Mettius Fufetius

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Mettius Fufetius succeeded Gaius Cluilius as king of Alba Longa. In book one of his history of Rome, Livy says that Mettius Fufetius betrays the Romans in battle. For this, he was torn in two by chariots running in opposite directions by the Roman king Tullus Hostilius, who destroyed Alba Longa.

Mettius had an alliance with the Romans while they were rivals of the Alba Longa, but in an important battle he withheld his support. It is for this that he is punished; Vergil later recounts this betrayal and its punishment in the Aeneid

In the battle itself, Mettius, having provoked the inhabitants of Fidenae to attack Rome, retreated to a hilltop with his Alban forces where he waited to see which force would be victorious; he then planned to join the winning side. Tullus Hostilius, the third king of Rome and the king at that time, after winning the battle said that since Mettius was torn between the two cities, so would his body be: his arms where then attached to two chariots that then ran in opposite directions. The result was naturally fatal and remained a sign to all future allies of Rome not to betray her.

[edit] References

Livy Book One.