Silva Arsia
Encyclopedia
The Silva Arsia was the forest near Rome situated where the Roman and Veientine
territories abutted. near Rome where Romans heard the prophetic voice of Silvanus
in 509 BCE, foretelling their defeat of the Etruscans (Livy
), 2.7.2). At the Battle of Silva Arsia
that year the forces said to have been assembled by the Tyrrhenian Tarquin were defeated, though with the loss, traditionally, of the Roman consul Lucius Junius Brutus
. The forest, rich in timber essential for shipbuilding, had been seized from the Etruscans of Veii
by Ancus Martius.
Since woodland was everywhere the province of Silvanus, there is no reason to connect the otherwise unknown Silva Arsia with the "forest of Silvanus [Silvanus luccus] outside the walls at a distance, all overgrown with a willow grove" noted in Plautus
' Aulularia 674.
Veii
Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in Isola Farnese, a village of Municipio XX, an administrative subdivision of the comune of Rome in the Province of Rome...
territories abutted. near Rome where Romans heard the prophetic voice of Silvanus
Silvanus
- People :*Marcus Plautius Silvanus , Roman consul in 2 BC*Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus, a Roman patrician serving twice as consul *Marcus Caeionius Silvanus - People :*Marcus Plautius Silvanus (1st-century BC–1st-century AD), Roman consul in 2 BC*Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus, a Roman...
in 509 BCE, foretelling their defeat of the Etruscans (Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
), 2.7.2). At the Battle of Silva Arsia
Battle of Silva Arsia
The Battle of Silva Arsia was a battle in 509 BC between the republican forces of ancient Rome on the one hand, and Etruscan forces of Tarquinii and Veii led by the deposed Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus on the other...
that year the forces said to have been assembled by the Tyrrhenian Tarquin were defeated, though with the loss, traditionally, of the Roman consul Lucius Junius Brutus
Lucius Junius Brutus
Lucius Junius Brutus was the founder of the Roman Republic and traditionally one of the first consuls in 509 BC. He was claimed as an ancestor of the Roman gens Junia, including Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Caesar's assassins.- Background :...
. The forest, rich in timber essential for shipbuilding, had been seized from the Etruscans of Veii
Veii
Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in Isola Farnese, a village of Municipio XX, an administrative subdivision of the comune of Rome in the Province of Rome...
by Ancus Martius.
Since woodland was everywhere the province of Silvanus, there is no reason to connect the otherwise unknown Silva Arsia with the "forest of Silvanus [Silvanus luccus] outside the walls at a distance, all overgrown with a willow grove" noted in Plautus
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
' Aulularia 674.