Brutus Legacy

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Lucius Junius Brutus, Father of the Roman Republic Lucius Junius Brutus, born in 545 B.C., is commonly known as the Father of the Roman Republic. According to legend, Lucius Junius Brutus expelled the Tarquin family from Rome after the rape of his distant cousin Lucretia by the son of King Tarquinius. After the Tarquin family had been exiled, Brutus founded the Roman republic in 509 A.D. Brutus’ allegiance to the republic was so strong that he ordered his two sons, Titus Junius Brutus and Tiberius Junius Brutus, to be put to death after an unsuccessful attempt to restore the monarchy. This tragic sacrifice was illustrated in Brutus’ legacy, The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of his sons by Jacques-Louis David. Throughout his life, Lucius …show more content…
Brutus and his cousins Arruns and Sextus, of the Tarquin family, traveled to speak with the oracle of Dephi at the order of King Tarquinius. Upon being asked by Sextus who the next king of Rome will be, the oracle prophesied that whomever is the first to kiss their mother will be king. Interpreting this literally, Arruns and Sextus decided to draw straws, while Brutus pretended to fall and kissed the earth instead. During the siege of Ardea, several soldiers including Sextus, competed for best wife by temporarily returning home to check on them. Lucretia, the distant cousin of both Brutus and Sextus, was declared the best woman in Rome. Sextus immediately desired her for his own, and later returned to her home. Sextus threatened Lucretia that id she did not sleep with him, he would murder both her and her slave and put their naked bodies in a bed, appearing as though they had slept together. Mortified at the prospect, Lucretia slept with him, told her family what happened, and then stabbed herself. Brutus, enraged at this abuse of power by the royal family, pulled out the dagger Lucretia used to stab herself and vowed to end the monarchy once and for all. He then passed around the dagger to the other Romans who had watched Lucretia take her own life, and they too swore to bring down the …show more content…
Brutus, Collatinus, Lucretius, and Valerius carried Lucretia’s body into the forum, disgruntling many Roman citizens and causing chaos. At the “Tribune of the Celeres”, Brutus rallied the Roman men on the tyranny and injustice of the the king including Tarquinius’ method of gaining the throne, by murdering the previous king, and the unjust treatment of the lower class. Tarquinius arrived to the city and discovered that he and his kin had been expelled from the city. Lucius Junius Brutus was elected consul, along with Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. Two years later, the Tarquins made a deal with the Etruscans to regain power of Rome, and Lucius Junius Brutus died heroically in battle, demonstrating his incredible Fides,or loyalty, to the republic of Rome. The legacy of Lucius Junius Brutus, the Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of his sons was painted in 1789, during the beginning of the French revolution, by Jacques-Louis David. This painting shows Brutus mourning the deaths of his sons after they had attempted and failed to overthrow the republic and reestablish the monarchy. This particular sacrifice is so painful because Brutus is forced to give up his own personal legacy, his sons. By making this tremendous sacrifice, Brutus demonstrates extreme Fides and Pietas, respect or reverence, to the Republic of
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