Tarquinius-Superbus		Porsena

Early republic

509 bc

Conspiracy
Soon the former king Tarquinius sent ambassadors seemingly to ask for his properties. In the time the senate needed to discus this matter, the ambassadors started a conspiracy. Iunius Brutus´ sons Titus and Tiberius somehow became involved in this conspiracy. A slave Vindicius happened to attend the moment the traitors wrote a letter to Tarquinius and warned the consul. Here you can see how every ancient author wrote his own history:

• Livius (2.4) simply states that Vindicius had seen it happen
• Plutarchus (life of Publicola 4) means he hid himself behind a chest.
• Dionysius of Halicarnassus(Rom. A 7) places the man behind a door

Author's phantasy
These differences are not really important, but this shows how they imagined how things could have happened and wrote that down as a truth rather than a as novel. Likewise the most of the speeches they put in the mouths of the heros and villeins seldom were registered when uttered. Point is the conspirators were arrested. Brutus had to order the execution of his own two sons.

   

   

Marble bust depicting Iunius Brutus, the first consul of Rome
Museo archeologico Napoli

 

Now Collatinus is expelled from the early republic because he opposed Brutus when he wanted to put to death other young conspirators. (According to Dionysius(5.10-11).) Either way the deceased consul was succeeded by P. Valerius Publicola

Help from Tarquinii
Tarquinius Superbus, stripped of all his properties in Rome, went for help to Tarquinii. The Tarquinii gave him an army or two. Tarquinius attacked the early republic. Rome won this battle but Brutus got killed. He was succeeded by M. Horatius Pulvillus. Also Lucretia's father, Sp. Lucretius Tricipitinus, is mentioned. He would have died after a couple of days. Even Livius expresses his doubts. Probably this name was later entered in the list of consuls too boost the prestige of the clan Lucretius.