--- title: Lars Porsenna author: Mark Cartwright source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars_Porsenna/ format: machine-readable-alternate license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) updated: 1970-01-01 --- # Lars Porsenna _Authored by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/)_ Lars Porsenna was the semi-legendary [Etruscan](https://www.worldhistory.org/Etruscan_Civilization/) king of [Chiusi](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chiusi/) who famously attacked and probably occupied [Rome](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/) c. 508 BCE when the [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) had just exiled its last king and was moving towards becoming a republic. His extravagant [tomb](https://www.worldhistory.org/tomb/) is described by Pliny but has never been found. Details of the early life of Lars Porsenna (also spelt Larth Porsina), his accession, and even the dates of his reign are all lacking. This is perhaps not surprising for a figure who is more legend than fact. He sprang into history only via the records of [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/) and [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) historians [writing](https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/) centuries after his lifetime and who were only concerned with his infamous siege of Rome. More is known of his kingdom Chiusi, Etruscan name Clevsin and Clusium to the Romans, which was a powerful city in central [Italy](https://www.worldhistory.org/italy/) and a prominent member of the Etruscan League. The growth and prosperity of Chiusi in precisely the period of Porsenna's reign is attested by archaeological evidence. ### [Lucius Tarquinius Superbus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Lucius_Tarquinius_Superbus/) Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (the 'Proud') was a member of the Etruscan Tarquinii clan from [Tarquinia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Tarquinia/). He was Rome's seventh, and in the event, last king. Following his tyrannical reign and the rape of the Roman noblewoman Lucretia by Tarquinius' son Sextus and her subsequent suicide, the aristocrats of Rome, led by Lucius Iunius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, persuaded the assembly to exile their king in 510 BCE. Brutus and Collatinus declared themselves Rome's first consuls, and the [Roman Republic](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Republic/) was born. However, Tarquinius was actually away laying siege to Ardea at the time of his exile vote and so was still both willing and able to make a serious attempt to retake his throne. Tarquinius first joined forces with the Etruscan [cities](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) of [Cerveteri](https://www.worldhistory.org/Cerveteri/), Tarquinia, and [Veii](https://www.worldhistory.org/Veii/). A combined force attacked Rome but was defeated at the [battle](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/battle/) of Silva Arsia. Undeterred Tarquinius then convinced Lars Porsenna, to lay siege to Rome c. 508 BCE. ### The Siege of Rome The exact motivation for Porsenna's attack is unclear. Traditionally, this second attack was seen as an attempt to restore Rome's monarchy and Lucius Tarquinius to the throne, but following Porsenna's siege of the city he, instead, did one of two things. Version one has Porsenna finally withdrawing after being impressed with the city's fortitude and especially the heroism of figures such as Horatius Cocles (the 'one-eyed') and Gaius Mucius Scaevola. Horatius Cocles had courageously held the wooden Sublician bridge, at that time the only access across the Tiber, against Porsenna's entire fighting force until it could be destroyed and the advancing army halted. Caught on the wrong side of the river the hero had had to swim back across to safety. Meanwhile, Mucius Scaevola was perhaps even more daring and stole into Porsenna's camp - the Etruscan king had by then set up his siege of the city - in an attempt to assassinate the king in his own tent. Unfortunately, Mucius did not know what Porsenna looked like and so mistakenly killed the king's secretary sitting next to his master. Captured, Mucius bravely displayed his resistance to torture by voluntarily putting his left hand into a fire (hence his name Scaevola, meaning left-handed). [ ![Etruscan Bronze Warrior](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/6356.jpg?v=1775108165) Etruscan Bronze Warrior Metropolitan Museum of Art (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/6356/etruscan-bronze-warrior/ "Etruscan Bronze Warrior")Porsenna, seeing that such a heroic people would not be quashed, then gave command of half his army to his son Arus who moved off to attack the Latin town of Aricia. Then a third heroic figure Roman writers could not resist recording for posterity appears: Cloelia. She was one of a number of hostages Porsenna took to guarantee the safe withdrawal of troops from the city, but she escaped and swam across the Tiber. Impressed with her courage Porsenna set her free and half of the other Roman hostages he held, selected by Cloelia. Version two of the siege, and much the more credible one, has Porsenna victorious and Rome surrendering to the Etruscan king, who then, far from reinstalling Tarquinius Superbus, acted to abolish the monarchy of Rome and imposed a harsh peace treaty which included complete disarmament and the handing over of all lands on the right bank of the Tiber. Porsenna then used the city as a military base to attack the Latin cities starting with Aricia in 