Caius Marcius Coriolanus : ? , died in ?

Coriolanus begged by his relatives
Nicolas Poussin, musée Nicolas-Poussin

A Roman general, who received his surname for having taken Corioli, the capital of the Volscians; but who afterwards joigned the Volsci against the Romans, and was assassinated for having, by the entreaty of his wife and mother, spared the Romans from a total defeat. Died in the year 266 of Rome, and 487 years before Christ ?

Caius Marcius, for that was his original name, was a man of noble birth, a descendant of the family of Marcii, which had supplied Rome with many illustrious patricians. Having been left a child, at his father's death, he had been educated by his mother, with great care. The management of him, however, had been attended with much difficulty; for his passions were violent, and he possessed a singular spirit of obstinacy and contention. It is true that he had many virtues, which tended to counterbalance these defects; and, particularly, an ardent attachment to his mother, which, in some degree, alleviated the anxiety and the trouble which she experienced.

From the earliest dawn of his intellect, he had shown an extraordinary inclination to military affairs, and had expressed great delight in handling and playing with military weapons. During his youth he so prepared himself, by exercise, for every description of combat, that he became more vigorous and more powerful in body, than any of his companions.

He entered the army at an early age, and the first campaign in which he served was during the war with the Latins. In one of the battles with this people, he distinguished himself, by an act of valour, which obtained for him great celebrity. Seeing a Roman officer thrown down, he ran to his assistance, rescued him, and slew his adversary. This occurrence took place within sight of the dictator, who, after the battle, presented Marcius with an oaken crown; an honorary mark of distinction, which it was customary to bestow on such persons as had saved the lives of Roman citizens.

With Marcius this reward operated as a powerful stimulus to other actions, which, in a military officer, were considered meritorious. He was, ever afterwards, anxious not to disappoint the expectations which the public had formed concerning him; and was continually endeavouring to excel his former efforts, and meditating some more laborious achievement than he had before effected. About this period, the Romans fought several battles; and there was not one battle from which Marcius did not return without some mark of honorary distinction.

But, what the ancient historians say concerning him, is somewhat remarkable, that, although the end which others proposed in acts of valour was glory, he pursued glory because the acquisition of it delighted his mother. For, when she was witness to the applauses which he received, when she saw him crowned, when she embraced him, in tears of joy, then it was that he accounted himself at the height of honour and happiness. It must he remarked, in commendation of his filial piety, that he ever treated her with the utmost tenderness and respect. He married in compliance with her desire; and, even after he had children, he still continued to reside in her house.

The chief part of his life, however, was occupied in military pursuits. During a war of the Romans with the Volsci, he signalized himself in a peculiar manner. The former, under the consul Cominus, had besieged Corioli, the capital of the Volsci; and the Volscian legions, as their only hope of safety, gave battle to them under the walls of their city. The Romans were, at first, compelled to retreat towards their entrenchments. Caius Marcius, who happened to be on guard, rallied them, repelled the attack, and pursued the enemy to their gates. There, he was astonished to perceive that, terrified by a shower of arrows, which were thrown from the walls, most of the troops had discontinued the pursuit. He earnestly exhorted them not to forsake him now, in the moment of victory. A few of them following him, he broke through the ranks of the enemy, and pushed boldly forward into the city. Alarmed by so unexpected an effort of bravery, the Volsci fled on all sides. Had they acted with prudence, Marcius and his men might all have been destroyed; for, on halting his troops, after their arrival within the walls, he was astonished to see that he had but an inconsiderable number with him. At the head of his little force, however, he performed exploits of strength, of agility, and valour, that are almost incredible. He overpowered all who opposed him, and, in a short time, opened a passage, for Lartius, another of the Roman commanders, to join him. But his labours did not end here. A strong body of the Volsci, joined by their allies, the Antiates, which had approached, with the intention of relieving the place, now seemed to meditate an attack on such of the Roman troops as had been left in their entrenchments. No sooner, therefore, had Caius Marcius secured the city, than he hastened to the relief of his comrades. His appearance startled them; for he was covered with dust, perspiration, and blood. But he soon relieved their fears respecting him, by stating that Corioli was taken, and that he had received no important injury. The soldiers now demanded to be led against the remaining troops of the Volsci. Caius Marcius was posted directly opposite to the centre of the enemy's army, and a sharp conflict ensued, in which the enemy were put to fight. During the pursuit, some of the Roman officers entreated of Marcius, now almost exhausted by wounds and fatigue, to retire to the camp. He replied: "It is not for conquerors to be fatigued," and still continued his exertions. At length the whole army of the Volsci was routed, with an immense loss both of men and treasure.

On the ensuing day, when the Roman troops were assembled, the consul mounted a rostrum, and, addressing himself particularly to Caius Marcius, detailed the valorous conduct, part of which he had himself witnessed. Then, out of the treasure, horses, and prisoners, that had been taken, he ordered, (before any distribution was made to the rest of the combatants,) that Marcius, as a recompence for his valour, should receive a horse, with noble trappings, and one tenth part of the whole plunder. But, anxious only for the reward of honour, he refused to accept of anything but the horse, and an equitable share of the booty.

There was, however, one favour that he was anxiously desirous should be granted him. Among the Volsci he had had a friend, a man of virtue and honour, to whom he was bound by the sacred ties of hospitality. This person, once in opulent circumstances, was now a prisoner, in the power of the Roman army; and of the many misfortunes under which he laboured, Marcius said he should be glad to rescue him from one, worse than all the rest, that of being sold as a slave. His request was immediately complied with, and the Volscian was restored to liberty.

Those persons who hitherto had been inclined to regard, with envy, the honours obtained by Cains Marcius, now began to consider him worthy of great rewards, and chiefly because he declined them. They were more surprised at the virtue which had led him to despise such extraordinary advantages, than at the merit which gave him a title to them. His refusal excited, among the soldiers, the loudest clamours of approbation. When these had subsided, the consul said: "It is true, my fellow-soldiers, that you cannot force these gifts upon one who is so firmly resolved to refuse them, as Cains Marcius. Let us, then, give him that which it is not in his power to refuse. For his gallant conduct, in the taking of Corioli, let us pass a vote that he be called Coriolanus". The vote was instantly and unanimously passed, and thenceforth this was his surname.

Coriolanus was now at the summit of popularity. His character as a soldier, and his disinterested conduct as a citizen, had obtained for him the applause of the whole Roman people. But he was soon to precipitate himself from this towering height, and to be expelled, with disgrace, from his country.

Shortly after the termination of the Volscian war, the city of Rome was afflicted by a most distressing famine, occasioned partly by the devastations of the enemy, but chiefly by the dissensions which had prevailed among the people. In the preceding year, the inhabitants had been so much occupied in political squabbles, that many of the farmers had neglected their proper occupations, and had left their land uncultivated. The consequences of this were first discord, then famine, and lastly war. The Volsci, who, but a short time before, had been totally vanquished, observing the Romans thus distressed, again prepared to attack them. Plutarch says: "The factious orators of that day, seeing that corn was not brought to market, and knowing that even if the market could be supplied, the people, in general, had but little money with which to purchase it, slanderously asserted, that the rich had occasioned the famine, for the purpose of revenging themselves by distressing the poor."

Coriolanus, however, succeeded in obtaining for them a supply. At the head of a band of volunteers, he entered the territories of the Antiates, and returned to Rome with an abundance of corn, and an immense number of cattle and slaves; the whole of which he gave up for the public use. The consequence was not, certainly, what ought to have been expected. The leaders of the people wholly misrepresent his conduct. They state that he had not acted with any view to the public good; but that he had courted popularity, for the selfish purpose of raising himself to power, and placing himself at the head of the people, to tyrannize over them. Not long after this, he was a candidate for the consulship. The services he had performed, and the numerous wounds that he had received in the cause of his country, inclined many persons to favour his election. But, when the day of election came, his being conducted into the Campus Martius, by the senate, and his having the support of many of the nobility, occasioned the tide of popular favour to be turned against him, and he was rejected.

Exasperated by treatment so ungenerous and unjust, he left the assembly, full of rancour against the people. The general character of Coriolanus was not, perhaps, such as to be greatly admired; but it is certain that his opponents were not actuated by disinterested motives. Those who had been actively employed in exciting dissensions among the people, were not likely to favour a man who had been successful in defeating their foes, supplying their wants, and thus, in an essential degree, restoring unanimity in the state.

