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SPQR: The Men Who Made and Secured the Roman Republic

Khalid Elhassan January 3, 2025 13 min

Roman - The Oath of Junius Brutus, by Fragonard Alexander Evarist — The Oath of Junius Brutus, by Fragonard Alexander Evarist. University Online

13. The “Dullard”

Tradition has it that Lucretia told her family members and other gathered Romans what the king’s son had done to her. Then, to preserve family honor and prove to all that she had not been a willing participant, Lucretia stabbed herself to death. Until then, Brutus, a nephew of King Tarquinus Superbus, had given little sign of potential greatness – the name Brutus is Latin for “Dullard”. He had his own grievances against the king, who had executed Brutus’ brother, and it is possible that Brutus played the part of the dimwit to avert his uncle’s suspicions. Whatever the case, it all changed on the day of Lucretia’s death. Brutus pulled the knife out of her breast, vowed revenge, and led a popular revolt against the king.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.