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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

9. One of the Republic’s Most Admired Men

Statue in Cincinnati, Ohio, of Cincinnati with his plow, and holding the fasces, symbol of official authority in the Roman Republic. Wikimedia

Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus (519 – 430 BC) was one of the Roman Republic’s most admired figures. He was elected Rome’s consul in 460 BC, and was twice appointed dictator, in 458 and 439 BC. He became legendary for his selfless devotion to the Republic during crises in which he assumed power when thrust upon him to deal with grave problems, then surrendered it when the crises were over. Cincinnatus was a conservative patrician and a capable general who opposed the plebeians’ demands for a greater share of power. He ended up on the losing side of that fight. Then, to make things worse, his son killed a plebeian and fled Rome. Political opponents of Cincinnatus held him accountable for his son’s crime, and impoverished him with a huge fine.

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.