Transcript Cincinnatus * 519

CINCINNATUS – 519-439 BCE
About Cincinnatus:
Cincinnatus was a Roman farmer, dictator, and
consul from the legendary period of Roman
history. He gained fame as a model of Roman
virtue. He was a farmer above all, but when called
to serve his country he did so well, efficiently, and
without question, even though a prolonged stay
away from his farm could mean starvation for his
family. When he served his country, he made his
stint as dictator as brief as possible. He was also
admired for his lack of ambition.
In 458 BCE (according to tradition), Cincinnatus, who had been consul in 460
BCE, was plowing his fields when messengers arrived to tell him he had been
named dictator to defend the city against the Aequi and the Volscians. He
took up the supreme command, defeated Rome's enemies, freed the beseiged
consul Minucius, and returned to his farm, all within 16 days. Further, he
refused the honors that came with his military victories. Legend says he was
named dictator a second time in 439 BCE, but there is no foundation for this
story.
The core of the tradition holds that in 458 Cincinnatus was
appointed dictator at Rome in order to rescue a consular army that
was surrounded by the Aequi on Mount Algidus. At the time of
his appointment he was working a small farm. He is said to have
defeated the enemy in a single day and celebrated a triumph in
Rome.
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
(519 BC – 430 BC) was an
aristocrat and political figure of
the Roman RepublicRoman
RepublicThe Roman Republic
was the period of the ancient
Roman civilization where the
government operated as a
republic. It began with the
overthrow of the Roman
monarchy, traditionally dated
around 508 BC, and its
replacement by a government