Select Page

The Early Roman Republic: In Paintings and Prose

The Battle of Lake Regillus and the Dioscuri

The Battle of Lake Regillus and the Dioscuri

Twin Brothers of Helen of Troy The Battle of Lake Regillus in 496 BC was the culmination of a struggle between the fledgling Roman Republic and the deposed Roman monarchy of Tarquinius Superbus—Tarquin the Proud. The conflict also ended the First Latin War, pitting...

read more
The Legend of Mucius 

The Legend of Mucius 

What Price Liberty? The siege of Rome in 508 BC by the Etruscan King of Clusium, Lars Porsenna, sought to restore the monarchy of Tarquinius Superbus, the last Roman king, whom the Romans had deposed the year before. Porsenna drew a blockade around Rome that slowly...

read more
Horatius Defending the Bridge

Horatius Defending the Bridge

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...

read more
The Dilemma of Brutus

The Dilemma of Brutus

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,...

read more
The Fate of Collatinus

The Fate of Collatinus

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...

read more
The Birth of the Roman Republic 

The Birth of the 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...

read more
The Battle of Lake Regillus and the Dioscuri

The Battle of Lake Regillus and the Dioscuri

Twin Brothers of Helen of Troy The Battle of Lake Regillus in 496 BC was the culmination of a struggle between the fledgling Roman Republic and the deposed Roman monarchy of Tarquinius Superbus—Tarquin the Proud. The conflict also ended the First Latin War, pitting...

read more
The Legend of Mucius 

The Legend of Mucius 

What Price Liberty? The siege of Rome in 508 BC by the Etruscan King of Clusium, Lars Porsenna, sought to restore the monarchy of Tarquinius Superbus, the last Roman king, whom the Romans had deposed the year before. Porsenna drew a blockade around Rome that slowly...

read more
Horatius Defending the Bridge

Horatius Defending the Bridge

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...

read more
The Dilemma of Brutus

The Dilemma of Brutus

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,...

read more
The Fate of Collatinus

The Fate of Collatinus

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...

read more
The Birth of the Roman Republic 

The Birth of the 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...

read more

The Early Roman Republic: In Paintings and Prose

Whether you’re a seasoned armchair historian or casual lover of Roman lore, "The Early Roman Republic: In Paintings and Prose" is your gateway to the heroes, villains, and stories that formed the Roman Republic.