Lars Porsena

Lars Porsena

Lars Porsena (sometimes spelled Lars Porsenna) was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium, sometimes referred to as Clevsin. There are no established dates for his rule, but Roman sources often place it at around 500 BC.

Conflict and battle against Rome

Lars Porsena came into conflict with Rome after the revolution which overthrew, in 510 BC, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome.Penrose, Jane. (2005) "Rome And Her Enemies", Osprey Publishing. pp. 43-44. ISBN 1-84176-932-0.] The deposed monarch, whose family was of Etruscan origin, appealed to Lars Porsena for assistance in suppressing the new Roman Republic, and Lars Porsena agreed to help.

At this point, however, there is divergence in the histories. According to most mainstream Roman accounts, including those of Livy, Lars Porsena arrived at Rome, but was sufficiently impressed by Roman bravery (see Mucius, Horatius) in defending the city that he chose to make peace. Other accounts, however, suggest that Lars Porsena actually succeeded in capturing the city, and that the Etruscans were only driven out some time afterwards. None of the accounts suggests that Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was returned to the throne, however, perhaps indicating that if Lars Porsena did indeed capture Rome, he did so with the intent of controlling it himself, not restoring the former dynasty. [Bird, H. W. (1993) "The Breviarium Ab Urbe Condita of Eutropius the Right Honourable Secretary of State for General Petitions", Liverpool University Press. p. 73. ISBN 0-85323-208-3.]

Legacy

According to most accounts, Lars Porsena was buried in an elaborate tomb in (or under) the city he ruled. Porsena's tomb is described as having a 15 m high rectangular base with sides 90 m long. It was adorned by pyramids and massive bells. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137&layout=&loc=36.19| (Pliny the elder, "Natural History", XXXVI, 19, 91ff.)]

Lars Porsena's tomb, together with the rest of the city of Clusium, was razed to the ground in 89 BC by the Roman general Cornelius Sulla.

Trivia

While the modern day Tuscan city of Chiusi has traditionally been considered the ancient site of Clusium, recent discoveries suggest that the location of the ancient city is closer to Florence. The archeological site of Gonfienti [http://www.saci-florence.org/news/gonfienti.htm] may turn out to be a part of ancient Clusium, believed to be the largest city in Italy before Rome.

Related old and new theories

Larousse stated in 1963/1965/1973 that "Roman myths ... frequently appear in the guise of history"citequote|date=July 2007 (based on the work of Georges Dumézil). This would seem to support a most recent theory (yet to be officially "verified") that Lars Porsen(n)a may be a confounded Roman cognate of the Greek war god Ares which has cognate correspondences in other Indo-European branches. However it has been claimed that the name Lars comes from a word meaning "overlord". Significantly, that the Etruscan war god Laran had recently, previously been identified with Ares (again yet to be "verified"), noticing that y/j sometimes interchanges with l in Italic/Romance/Latin languages. The name Lars moreover seemingly bears a resemblance to Mars.

See also

* Gaius Mucius Scaevola for the Roman myth
* Horatius Cocles
* Cloelia
* Tomb of Lars Porsena

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lars Porsena — Primera batalla de Lars Porsena contra Roma en el puente Sublic …   Wikipedia Español

  • Tomb of Lars Porsena — The tomb of the Etruscan king Lars Porsena, built around 500 BCE at Clusium (modern Chiusi), Italy, was described as follows by the Roman writer Marcus Varro (116 27 BCE): Porsena was buried below the city of Clusium in the place where he had… …   Wikipedia

  • Lars — is a common male name in the Nordic countries. In Sweden, people named Lars are commonly nicknamed Lasse.Lars is derived from the Roman name Laurentius , which means ”from Laurentum” or he who is crowned with laurel. Lawrence is of the same… …   Wikipedia

  • Porsena — [pôr′si nə] Lars [lärz] 6th cent. B.C.; Etruscan king who, according to legend, attacked Rome in an unsuccessful attempt to restore Tarquin to the throne: also Porsenna [pôr sen′ə] * * * …   Universalium

  • Porsena — [pôr′si nə] Lars [lärz] 6th cent. B.C.; Etruscan king who, according to legend, attacked Rome in an unsuccessful attempt to restore Tarquin to the throne: also Porsenna [pôr sen′ə] …   English World dictionary

  • Porsena — /ˈpɔsənə/ (say pawsuhnuh) noun Lars /laz/ (say lahz), a legendary Etruscan king of the 6th century BC, said to have attacked Rome in order to restore the banished Tarquinius Superbus to the throne. Also, Porsenna /pɔˈsɛnə/ (say paw senuh) …  

  • Clusium — was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi (Tuscany) partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The Roman city remodeled an earlier Etruscan city, Clevsin, found in the territory of a… …   Wikipedia

  • Mucia (gens) — Gaius Mucius Scaevola in the Presence of Lars Porsena, oil on canvas painting by Matthias Stom, early 1640s, Art Gallery of New South Wales …   Wikipedia

  • Historia de la República Romana temprana — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda República de Roma …   Wikipedia Español

  • República romana temprana — República de Roma ← …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”