504 BCE. Naturally, this version was a little less palatable for the Roman reader than the heroic first version. It would also seem unlikely that Porsenna and Tarquinius could have been allies given their long-standing rivalry and the latter's alliance with Chiusi's traditional enemies the Latins and Cumae. Dionysius of [Halicarnassus](https://www.worldhistory.org/halicarnassus/) further states that the Tarquinii had dishonoured Roman ambassadors and hostages, and for this reason, there was a rupture between the ex-king and Porsenna. In the event, Arus would be defeated at Aricia - the city had support from Cumae - and was killed in the action. The remnants of Porsenna's army then made their way back to Rome. [ ![Siege of Rome by Porsenna](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/750x750/4727.gif?v=1618569909) Siege of Rome by Porsenna Coldeel (CC BY-SA) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/4727/siege-of-rome-by-porsenna/ "Siege of Rome by Porsenna")Meanwhile, Rome's ex-king Tarquinius was forced to seek refuge with his son-in-[law](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/law/) Octavius Mamilius, the dictator of the Latins (according to one version of the legend), who sought, rather improbably given the longtime rivalry between Rome and the Latin cities, to restore Tarquinius to the throne. Following Mamilius' defeat at the Battle of Lake Regillus (499 or 496 BCE) to the Romans - aided by the legendary appearance of the semi-divine figures of [Castor and Pollux](https://www.worldhistory.org/Castor_and_Pollux/) - Lucius Tarquinius moved on to Cumae in Campania where he died in 495 BCE. ### Porsenna's Tomb What happened to Porsenna after his withdrawal from Rome is not known besides that the peace between Chiusi and Rome was respected. His next and final appearance in [literature](https://www.worldhistory.org/literature/) is a detailed description of his tomb by the Roman writer Pliny who quotes word-for-word a text by Varro. Located outside the city walls of Chiusi, his description is as follows: > a square monument built of squared blocks of stone, each side being 300 feet long and 50 feet high. Inside this square pedestal there is a tangled [labyrinth](https://www.worldhistory.org/Labyrinth/), which no one must enter without a ball of thread if he is to find his way out. On this square pedestal stand five [pyramids](https://www.worldhistory.org/pyramid/), four at the corners and one at the centre, each of them being 75 feet broad at the base and 150 feet high. They taper in such a manner that on top of the whole group there rests a single [bronze](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/bronze/) disk together with a conical cupola, from which hang bells fastened with chains; when these are set in motion by the wind, their sound carries to a great distance, as was formerly the case at [Dodona](https://www.worldhistory.org/Dodona/). On this disk stand four more pyramids, each 100 feet high, and above these on a single platform, five more. (*Historia Naturalis* 36.91-3, quoted in Simon, 207-8) The description may be exaggerated, and no trace has ever been found of the tomb despite numerous attempts in the vicinity of Chiusi. Still, the fact that such a monument was deemed plausible by the Romans is testimony to the wealth and power of Etruscan Chiusi and its greatest ever king. #### Editorial Review This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/). ## Bibliography - [Brendel, O.J. *Etruscan Art.* Yale University Press, 1995.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0300064462/) - Grant, M. *The History of Rome.* Faber, 1993 - [Hornblower, S. *The Oxford Classical Dictionary.* Oxford University Press, 2012.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0199545561/) - [Keller, W. *The Etruscans.* Random House Inc (T), 1974.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0394473019/) - [Simon, E. *The Religion of the Etruscans.* University of Texas Press, 2006.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0292721463/) - [Spivey, N.J. *Etruscan Art.* Thames & Hudson, 1997.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0500203040/) ## About the Author Mark is WHE’s Publishing Director and has an MA in Political Philosophy (University of York). He is a full-time researcher, writer, historian and editor. Special interests include art, architecture and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share. ## Timeline - **c. 508 BCE**: [Lars Porsenna](https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars_Porsenna/), [Etruscan](https://www.worldhistory.org/Etruscan_Civilization/) king of [Chiusi](https://www.worldhistory.org/Chiusi/), lays siege to [Rome](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/). ## External Links - [Rise of Roman Republic](http://ed.ted.com/on/LkLBl809) ## Cite This Work ### APA Cartwright, M. (2017, March 06). Lars Porsenna. *World History Encyclopedia*. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars\_Porsenna/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars_Porsenna/) ### Chicago Cartwright, Mark. "Lars Porsenna." *World History Encyclopedia*, March 06, 2017. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars\_Porsenna/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars_Porsenna/). ### MLA Cartwright, Mark. "Lars Porsenna." *World History Encyclopedia*, 06 Mar 2017, [https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars\_Porsenna/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Lars_Porsenna/). ## License & Copyright Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 06 March 2017. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.