Tanaquil
Encyclopedia
Tanaquil was the wife of Tarquinius Priscus
Tarquinius Priscus
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, also called Tarquin the Elder or Tarquin I, was the legendary fifth King of Rome from 616 BC to 579 BC. His wife was Tanaquil.-Early life:According to Livy, Tarquinius Priscus came from the Etruria...

, fifth king of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

History

She had four children, two daughters and two sons. One of the daughters (Tarquinia) became the wife to Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...

, when he became the successor.

The daughter of a powerful Etruscan family in Tarquinii, Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...

, Tanaquil thought her husband would make a good leader, but since he was the son of an immigrant, he would not be able to gain power in Tarquinii, where they lived. Knowing this, Tanaquil encouraged him to move to Rome, which was not at the time dominated by a strong local aristocracy. Her strong prophetic abilities helped her to install Tarquin as king and later Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...

 as the next king. While on the road to Rome, an eagle flew off with Tarquin's hat and then returned it to his head. Tanaquil interpreted this as a sign that the gods wanted him to become a king.

Tanaquil's prophecy was eventually realized for Tarquin - he eventually became friends with King Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth of the Kings of Rome.He was the son of Marcius and Pompilia...

, who made Tarquin guardian of his children. When the king died before his children were old enough to become successors to the throne, Tarquin used his popularity in the Comitia to be elected the fifth king of Rome. He ruled from 616 to 579 BCE.

Tanaquil also played a role in the rise of Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome. Raising him as her own child, Tanaquil believed Servius would be the next successor to the throne. Her dreams would be realized when, one day Servius was sleeping and his head was surrounded with flames. The fires danced around his head without hurting him and when Servius awoke, the fire disappeared. Taking this as an omen, Tanaquil knew Servius would one day be king. When Tarquin was murdered, Tanaquil hid his death from her subjects, instead telling them that Tarquin appointed Servius as a temporary king until he got better. After gaining the people’s respect and commanding the kingship, Servius and Tanaquil announced Tarquin’s death. Tanaquil had a daughter, (Tarquinia) who married Servius Tullius, and two sons, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...

 and Aruns Tarquinius
Aruns (son of Tarquinius Priscus)
Aruns Tarquinius was the son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the semi-legendary fifth king of Rome, and was brother to the seventh and last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus....

, who would marry Tullia
Tullia (daughter of Servius Tullius)
Tullia was the last queen of Rome. She was the younger daughter of Rome's sixth king, Servius Tullius, and she married Lucius Tarquinius. Along with her husband, she arranged the murder and overthrow of her father, securing the throne for her husband...

, the daughter of Servius Tullius.

Mythology

According to Festus
Festus (historian)
Festus was a Late Roman historian whose breviary was commissioned by the emperor Valens in preparation for war against Persia....

, she changed her name to Gaia Caecilia (called Gaia Cyrilla in Boccaccio's On Famous Women) when she arrived at Rome, although some Roman historians also commonly spelled her name Caia Caecilia or Caia Cyrilla. Under this name she is the mythical source of various Roman wedding customs. She was remembered as a skillful artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...

 in the art of working with wool. Queen Gaia was so much admired by the Romans of her day that it was a public decree that any new bride entering their royal palace would announce their name as "Gaia" when asked. This was said to be an omen of future frugality
Frugality
Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance....

 for these women and showed the simple living style
Simple living
Simple living encompasses a number of different voluntary practices to simplify one's lifestyle. These may include reducing one's possessions or increasing self-sufficiency, for example. Simple living may be characterized by individuals being satisfied with what they need rather than want...

 of the time period. Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

 says that a statue was dedicated to her as Gaia Caecilia in the temple of Semo Sancus.

Tarquinius Family Tree


Sources

  • Pliny the Elder
    Pliny the Elder
    Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

    , Natural Histories VIII.74.194
  • 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...

    , Ab Urbe Condita
    Ab urbe condita
    Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...

    I.34, 39, 41
  • Cassius Dio, Roman History, II

Further reading



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