by Richard Barager | Jul 6, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
For the Ashes of his Fathers, and the Temples of his Gods The second year of the newborn Roman Republic saw the banished king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, seek to restore his monarchy with the aid of Lars Porsenna, the powerful Etruscan king of Clusium. A large...
by Richard Barager | Jun 1, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
Nearly as shocking as the Rape of Lucretia, which led to the birth of the Roman Republic, is the tale of Brutus and his treacherous sons, which came to embody the values of the Republic. In the year following the expulsion of Tarquinius the Proud, Rome’s last monarch,...
by Richard Barager | May 17, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
The painting above depicts Lucretia Tarquinia holding the hand of her husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. Leering covetously at Lucretia in the background is Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Rome’s last king, Tarquin the Proud. The defilement of Lucretia by Sextus—The...
by Richard Barager | May 7, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
Is the tale of Lucretia Tarquinia mythical or historical? Probably a heady brew of each, like most of early Roman history. The Rape of Lucretia may have been adapted from a Greek story about a homosexual affair that led to the demise of tyranny—and rise of...
