Rome and the Etruscan city of Veii, located just ten miles northwest of Rome, would clash throughout the first century of the Roman Republic. Veii was an established power in the region; Rome was the upstart newcomer, having but recently overthrown the last of three Roman kings of Etruscan descent. At the heart of the rivalry lay control of the salt trade and overland routes of the Tiber Valley. Might there have been enough trade for each to thrive? Neither thought so. They would fight three wars to settle the matter, the final one culminating in 396 BC. 

During the First Veientine War (483–474 BC), the two cities fought a bloody and chaotic battle in 480 BC that settled nothing but provides a useful perspective on the Roman concept of virtus. Rome’s consuls that year were Marcus Fabius Vibulanus and Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus. They had to cope with tribune-led Roman dissension that gave great confidence to the forces of Veii, which had been bolstered by troops from other Etruscan towns—a show of unity not often found in Etruria. 

The two consuls eventually managed to rally their army. Battle was joined at close quarters outside the Roman encampment, taking the lives of the brother of Marcus Fabius and his co-consul, Manlius. Fabius, the surviving consul, led a counterattack that carried Rome to victory. The Senate decreed a triumph to honor him, but Fabius shocked all of Rome by refusing to accept it, in deference to his brother and Manlius, to whom he gave all credit. For this he gained the respect of patricians and plebeians alike, doing much to rehabilitate the Fabii name with the commons, whom the Fabii had greatly harmed with their elitist politics.

The actions of Fabius were hailed by many as a noble example of Roman virtus—the courage and excellence expected of a Roman citizen. His selflessness reflected the values of pietas (duty); gravitas (dignity); and abnegatio (self-denial), all wrapped within the larger concept of virtus. 

Fabius’s refusal acknowledged that the ties of family and respect for a fellow consul were more important than personal ambition. By rejecting the spectacle of victory in favor of honoring the dead, he demonstrated the strength of character that Romans desired their leaders to have. Moreover, elevating the interests of Rome above his own glory assuaged the great fear of the early Roman Republic: the emergence of a leader who sought to restore monarchy to Rome by naming himself king. By declining his triumph, Fabius assured the young Republic that its preservation was the only reward he needed.

The Fabii won more prestige through his refusal than they ever could have in a triumph. The esteem the common people of Rome suddenly held for this previously despised family would make the legendary stand of the 306 Fabii three years later, in another battle of the First Veientine War, even more tragic. 

And futile.

Author Note

Perhaps because it is less well known than other more prominent myths/legends/historical events from the early Roman Republic, I was unable to locate an image of an oil painting or engraving depicting Marcus Fabius Vibulanus’s famous refusal of a triumph for Rome’s victory over Veii in 480 BC. The above image is provided for purposes of visual representation of a different triumph, in support of my commentary. Source information for the painting is included below.

Title: The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus, 1789

Artist: Carle Vernet (Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, 1758–1836)

Source: Oil on canvas (held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art)

URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Triumph_of_Aemilius_Paulus_(detail).jpg

License: Public Domain