Curius Dentatus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manius Curius Dentatus (d. 270 BC), son of Manius, was a plebeian hero of ancient Rome, notable for ending the Samnite War.
According to Pliny he was born with teeth, thus the cognomen "Dentatus".
He first appears as consul in 290 BC, defeating both the Samnites and Sabines that year, and (according to the sources) celebrating two triumphs. As suffect consul in 284 BC, he defeated the Senones, as consul again in 275 BC, he fought Pyrrhus in the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum which nevertheless forced Pyrrhus out of Italy. He defeated the Lucani in the following year. He was censor in 272 BC.
At home Dentatus was responsible for partly draining Lake Velinus (289 BC), and in 272 BC began the construction of the Anio Vetus, Rome's second aqueduct.
He was supposed to have been incorruptible and frugal; the story was that when the Samnites sent ambassadors with expensive gifts in an attempt to influence him in their favor, they found him sitting by the hearth roasting turnips. He refused the gifts, saying that he preferred ruling the possessors of gold over possessing it himself. Although the truth of this story is unclear - it may have been an invention of Cato - it was the inspiration for a number of paintings, by Jacopo Amigoni, Govert Flinck, and others.
His praenomen is sometimes erroneously given as "Marcus" because the standard abbreviation of Manius, "M'." is easily confused with the "M." abbreviation for "Marcus".
[edit] Sources
- Livy, epitome, 11-14
- Polybius ii. 19
- Eutropius ii. 9, 14
- Florus i. 18
- Valerius Maximus iv. 3, 5, vi. 3, 4
- Cicero, De Senectute, 16
- Juvenal xi. 78
- Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 25
- Pliny vii. 16
| Preceded by Lucius Postumius Megellus and Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus |
Consul of the Roman Republic with Publius Cornelius Rufinus 290 BC |
Succeeded by Marcus Valerius Maximus Corvinus and Quintus Caedicius Noctua |
| Preceded by Gaius Servilius Tucca and Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter |
Consul (Suffect) of the Roman Republic with Gaius Servilius Tucca 284 BC |
Succeeded by Publius Cornelius Dolabella and Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Maximus |
| Preceded by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges and Gaius Genucius Clepsina |
Consul of the Roman Republic with Lucius Cornelius Lentulus 275 BC |
Succeeded by Manius Curius Dentatus and Servius Cornelius Merenda |
| Preceded by Manius Curius Dentatus and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus |
Consul of the Roman Republic with Servius Cornelius Merenda 274 BC |
Succeeded by Gaius Fabius Dorso Licinus and Gaius Claudius Canina |