The passions of Coriolanus were so violent, and his resentment was so strong, that he was now led to act in a very unjustifiable manner. A large supply of bread-corn, partly purchased in Italy, and partly sent as a present from Sicily, had been brought to Rome. The senate was assembled for the purpose of deliberating in what manner it could best be distributed for relief of the people. Coriolanus stood up, and, in revenge for the mode in which he had been treated, he severely censured all those who had spoken in favour of the commonalty. He styled them demagogues, and traitors to the nobility : men who, to their own injury, were striving to undermine and destroy the rights of the patricians. He said that, having now rendered themselves formidable, they refused obedience to any superiors except those whom they called their "own magistrates." He advised the senate not to listen to any solicitations from the population, respecting the distribution of the corn; and asserted that those who recommended this distribution, would encourage the insolence of the rabble, to the ruin of the constitution. He further stated, that if, in this instance, their wishes were complied with, they would consider the senate to be influenced by fear; and there would be no bounds to their insolence, and to their turbulent and seditious practices. As it may be imagined, much tumult was excited by a speech like this; and, though Coriolanus had the support of many of the nobility, the popular indignation was roused to such a degree, that a civil war appeared almost inevitable. To appease the fury of the people, it was requisite to compel him to take his trial, on an allegation that, in various particulars, he had violated the laws of his country. One of the charges alleged against him was, that he had endeavoured to induce the senate to destroy the liberties of the people, and to establish a tyranny in the state.

Coriolanus was summoned to make his defence. But he paid no regard to the summons, and even repulsed the officers who were sent to him. The tribunes became enraged at his opposition, and, taking with them the aediles, went to seize him. When they approached him, Coriolanus was standing before the Senate-house, attended by a great number of the patricians, and several of his friends. The aediles attempted to lay hold of him; but the patricians, considering it insufferable that any one of their body should be given up to the tribunes, before he was tried, placed themselves before him, and, striking all who approached, drove them away. The intelligence of this conflict was soon communicated to every part of the city. All who were able to do so, flocked to the senate-house: the magistrates and men of rank, to protect Coriolanus, and the common people to aid the tribunes in apprehending hint. Nothing decisive, however, took place on that day. On the ensuing morning, the people were assembled, by the tribunes, at the forum; and, after much invective against Coriolanus and the patricians, Minucius, the senior consul, ventured to speak to the people in his favour. Coriolanus himself addressed them; but in the most haughty and contemptuous manner imaginable. He did not deny a single allegation that had been made against him; nor did he, in any respect, seek to deprecate their anger. He said, "that those who pretended to be his judges, had no lawful authority to try him; and that he ought to be accused before the consuls: that he had presented himself before the people, because they had summoned him; but that he had appeared chiefly with a design to reprimand them for their illegal proceedings, and for the excesses of which they had been guilty."

This haughty and inflexible conduct excessively irritated his judges, and he was condemned to die; but his sentence was afterwards changed to that of perpetual banishment. The nobility were both shocked and enraged at the result of the trial; for they had imagined that the people would not dare to punish a man so powerful, and who had performed such important services for the state, as Coriolanius.

He alone appeared to be unmoved and regardless of his fate. But his fortitude was not the effect of resignation; it was only assumed, and arose from an excess of resentment. His subsequent conduct proved this to have been the case, and that he was now actuated only by thoughts of revenge.

After the sentence had been communicated to him, he returned to his house, and, having embraced his Wife and his mother, and recommended to them the care of his two children, he was conducted, by a party of the nobles, to the gate of the city. In his banishment he was accompanied by two or three adherents. He passed a few days, agitated by a thousand vexations and resentful passions; and, at last, he determined to involve his country in all the horrors of another war. With this intention he proposed to throw himself on the protection of the Volsci, to whom his talents and character were well known. They were still powerful, both in men and money; and, in consequence of their recent defeats, were deeply exasperated against the Romans.

Having clad himself in such attire as was likely to him from the notice of the Volscian soldiers, he went to Antium, a town of the Volsci, in a resolution to offer his services to Attius Tullus, a general of that nation, and highly distinguished by his rank, his wealth, and his valour. He was aware that Tullus could entertain no opinions favourable respecting him as a friend, for they had often encountered each other in war; yet he well knew that this chieftain was desirous of retaliating, upon the Romans, part of the injuries which he and his country had suffered.

It was evening when Coriolanus entered Antium and though many people met him in the streets, no one recognized him. He passed on to the house of Tullus, where he arrived undiscovered. He entered, and, hastening to the hearth, the place which was esteemed sacred, in consequence of the images of the domestic gods being always kept there, he seated himself; at the same time covering his face, and, immersed in thought, remaining almost motionless. The servants were astonished at the appearance of such a figure, and at such conduct. They did not attempt to disturb him; but, hastening to Tullus, who was at supper in another room, they related to him the occurrence.

