At this battle Caius Marcius,
a stripling descended from Ancus Marcius, afterwards known as
Coriolanus, received the oaken crown awarded to the man who should save
the life of a Roman citizen, because he struck down one of the Latins,
in the presence of the commander, just as he was about to kill a Roman
soldier.
In the year 504 B.C., there was in the town of Regillum, a man of
wealth and importance, who, at the time of the war with the Sabines,
had advocated peace, and as his fellow-citizens were firmly opposed to
him, left them, accompanied by a long train of followers (much as we
suppose the first Tarquin left Tarquinii), and took up his abode in
Rome. The name of this man was Atta Clausus, or perhaps Atta Claudius,
but, however that may be, he was known at Rome as Appius Claudius. He
was received into the ranks of the patricians, ample lands were
assigned to him and his followers, and he became the ancestor of one of
the most important Roman families, that of Claudius, noted through a
long history for its hatred of the plebeians. His line lasted some five
centuries, as we shall have occasion to observe.
VI.
THE ROMAN RUNNYMEDE.
The establishment of the republic marked an era in the history of Rome.
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