TOP 5 ROMANS
By: Alex Almaguer ‘20
During the time that Rome was a major power, (753 BC – 476 AD) there were some pretty
great Roman citizens. Today, we’ll be going over (in no particular order) 5 of the best. To
qualify for this list, you had to be an actual citizen of Rome. (Sorry Aeneas)
Brutus – No, not the Brutus you are thinking of, the assassin of Caesar. This Brutus was responsible
for the change of the monarchy to the republic. When the people of Rome had enough of Tarquinius Su-
perbus, the tyrannical and last king of Rome, Brutus started a revolt. He drove out Tarquinius Superbus and
ushered in the Republic, a new, much more fair method of governing .
Horatius – You might have heard of Horatius at the bridge. This is that Horatius. When Rome was under
attack by Lars Porsena, the infamous Etruscan general who led
the assault on Rome during which the Roman army retreated
and all took shelter in the city of Rome. Horatius was deter-
mined to stop the Etruscans from sacking Rome, even if it cost
him his life. He defended the bridge into Rome long enough for
the Romans to destroy it, leading to a peace treaty with the
Etruscans instead of the destruction.
Cicero – Cicero was a Roman consul during the Catilinarian Con-
spiracy. During his Catiline, a failed Roman politician, was bitter
about not winning the consulship. He convinced other failed
A Painting of Horatius at the bridge
politicians to join him in overthrowing the republic. Cicero
found out about this conspiracy and forced Catiline to flee
Rome. Catiline was later killed in a battle. Cicero stopped a revolution and kept the republic alive.
Scipio Africanus – Scipio Africanus was the Roman general who fought Hannibal during the 2 nd Punic War.
Scipio had a much smaller army than Hannibal, who also had 80 war ele-
phants. Scipio, through brilliant battlefield manipulation and strategy, was
able to prove victorious over Hannibal and defeat his army. He was given the
agnomen Africanus because of his victory against Carthage. He is one of the
best generals of all time.
Cincinnatus – Cincinnatus is a traditional Roman hero. While the Romans
were fighting the Aequi, the Roman army got trapped. Cincinnatus was ap-
pointed dictator for 6 months so that they could defeat the Aequi. Cincinna-
tus defeated the enemy easily. After he had won the war for Rome, he gave
up his remaining time as dictator after only 15 days. Cincinnatus is the model
of what a good Roman citizen is.
The statue of Cincinnatus in the town that
bears his name, Cincinnati
Vox Latina
2016-2017 Volume 1
Page 7