Parmigianino - Lucrezia romana commits suicide [1540]

Parmigianino -

Lucrezia romana committing suicide [1540]

Naples, Capodimonte

 

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Lucretia romanan

According to Roman tradition, Lucretia was a noblewoman in ancient Rome. Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) raped her. Her subsequent suicide sparked a rebellion that overthrew the Roman monarchy, leading to the transition of the Roman government from a kingdom to a republic. After the rape, dissatisfaction with the tyrannical methods of Tarquin's father, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome, intensified. Consequently, the leading families established a republic, expelled the extensive royal family of Tarquin from Rome and successfully defended the republic against Etruscan and Latin interference.

There are no contemporary sources regarding Lucretia and the rape. Details of the rape, Lucretia's subsequent suicide and the resulting establishment of the Roman Republic come from the accounts of Roman historians Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, written approximately 500 years later. Secondary sources on the establishment of the Republic reiterate the basic events of Lucretia's story, though accounts vary slightly between historians. The evidence suggests that a woman named Lucretia existed and that the events described played a critical part in the downfall of the monarchy. However, specific details are debatable and vary depending on the writer. According to modern sources, Lucretia's narrative is considered part of Roman mythohistory.[2] Much like the rape of the Sabine women, Lucretia's story provides an explanation for historical change in Rome by recounting violence against women.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretia

 

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