Rome's Final King

The story of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the seven legendary kings of Rome and son (or perhaps grandson) of the nobly depicted King Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, provides an excellent demonstration of how Livy intended his history to be a “splendid monument” (Livy Preface, p.4) from which one could find both examples to follow and ones to learn from. While most of the legendary kings are described in a largely positive light and seem to demonstrate the honor and tradition of the romans, and are therefore among the examples to be followed. Tarquinius Superbus is without a doubt an example to be learned from, a story of trickery and tyranny, which was very different from the others, and which future generations must seek to avoid. The uniqueness of this is what makes him so important; Livy uses his story to drive home the points he tried to make with the others. This becomes readily apparent after analyzing Livy’s story of the rise and fall of the immoral, domineering King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.

At the start of his writing, in the Preface, Livy talks about how Rome as a country has deteriorated from its once great past of nobility, honor, and respect for the gods, into a country troubled by lack of discipline, morality, and greed, among other vices, without the strength to bear the remedy that would cure them of said vices (Livy Preface, p.4). It could be said that the stories of the legendary kings of the first book, from Romulus and Numa to the final king, Tarquinius Superbus mirror the political and moral deterioration that Livy first complained about in the preface of his history. For the first two jointly established Rome as a power of both war and peace, a power that was composed of a noble people who respected ...

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...romans their noble heritage in their founder Romulus and some of the following kings, and to show them what happens when that noble heritage is forgotten or ignored as was the case with the last legendary King Tarquinius Superbus. Each king had a specific function in Livy’s story, Romulus served to remind the people of their prowess and honor in war, Numa their religious piety and ability in peace, and so on. But despite how negatively Superbus’ reign is portrayed, it is the most important in Livy’s history because while the others demonstrate the honor of the roman people and the development of their culture he shows the romans the importance of their honor and culture by depicting what can happen when it is forsaken, when their values are allowed to fade. Livy uses Superbus as a warning to his readers, without which the significance of the rest may go unnoticed.