) was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a

Roman consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

, the

colleague Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues, especially among peers, for example a fellow member of the same profession. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and, at least in theory, respect each other's abilities t ...

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus (died ) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic and traditionally one of its two first consuls. Depicted as responsible for the expulsion of his uncle, the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after the suicide of L ...

in 509 BC, traditionally considered the first year of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

Early life

According to

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 i ...

and

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, the Valerii were of

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

origin, but settled in Rome during the reign of Titus Tatius, a contemporary of

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

, and worked for the peaceful unification of both peoples.

, Lives. Life of Poplicola.

Wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...

Valerius came from a wealthy family. His father was Volesus Valerius, and his brothers were Marcus Valerius Volusus and Manius Valerius Volusus Maximus. He had a daughter, Valeria, and possibly a son or grandson who was also named

Publius Valerius Poplicola Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola (died 503 BC) was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the colleague of Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BC, traditionally considered the first year o ...

who served as consul in 475 BC and 460 BC. Before holding public office, Valerius had spoken in defense of the

plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians or 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 the gro ...

, the common people of Rome.

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

1:58, 2:20.
History of Rome, books 1 and 2

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

The revolution

In 509 BC, Valerius was one of the leaders of the Roman revolution, together with

, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, and Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus. Winning over public opinion while the king was campaigning away from the city, they deposed and banished

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', wikisource:From_the_ ...

, the seventh and last

King of Rome The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine H ...

. In place of the monarchy, they established a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

, together with the office of

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 thro ...

. Brutus and Collatinus were elected the first consuls. From exile, the Tarquins plotted the assassination of the consuls, together with some disaffected members of the Aquillii and Vitellii, who had benefited from the deposed regime. Valerius was informed of the plot by a slave, Vindicius. He personally investigated the conspiracy, sneaking into the Aquillius estate and finding incriminating evidence, based on which the consuls held a public trial. The conspirators, including two of Brutus' sons, were found guilty and executed. Valerius played a leading role in the trial.

Election as consul and battle of Silva Arsia

After the trial, Brutus demanded that his colleague, Collatinus, resign the consulship and go into exile, as a member of the hated royal family, whom the people could not trust. Collatinus was stunned by this betrayal, as he had been one of the leaders of the rebellion following his wife Lucretia's suicide because of her being raped by the king's son, Sextus Tarquinius. Nevertheless, he resigned, and Valerius was elected to replace him. Meanwhile, Tarquin, whose family was of Etruscan origin, obtained the support of the Etruscan cities of Tarquinii and

Veii Veii (also Veius; ) 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 city-st ...

. At the head of an Etruscan army, Tarquin fought the consuls Brutus and Valerius at the Battle of Silva Arsia. Valerius commanded the Roman infantry, while Brutus led the cavalry. Arruns Tarquinius, the king's son, died in combat with Brutus, who was also mortally wounded, but the Romans were ultimately victorious. Valerius collected the spoils of battle and returned to Rome, where he celebrated a triumph on March 1, 509 BC. His four-horse

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

subsequently became the traditional vehicle for a victorious Roman general. Then, Valerius held a magnificent funeral for Brutus, and gave a memorable speech.

wrote that Valerius fought the Veientes again in the same year, although the reason is not stated.

First consulship

After the death of Brutus, Valerius was the sole surviving consul. Spurius Lucretius was chosen in place of Brutus, but he died after a few days, and was followed by

Marcus Horatius Pulvillus Marcus Horatius Pulvillus was an aristocrat before and during the early Roman Republic at the time of the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. He was a suffect consul in 509 BC and elected again in 507 BC, according to the Varronian chronology. Bi ...

. When Valerius began construction of a new house on top of the Velian Hill, which would be conspicuously visible from the Senate house, a rumour began to circulate that he intended to re-establish the monarchy, with himself as king. At once, Valerius stopped building, and demolished the structure in a single night. Addressing an assembly of the people, he caused his

lictor A lictor (possibly from Latin language, Latin ''ligare'', meaning 'to bind') was a Ancient Rome, Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a Roman magistrate, magistrate who held ''imperium''. Roman records describe lictors as hav ...

s to lower their

fasces A fasces ( ; ; a , from the Latin word , meaning 'bundle'; ) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in the Etrus ...