Tullus approached the stranger, and, attentively beholding him, enquired, Who he was, and upon what business he had come thither. Coriolanus, uncovering his face, paused awhile, and then said: "If, Tullus, you do not know me, I must, of necessity, be my own accuser. I am Caius Marcius who have brought so many calamities upon the Volsci. In recompence for all the labours and all the dangers I have experienced, I am now expelled from Rome. The envy and outrage of the people, the treachery of the magistrates, and the cowardice of the nobles, have driven me from my country, and I am come to you, not a suppliant for shelter and protection, (for I should not have come hither had I been afraid of death,) but for vengeance against my enemies. If you are disposed to attack the Romans, avail yourself of my misfortunes: assure yourself, brave Tullus, that I shall fight for you, with more zeal than I'have ever fought against you. But, if you refuse my aid, I do not desire to live; nor can I ask you to protect one who has been your enemy in the field, and who, otherwise, is unable to render you any service."

With this conduct, dishonourable and disgracefull as it was, Tullus was delighted. He took Coriolanus by the hand, and, in the name of the whole Volscian nation, declared that he would gladly accept his services.

The long-protracted contests betwixt the commons and the nobility of Rome, had been the cause of incessant disunion and unhappiness in the state; and the condemnation of Coriolanus had had no tendency to heal their animosities. On the contrary, the utmost confusion now prevailed. Coriolanus, on being informed of this, was prepared to take every advantage of it. The command of the Volscian army was given to him and to Tullus; and, as it was important that their operations should be commenced without delay, Coriolanus left to the magistrates the task of completing the army, and himself hastened, at the head of a small but select force, into the Roman territory. By so prompt and unexpected a movement, he was enabled to overrun and take possession of a considerable part of it, and to obtain so much plunder, that the Volsci found it difficult to convey the whole of it away. But this was a very unimportant part of the object that he had in view. He was chiefly anxious to increase the disunion in the state, by rendering the people more suspicious of the nobility than they had before been. For this purpose, while he ravaged nearly the whole country, he artfully spared the lands of the nobles. In so doing, he little contemplated or cared for the effect which might be produced against even those very friends who had been his firmest and most ardent supporters.

The consequence was precisely what he had expected. The patricians had accused the plebeians of having unjustly driven Coriolanus from Rome; and the plebeians retorted the accusation, and reproached the patricians with having brought Coriolanus upon them, for the purpose only of gratifying their revenge.

Having so far effected his purpose; and having also inspired the Volscian troops with courage not only to meet, but to despise the Roman soldiers, he drew off his men without loss. Not long afterwards, he led the main body of the Volscian army into the field, while Tullus continued in the rear, with the reserve, The latter provided for the defence of the towns within the Volscian territory, and supplied the troops with ammunition and stores for the campaign. Indeed, it would have been extremely imprudent in him to have marched into the Roman territory, and to have left Coriolanus, (who might possibly have been only a pretended friend,) at the head of an army in the interior of the Volscian territory. It was, however, the interest of Coriolanus to prove faithful to the Volsci. He, consequently, marched towards Rome, and, within a short period, made himself master of all those places which the Romans had taken from the Volsci. He then entered Latium, which submitted to him; and he at length laid seige to Rome.

During his whole progress, and even until his arrrival at the very gates of the capital, the common people continued to impede all the measures of the government. Every thing was in disorder. The Roman soldiers refused to fight, even for the safety of the city; and the majority of the people passed nearly their whole time, in cabals and seditious speeches in complaints and recrimination.

The folly of their conduct respecting Coriolanus was now fatally experienced. All parties became excessively terrified: the very men who had expelled him from the city, would, at this moment, have crouched at his feet. It was, therefore, unanimously resolved that he should be intreated to forgive them, and invited to return to Rome. For this purpose two depntations were sent to him; the first consisting of consulars, and the other of the ministers of the gods, in their sacred habits. The latter were conducted, through the Volscian ranks, to the headquarters of the army. Coriolanus, surrounded by the principal nobility of the Volsci, received them sitting, and treated them with excessive austerity. He not only refused to forsake the Volsci, but insisted on the most exorbitant conditions of peace. The Romans, though, apparently, on the very brink of ruin, were resolved not wholly to degrade themselves. They rejected the conditions proposed by Coriolanus; and resolved to defend their city to the last extremity, though there seemed but little probability of their being able to save it from destruction.

