Curius Dentatus

Curius Dentatus

Manius Curius Dentatus (d. 270 BC), son of Manius, was a plebeian hero of ancient Rome, notable for ending the Samnite War.

According to Pliny he was born with teeth, thus the cognomen "Dentatus". ["...cum dentibus nasci, sicut M. Curium, qui ob id Dentatus cognominatus est", Caius Plinius Secundus, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/7*.html#68 7, 16, 68] ]

He first appears as Tribune of the Plebs somewhere between 295 to 291 BC when he defeated Appius Claudius Caecus' scheme to elect 2 patricians for the Consulship. When consul in 290 BC, he defeated both the Samnites and Sabines that year, and (according to the sources) celebrating two triumphs. He may acted as a Praetor or as a Consul suffectus or as a Dictator in 284 and blocked the advance of the Celts after the Battle of Arretium. As consul again in 275 BC, he fought Pyrrhus in the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum which nevertheless forced Pyrrhus out of Italy. He defeated the Lucani in the following year as a Consul for the third time. He was censor in 272 BC.

At home Dentatus was responsible for partly draining Lake Velinus (289 BC), and in 272 BC began the construction of the "Anio Vetus", Rome's second aqueduct.

He was supposed to have been incorruptible and frugal; the story was that when the Samnites sent ambassadors with expensive gifts in an attempt to influence him in their favor, they found him sitting by the hearth roasting turnips. He refused the gifts, saying that he preferred ruling the possessors of gold over possessing it himself. Although the truth of this story is unclear - it may have been an invention of Cato - it was the inspiration for a number of paintings, by Jacopo Amigoni, Govert Flinck, and others.

His praenomen is sometimes erroneously given as "Marcus" because the standard abbreviation of Manius, "M'." is easily confused with the "M." abbreviation for "Marcus".

Today the Dutch Study Association 'S.V.T.B. Curius' at Delft University of Technology is named after him (see: www.curius.nl)

Sources

* Pliny vii. 16
* Florus ii. 18
* Juvenal xi. 78
* Polybius ii. 19
* Eutropius ii. 9, 14
* Livy, epitome, 11-14
* Plutarch, "Pyrrhus", 25
* Cicero, "De Senectute", 16
* Valerius Maximus iv. 3, 5, vi. 3, 4

Notes


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  • Curius Dentatus — Curius Dentatus,   Manius, römischer Heerführer und Staatsmann des frühen 3. Jahrhunderts v. Chr., aus plebejischem Geschlecht, beendete als Konsul 290 v. Chr. den dritten Samnitenkrieg und kämpfte während seines zweiten Konsulats 275 erfolgreich …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Curĭus Dentātus — Curĭus Dentātus, Manius, berühmter Römer, aus plebejischem Geschlecht, schlug 290 v. Chr. als Konsul die Samniten und Sabiner und machte dadurch dem dritten Samnitischen Krieg ein Ende. In seinem zweiten Konsulat 275 besiegte er den König Pyrrhus …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Curius Dentatus — Curĭus Dentātus, Manius, röm. Feldherr, besiegte 290 v. Chr. die Samniter und begründete die röm. Herrschaft in Mittelitalien, kämpfte 275 glücklich gegen König Pyrrhus bei Benevent; gest. 270 …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Curius Dentatus — Curius Dentatus, Marcus, Römer aus plebejischem Geschlechte, besiegte die Samniter, 290 v. Chr., 275 den Pyrrhus bei Benevent, war bei den spätern Römern wegen seiner einfachen Lebensweile sprichwörtlich …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Curius Dentatus — Manius Curius Dentatus Manius Curius Dentatus fut consul romain quatre fois. En 290 av. J. C., puis élu suffect en 284 av. J. C., et enfin en 275 et 274 av. J. C. Romain célèbre par sa frugalité et son désintéressement, il vainquit les Samnites… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • CURIUS Dentatus Marcus — Romanus civis, exactissimae frugalitatis, et perspectae fortitudinis. Hic cum, in scamno sedens, rapas in foro torreret, et Samnitum legati magnum auri pondus publice missum attulissent, invitarentque, ut cô uti vellet, respondit, M. Curium malle …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Manius Curius Dentatus — Curius Dentatus refusing wealth in favour of a turnip, as depicted by Jacopo Amigoni Manius Curius Dentatus (died 270 BC), son of Manius, was a three time consul and a plebeian hero of the Roman Republic, noted for ending the Samnite War.… …   Wikipedia

  • Manius Curius Dentatus — (ainsi surnommé car il était né avec des dents) fut consul romain quatre fois. En 290 av. J. C., puis élu suffect en 284 av. J. C., et enfin en 275 et 274 av. J. C. Romain célèbre par sa frugalité et son désintéressement (tenant en cela un rôle… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Manius Curius Dentatus — († 270 v. Chr.) war ein römischer Konsul und Heerführer. Er ist insbesondere bekannt durch seine Rolle bei der Beendigung des Pyrrhischen Krieges. Dentatus stammte aus einem plebejischen Geschlecht und vertrat als Volkstribun erfolgreich die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • MARCUS Curius Dentatus — vide Curius …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

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