Lucius Icilius was a Tribune of the Plebs in 456 BC. On his proposal the public land on the Aventine Hill

Aventine Hill

The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the twelfth rione, or ward, of Rome.-Location and boundaries:The Aventine hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills...

 was parcelled out to provide dwellings for the plebs

Plebs

The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...

. A few years later, around 451 BC, he was betrothed to one Verginia

Verginia

Verginia, or Virginia, was the subject of a story of Ancient Rome, related in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita.The people of Rome were already angry with the decemviri for not calling the proper elections, taking bribes, and other abuses. It seemed that they were returning to the rule of the Kings of Rome...

, daughter of Lucius Verginius. The decemvir

Decemviri

Decemviri is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic...

 Appius Claudius Crassus

Appius Claudius Crassus

Appius Claudius Crassus was a decemvir of the Roman Republic ca 451 BC.His father was Appius Claudius Sabinus, Consul in 471 BCE...

 lusted after her and tried to use his power to take her as his own, possibly as a slave. The ensuing struggle led to the death of Verginia at her father's hand, the arrest of Lucius Icilius and Verginius, and the overthrow of the decemvirs and the reinstatement of the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

.