Classical Mythology, 7th Edition - obinfonet: dia logou

660 THE NATURE OF ROMAN MYTHOLOGY
he was brought up in the king's family and married to his daughter. When Tarquin
was murdered his widow, Tanaquil, skillfully arranged for the transfer of
power to Servius.
Apart from his political and military reforms, Servius is credited with introducing
the cult of Diana to Rome. Like King Numa he is said to have had a
divine counselor and consort, in this case the goddess Fortuna. His death was
said to have been caused by his daughter Tullia, who was married to Arruns,
the son of Tarquinius Priscus, while her sister (also called Tullia) was married
to his brother Tarquinius. She had her husband and her sister murdered and
then married Tarquinius, whom she urged to usurp the throne and murder
Servius. The corpse of Servius lay in the street called the Clivus Urbius; Tullia
drove her coach over her father's body; because of the crime, the name of the
street was changed to Vicus Sceleratus (Crime Street).
LUCRETIA AND THE END OF THE MONARCHY
Thus Tarquinius Superbus (the proud) became king; in the historical tradition
he is a tyrant, and his expulsion led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.
The crime that caused his removal became one of the most famous of Roman
legends. In the Roman army during the siege of the Rutulian capital of
Ardea were a number of young nobles, including Tarquinius Collatinus and Sextus
Tarquinius, the son of the Roman king. Full of wine one evening, they rode
off to pay surprise visits to their wives in order to see who was the most virtuous
and faithful. Alone of all whom they visited, the wife of Collatinus, Lucretia,
was acting in a chaste and matronly way; they all judged her to be the best
and returned to camp. Now Sextus Tarquinius was so taken by Lucretia's beauty
that he returned alone to Collatia some nights later and surprised and violated
her. Next day she sent for both her father and her husband, who came together
with Lucius Junius Brutus. She told them what had happened and made them
promise to avenge themselves on her attacker. Then she plunged a dagger into
her heart.
Lucretia's martyrdom led to the end of the monarchy. Tarquinius Superbus
was driven into exile with two of his sons. Sextus Tarquinius went to the Latin
town of Gabii, where he was murdered. Rome became a republic, the chief power
being exercised by two praetors elected annually (the title was changed to "consuls"
some sixty years later), one of whom was Brutus.
The early centuries of the Roman Republic were idealized by historians and
poets. As early as the fourth century, legends were created about Roman leaders
to express heroic and moral ideals. In the view of Georges Dumézil, the legends
of the monarchy and early Republic reflect the tripartite organization of
Indo-European society (for there were three tribes in early Rome), which he classifies
by function, that is, priest-kings, warriors, and food producers. He believes
that the traditional tales enshrined in the historians (most notably the early books
of Livy) were the genuine myths of this society. This view is controversial, but