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Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus

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Also known as Coriolanus, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus

5th-century BC Roman general

Wikidata facts

Gender
male
Citizenship
Ancient Rome
Place of birth
Ancient Rome
Place of death
Antium
Spouse
Volumnia
Mother
Veturia
Languages spoken
Latin
Image
Wilhelm Wandschneider - Coriolan in Plau am See.jpg
Show 9 more facts
date of birth
0600-00-00
date of death
0500-00-00
Commons category
Coriolanus
praenomen
Gaius
name in native language
C.Marcius Coriolanus
floruit
0500-00-00
Sources (1)

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Encyclopedic overview

Coriolanus at the Walls of Rome by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was subsequently exiled from Rome, and led troops of Rome's enemy the Volsci to besiege the city.

In later ancient times, it was generally accepted by historians that Coriolanus was a real historical individual, and a consensus narrative story of his life appeared, retold by leading historians such as Livy, Plutarch, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. More recent scholarship has cast doubt on the historicity of Coriolanus, with some portraying him as either a wholly legendary figure or at least disputing the accuracy of the conventional story of his life or the timing of the events.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.