as a mark of humility, and to remove the axes from them within the city. "I have just liberated Rome, bravely, but now I am slandered, like being either an Aquillius or a Vitellian. I am the bitterest enemy of the former kings, so I shouldn't be accused of wanting to be king." In order to allay suspicions, he caused his house to be built at the foot of the hill, rather than its peak. In later times, the Temple of Victory stood in the same place. For his actions and deference to the people of Rome, Valerius received the surname ''Poplicola'', meaning "one who courts the people". Recent studies on the onomastics of Publicola, however, have served to debunk this myth, in favor of a more plausible interpretation of the cognomen as a compound name meaning "one who takes care of the army". Before the impending elections, Valerius filled up the ranks of the Senate, which had been severely reduced as a result of the revolution and the subsequent war. The consul also promulgated new laws, including the right of appeal (''provocatio'') from the decisions of a magistrate, and demanding the forfeiture of all the rights of anyone convicted of plotting to restore the monarchy.

Four consulships

Poplicola was elected consul three more times, in 508, 507, and 504 BC. Horatius was his colleague again in 507, while his colleague in 508 and 504 was Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus. He was the first consul ever to be re-elected.

War with Clusium

In 508 BC, Lars Porsena, the king of

Clusium Clusium (, ''Klýsion'', or , ''Kloúsion''; Umbrian language, Umbrian:''Camars'') was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the same site overlapping the current municipality of Chiusi (Tuscany). The Roman city remodeled an earlier E ...

, attacked Rome at the behest of Tarquin. According to Plutarch, both Poplicola and his colleague, Lucretius, were severely wounded during the battle. During the siege, Poplicola executed a successful sally, defeating a Clusian raiding party. According to Plutarch, Poplicola negotiated a treaty with Porsena, ending the war. He gave the king hostages, including his daughter Valeria, whom Porsena protected from the Tarquins.

War with the Sabines

In 506, when his brother Marcus was consul, the Sabines attacked Rome. Poplicola participated in two Roman victories, repelling the invasion. The people rewarded Poplicola with a house on the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the ...

. In 505, the Latin League and the Sabines threatened Rome with a large army. Although diplomatic negotiations were halted, Poplicola meddled with the politics of the Sabines, assisting Attius Clausus, who moved to Rome with five hundred followers. Clausus became a Roman citizen under the name of Appius Claudius; he was the founder of the Claudii. When the Sabines attempted to besiege Rome, Poplicola successfully commanded the army, anticipating their movements and thwarting their plans. He was elected consul for the fourth time in 504 BC, and once again defeated the Sabines. He celebrated a triumph in May of that year.

Death

Publius Valerius Poplicola died in 503 BC, shortly after passing the consular office to his successors, Agrippa Menenius Lanatus and Publius Postumius Tubertus. Livy records that at the time of his death, he was considered "by universal consent to be the ablest man in Rome, in the arts both of peace and war". He had little money, and so was buried at the public charge, and was mourned by the Roman matrons as had been done for Brutus before him. By decree, each citizen contributed a

quadrans The ''quadrans'' () or ''teruncius'' () was a low-value Roman bronze coin worth one quarter of an '' as''. The ''quadrans'' was issued from the beginning of cast bronze coins during the Roman Republic, showing three pellets representing thre ...

for the funeral. The remains of Poplicola were buried within the city of Rome, on the Velian Hill. His death was mourned for an entire year. After Poplicola, many noted members of the Valerian

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

were buried near the same spot.

Lapis Satricanus

In 1977 an inscription was discovered in the ruins of the ancient town of Satricum. The Lapis Satricanus dates from the late 6th to early 5th centuries BC and bears the name ''Poplios Valesios'', which would be rendered in Classical Latin as Publius Valerius. This does not prove the historicity of the narrative given by later Roman historians, but it does demonstrate that at least one prominent individual did indeed bear the name at the close of the 6th century.

Legacy

In ''

The Federalist Papers ''The Federalist Papers'' is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The ...

'', a collection of 85

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

s promoting the adoption of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

, written by

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, and

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

in 1787–1788, the three statesmen used the allonym "Publius" in honor of Poplicola's role in establishing the

. Following the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, a piece titled "The Duty of the American People as to the Philippines" was published under the pseudonym "Publicola". The author recommended the development of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

to improve the lives of the

Filipino people Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...

, as well as to further American trading interests in the

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

References

External links

* Plutarch, ''The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans'', paired with Solon, i
"Poplicola"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Poplicola, Publius 6th-century BC births 500s BC deaths 6th-century BC Roman consuls Poplicola, Publius Year of birth unknown