Coriolanius and the matrons

At this period of public distress, the Roman matrons went, in a body, to Volumnia the mother, and Vergilia the wife of Coriolanus¹, and entreated that they would intercede with him to save his suffering country from ruin. They assented to the wishes of the people. Clad in the deepest mourning, Volumnia, accompanied by several other matrons, conducted Vergilia, and the two sons of Coriolanus, to the Volscian camp. On their arrival, the appearance of these afflicted females excited, even in the soldiers, the strongest emotions of compassion. Coriolanus was seated in state, among his principal officers, when the women were introduced. His astonishment at such a procession, headed by his mother and his wife, may well be imagined. Notwithstanding his general inflexibility of temper, and the peculiar situation in which he was placed, he was unable to resist the emotions of affection. He left his seat, and ran to embrace first his mother, and then his wife and children. Volumnia expressed the deepest regret, that the Romans should have banished him from their city; and her unhappiness in now beholding him encamped, as an enemy, before its walls. In an agony of distress, she asserted that herself, his wife, and children must, shortly, see either him or their country perish. "When you came within sight of Rome, (said she,) did it not occur to you that, within those walls, were your house and guardian gods, your mother, your wife, and your children? Had I never been a mother, then Rome would not now have been besieged: had I not had a son, I might have died free, and have left my country free; but there is no suffering to which I can be exposed, that will not reflect more dishonour on you, than misery on me: and, be my lot as wretched as it may, I will not endure it long. If I am unable to persuade you to prefer friendship and union, to enmity and all its ruinous consequences, you will not advance further against your country, without trampling upon the dead body of her to whom you owe your being: believe me, I will not wait for that day when either my son shall be led captive by his fellow citizens, or shall triumph over Rome. I desire nothing that can be dishonourable to you. I wish not to save my country by ruining the Volsci, those who have placed confidence in you : I only desire a deliverance, that will be equally salutary to both, the blessings of peace and of friendship."

Coriolanus raised his wife and mother from the ground, and exclaimed: "You have gained a victory fortunate for your country, but ruinous to me. I am vanquished by you alone." He well knew that the Volsci would never forgive any favour he might show to their enemies, and he was unable to liberate himself from their power. His dread of their resentment did not, however, prevent him, after having sent back his family in safety to Rome, from drawing off the Volscian troops, and retreating with them to Antium.

To Coriolanus the result was fatal. Tullus, enraged at the return of his troops, and fearful of success in any attempt to bring the offender to justice, resolved to rid himself of him by assassination. Having hired a band of men in whom he could place confidence, he demanded of Coriolanus to surrender the command of the Volscian army, and to give a public account of his conduct. An assembly was called, for the apparent purpose of trying him; and, in a tumult that was intentionally excited, the assassins rushed upon and murdered him.

The Volsci, as a people, expressed great abhorrence at so cowardly and so iniquitous a procedure. Whilst the body lay stretched upon the ground, in the forum, great multitudes collected round it, to bewail the death of a man, who, notwithstanding all his faults, had so essentially benefitted their nation. They afterwards assembled, from several cities, to honour him with a public funeral. They put on him his general's robes, and placed him on a magnificent bier. This was carried by such officers of the Volscian army as had been distinguished for their martial exploits. Before him were borne the spoils he had obtained from the Romans, the various crowns he had gained, and the plans and models of the cities he had taken. When placed upon the funeral pile, several victims were slain in honour of him; and after the body was consumed, the ashes were collected and buried on the spot where the pile had stood. The multitude assisted in raising over them a lofty mound; and a magnificent tomb, adorned with military trophies, and with spoils of various kinds, was afterwards erected to his memory.

The Roman women, at their own request, were permitted to wear mourning for him ten months; and the Romans, as a monument of the meritorious conduct of the matrons, erected and dedicated a temple to Female Fortune, on the very spot where the mother of this hero had prevailed with him to save his country from ruin.

If we except the filial affection of Coriolanus, we shall find, in his character, little to admire, and much to blame. It may be true that, in early life, he was superior to most of those pleasures which too often tyrannize over youth; but he was, at the same time, headstrong and untractable. In his general conduct he was haughty, forbidding, and revengeful: his ambition was unbounded; and he suffered his passions to act without control. The latter were the cause of nearly every unhappiness he experienced, and eventually led him into proceedings which only terminated with his death.

1. Livy call the mother Veturia and the wife Volumnia.

Authorities-Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Livy, and Plutarch.