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Cincinnatus: A Model Patriot
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (SIHN suh NAT
uhs) was the most admired hero of the early
Republic. Romans believed that this general
embodied the Roman virtues of duty, hard
work, simplicity, and unselfish public service.
In 458 B.C., enemy forces surrounded a Roman consul and his army some distance from
Rome. Five Roman soldiers escaped enemy
patrols to carry word to Rome of the impending disaster. The crisis led the Senate to take
a drastic course of action. It chose to name a
dictator with unlimited power for a period of
six months.
Messengers from the Senate went to ask
Cincinnatus, a patrician landowner, to be -
come dictator. They found him plowing a
field on his farm outside Rome. Cincinnatus
left his plow, and called for his toga, and
hurried to Rome. He ordered every man of
military age to report for duty.
Cincinnatus led the hastily assembled soldiers to aid the surrounded Roman army.
He quickly defeated the enemy and then
marched back to Rome in triumph. Sixteen
days after being named dictator, Cincinnatus
resigned from the powerful office and returned home to finish the plowing. Later
Romans admired Cincinnatus because he
chose not to keep power a minute longer
than necessary.
1. What Roman values were displayed by Cincinnatus?
2. Were any of those values displayed by Sulla, Marius, Pompey or Caesar? Explain.
3. How would you describe the change in values in Rome since the early Republic?
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