The Rape of Lucretia
-Chrissie

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            After the founding of Rome by Romulus, the city was ruled by seven kings. They are, for the most part, shrouded in myth, but the last, Tarquinius Superbius (Tarquin the Proud), is definitely an historical figure. We know this because it is his, and his son’s, actions that usher in the Roman Republic.

            In 510 BCE, the son of King Tarquin, Sextus Tarquin (or Tarquin the Younger) went out with some friends, including a cousin named Lucius Collatinus. Well into their cups, they argue about who has the best wife, and decide the most effective way to answer the question is to see what their wives were doing while the men were gone. They decide to go home early and surprise them. The first house where they stop is that of the younger Tarquin, whose wife is hosting a gathering with some of her friends, in which they were gossiping and drinking. Tarquin was embarrassed and demands they go next to Collatinus’ home. Collatinus is unconcerned—he knows and trusts his wife and that faith is borne out. Bursting through the door, the men find Lucretia sitting quietly, sewing by the hearth, the epitome of Roman female virtue. Sextus Tarquin leaves angrily, thinking of ways he could embarrass his cousin equal to what he had experienced.

            A few days later, he returns to Collatinus’ house on the pretense of a pressing meeting with him. Lucretia tells him her husband is not expected until the next day, but still welcomes him into the home as befitting a member of Collatinus’ family. She arranges a room for him to stay overnight, so that he might be able to see Collatinus as soon as he arrives the next day. Tarquin uses the situation to exact his revenge on his cousin. He sneaks into Lucretia’s room late at night and rapes her, then leaves.

            She sent a messenger to her husband and to her father, asking them to bring a witness to hear what she urgently needed to tell them. On their arrival, she relates the events. Our sources give slightly different tellings of the story: Dionysius of Halicarnassus depicts her as utterly distraught, fearing that her family will think she was to blame, Livy presents her with a calm anger as she explains what happened, Cassius Dio focuses on her desire for revenge. All of the accounts end in the same way: having been assured that action will be taken against Sextus Tarquin, she commits suicide.

            The friend and witness who accompanied Lucius Collatinus was Lucius Iunius Brutus. He used his position as a magistrate to call the Senate to a meeting. There, he gave an impassioned speech that demanded justice for Lucretia and connected the actions of the younger Tarquin with the corruption of King Tarquin. The speech inspired those present to recreate the government, to depose the king and make a government that was answerable to (some of) the people. They traded the monarchy for a republic. Tarquin soon found himself deposed and replaced with two elected executives. It had to be two, so that neither man would be free to make himself a tyrant. The Senate elected from amongst themselves first two of these magistrates, called consuls: Lucius Iunius Brutus and Lucius Collatinus.

            King Tarquin and his family fled the city. They stayed with some sympathetic friends while he collected allies to regain his position. His attempts failed and he died a few years later.

            The Roman Republic lasted for almost five centuries, until another Brutus took it upon himself to remove a man he thought a tyrant: Gaius Iulius Caesar.