In the historical legends of ancient Rome, Horatius Cocles, Latin for "Horatius the one-eyed" (Cocles itself a shortening of the Greek word 'Cyclops'), was a hero who, on his own, defended the Pons Sublicius, the bridge that led across the Tiber to Rome, against the Etruscans. Hendrik Goltzius ( 1558 - January 1, 1617) Dutch Printmaker, draftsman, and painter, was born at Millebrecht Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The earliest known bridge of ancient Rome, Italy, the Pons Sublicius, spanned the Tiber River near the Forum Boarium ("cattle forum" The Tiber ( Latin Tiberis, Italian Tevere) is the third-longest River in Italy, rising in the Apennine mountains Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy It is said that there were other men with Horatius at the time, but they either fled in panic at the sight of the enemy or Horatius asked them to leave on his own accord. In Livy's account it is stated that there were two men (Titus Herminius & Spurius Lartius) who stayed with Horatius while the others fled. The other two eventually left at Horatius' request. As he defended the bridge, the Romans destroyed it behind him. When they were done, he either swam to safety on the Roman side (according to Livy), or was drowned in the Tiber (according to Polybius). Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories According to Livy, Horatius was rewarded with as much land as he could plough around in a single day and a statue of him was erected in the temple of Vulcan.
It is not known to what extent the story is based on real events, but it has been suggested that it was a legend that arose to explain a one-eyed statue in the temple of Vulcan that stood near the Vatican Hill. In ancient Roman religion and Hellenic neopaganism, Vulcan is the god of beneficial and hindering fire including the fire of Volcanoes He is also Vatican Hill (in Latin, Vaticanus Mons) is the name given long before the founding of Christianity, to one of the hills on the side of the
The story is retold in Horatius from the Lays of Ancient Rome by Lord Macaulay, a poem of great popularity in the late nineteenth century. The Lays of Ancient Rome is collection of ballads about heroic episodes in Roman history
References in popular culture
The theme of a hero (whether protagonist or otherwise) making a lone stand against impossible odds is a recurring one in books, film and television. John Reinhard Weguelin (1849-1927 was a Victorian artist and illustrator active between about 1870-1900 In some of these, the hero is able to defeat swarms of enemies with apparent ease, never really seeming in danger (e. g. , the character Rambo, or some of the military-style heroes played by Arnold Schwarzenegger or Chuck Norris). "RAMBO" can refer to RAMBO Brooklyn, a neighborhood in New York City Robust Associations of Massive Baryonic Objects, a theoretical Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger ( German ˌaɐnɔlt aloʏs ˈʃvaɐtsənɛɡɐ born July 30 1947 is an Austrian American Bodybuilder, Actor Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10 1940 is an American martial artist, action star and Television and Film More realistic interpretations occur in the setting of deliberate self-sacrifice, and have the hero perishing or being captured in the process; for example:
- In the novel Dune, by Frank Herbert, the Swordmaster Duncan Idaho makes a gallant last stand to enable those he serves to escape. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr ( October 8 1920 &ndash February 11 1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American Duncan Idaho is a Fictional character in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. This self-sacrifice was made out of loyalty and gratitude to a noble family that had rescued him from slavery.
- In the Star Wars novel Traitor, by Matthew Stover, Jedi Knight Ganner Rhysode stands his ground against a legion of Yuuzhan Vong warriors, allowing his comrade Jacen Solo time to interact with the World Brain and escape Coruscant with Vergere. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Matthew Woodring Stover (born 1962 is an American Fantasy novelist
- In the Doctor Who episode "Underworld", the Minyan Herrick performs a similar, though not ultimately fatal, feat to enable the escape of his colleagues. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. A warrior by nature, he utters the words "I've waited a long time for this" as he steps forward to meet his destiny. Whether it is a good fight, or death itself, that he has awaited, is not completely clear. It may well be both: he is near-immortal, able to regenerate his dying body with advanced technology, and it is possible that this "last battle" offers him an honourable way out of an eternal existence that sickens him.
- In the film Excalibur, a re-interpretation of the Arthurian legend, Sir Lancelot returns towards the end of the final battle, taking many enemies at the cost of his own life. Excalibur is a 1981 Fantasy film which retells the legend of King Arthur. This appears to be an act of redemption.
- In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, père, the Morrels' accountant and house servant was nicknamed "Cocles" because he had only one eye. The Count of Monte Cristo ( Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an Adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas père. Moreover, like the legendary Horatius Cocles, he stayed faithfully while others fled: When employees quit the Morrel household because of financial ruin, he remained a loyal servant.
- The song "A Nation Once Again" alludes to Horatio Cocles. "A Nation Once Again" is a Song, written in the early to mid-1840s by Thomas Osborne Davis (1814-1845
- In the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, Horatius Cocles is mentioned. Starship Troopers is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A Heinlein, first published (in abridged form as a serial in The Magazine Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. A recruit, who thinks violence will never solve anything is recommended to read the book in the camp's library.
- In the video games Dynasty Warriors 4, 5 and 6, made by KOEI, the Shu officer Zhang Fei defends a bridge against many enemy soldiers to aid the escape of his lord, Liu Bei.
See also
- Cúchulainn, a character in Irish legend who defended Ulster in a similar way, single-handedly defeating hundreds of enemy soldiers at a ford
External links
Cúchulainn /kuːˈxʊlɪnʲ/ ( ( Irish for "Hound of Culann " also spelled Cú Chulainn, Cú Chulaind, Cúchulain, orDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic