(? 7th - 6th century BC)
Shortly after the Romans threw out their monarchy in 509 BCE, Lars Porsenna, an Etruscan king, attacked Rome. He might have succeeded in taking the city if not for the heroics of Horatius Cocles ('Horatius the one-eyed'). The Romans had fled their farms and gathered in fear near and inside the city walls. They felt protected by the Servian walls and the Tiber River. The only vulnerable spot was the wooden Sublician bridge over the Tiber.
Horatius happened to be on guard at this bridge when the enemy's forces appeared. Most of the Roman soldiers panicked and retreated like an undisciplined rabble. Horatius stopped them as they ran across the bridge and urged them not to desert. He persuaded them that their only hope was to demolish the wooden bridge with axes or fire, while he himself would stand alone and delay the enemy's crossing as far as he was able. Two companions joined him; when only one last section of the bridge was barely intact, on Horatius' orders his two friends retreated to safety.
The Etruscans did not know what to think of one man making a stand against them. They certainly did not retreat but neither did they advance, ashamed at the thought of such unequal odds -- an army against one man. The will to win finally took over and they hurled their spears against the lone defender of the bridge. But as they attacked, the weakened bridge fell into the river with a crash. The Etruscans watched in amazement as Horatius prayed to Father Tiber and then, in full heavy armor, jumped into the river.
One version of the legend says that Horatius was able to reach Rome, saved by the river god himself, and that he was rewarded by a grant of all the land he could plow by himself in a day. Other versions say that he drowned in the river. In either case, the story of Horatius was told and retold to generation after generation, holding him up as an example of Roman dedication and inspiration.
D. Fite, 2001.
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