Coriolanus, Gnaeus Marcius

Coriolanus, Gnaeus Marcius

Legendary Roman hero. He is said to have lived in the late 6th and early 5th century BC and to have owed his surname to his courage at the siege of Corioli (493 BC) in the war against the Volsci. For trying to have the office of tribune abolished during a famine in Rome, he was sent into exile. Taking refuge with the king of the Volsci, he led the Volscian army against Rome but turned back in response to pleas from his family. He is the subject of William Shakespeare's play Coriolanus.

---

Coriolanus, Gnaeus Marcius 

According to ancient Roman legend, a patrician and military leader who commanded the Roman troops in the capture of the Volscian city of Corioli in 493 B.C., from which his surname is derived.

Persecuted by the tribunes for an attempt to deprive plebeians of their political rights, Coriolanus took refuge with the Volscians. He led a Volscian army that besieged Rome, but, giving in to the entreaties of his mother and his wife, he lifted the siege of the city. According to one version of the legend, Coriolanus was killed by the Volscians; according to another version, he lived until a very advanced age, remaining an exile. The Coriolanus legend inspired Shakespeare’s drama Coriolanus and Beethoven’s overture of the same name.