LUCIUS JUNIUS BRUTUS AND THE AMBIGUITY OF THE HEROIC PARADIGM

Over time, scholars have examined both the historical and mythical dimensions of Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic and its first consul following the expulsion of Tarquin the Proud. Attilio Mastrocinque, in his well-known book Lucio Giunio Bruto: Ricerche di storia, religione e diritto sulle origini della Repubblica romana (1988) and two recent papers, Tarquin the Superb and the Proclamation of the Roman Republic (2014d) and Lucio Giunio Bruto: caratteri antichi del fondatore della Repubblica romana (2019c), has made significant contributions to our understanding of this figure in the Late Monarchy and Junius Brutus. One of his key insights is that multiple versions of Brutus’s story emphasize how the fall of the monarchy was triggered by a crisis between the Romans and their gods. While the king failed to resolve it, Brutus successfully restored peace with the gods, securing his place as a Roman hero at the dawn of Roman history. In this paper, we examine the portrayal of Brutus as a hero by comparing accounts of him to the heroic paradigm, paying particular attention to the ambiguous aspects of his character and actions.