Lucius Junius Brutus

Lucius Junius Brutus
Coin depicting bearded man with stern expression facing right
Portrait of Lucius Junius Brutus on a denarius minted by Marcus Junius Brutus in 54 BC[1]
Diedc. 509 BC
Silva Arsia, Rome
NationalityRoman
Known forFoundation of the Roman Republic
OfficeConsul (509 BC)
SpouseVitellia
ChildrenTitus and Tiberius

Lucius Junius Brutus (died c. 509 BC)[2] was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after the suicide of Lucretia, which led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. He was involved in the abdication of fellow consul Tarquinius Collatinus, and executed two of his sons for plotting the restoration of the Tarquins.[3]

He was claimed as an ancestor of the Roman gens Junia, including Decimus Junius Brutus, and Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins. Traditions about his life may have been fictional, and some scholars argue that it was the Etruscan king Porsenna who overthrew Tarquinius. The plebeian status of the Junia gens has also raised doubts about his position as a consul and the alleged initial patrician domination of the office. Depicted as the nephew of Tarquinius, he may have symbolized the internal tensions that occurred during the transition between the monarchy and the republic.[3]

  1. ^ Crawford 1974, p. 455.
  2. ^ Gagarin, Michael, ed. (2010). "Lucius Junius Brutus". Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517072-6. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  3. ^ a b Drummond 2012, p. 765.