Demaratus (Greek:Δημάρατος), frequently calledDemaratus of Corinth, was the father ofLucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifthKing of Rome, the grandfather or great-grandfather ofLucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last Roman king, and an ancestor ofLucius Junius Brutus andLucius Tarquinius Collatinus, the firstconsuls of theRoman Republic.[1]
Demaratus was aDorian nobleman and a member of theCorinthian house of theBacchiadae. Facing charges of sedition, in 655 BC he fled toItaly, according to tradition settling in theEtruscan city ofTarquinii, where he married an Etruscan noblewoman. They had two sons, Lucius andArruns.[2][3][4][1]
According to tradition, Demaratus introducedGreek culture to mainland Italy, and brought potters from Corinth; Greek potters worked at Tarquinii and its port,Gravisca.[citation needed]Pliny the Elder andTacitus reported that Demaratus brought literacy to the Etruscans.[5][6]Strabo reported that he became the ruler of Tarquinii, but this is not stated by other sources, and seems improbable given that his son, Lucius, as the son of a foreigner, had to migrate to Rome to obtain political power.[7][1] According toPausanias, Demaratus' son or grandson was the first foreigner to visitOlympia, and make a dedication there.
Through his sons, Demaratus was the ancestor of the Romangens Tarquinia, and a forebear of several other notable Roman families. By blood or marriage, his descendants included the last three kings of Rome, as well as the first twoRoman consuls.[1]
Demaratus had two sons, Lucius and Arruns Tarquinius. Arruns died shortly before his father, who accordingly bequeathed all of his wealth to his remaining son, Lucius, unaware that Arruns' wife was pregnant with Demaratus' grandson. Thus, in spite of his grandfather's wealth, the child, who was namedArruns after his father, was born into poverty. For this reason, he came to be calledEgerius, meaning "the needy one."[2][3][1]
Like his father, Lucius Tarquinius married an Etruscan noblewoman, but as the son of a foreigner he was unable to attain high station at Tarquinii. At the urging of his wife,Tanaquil, Tarquin migrated to Rome, where even a foreigner might hope to gain rank and influence. There he won the favour of the king,Ancus Marcius, and when the king died, Tarquin was chosen to succeed him.[8][9][10] After subduing theLatin town ofCollatia, the king placed his nephew, Arruns, in charge of the Roman garrison there.[11][12]
Tarquin's daughter marriedServius Tullius, who succeeded him as the sixth king of Rome.[13][14] After a long and prosperous reign, Tullius was deposed by his own son-in-law, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the son or grandson of the elder Tarquin.[15][16] An Etruscan legend told of how Servius, aided by the heroes Aulus andCaelius Vibenna, had defeated and killed a group of enemies, including a certain Gnaeus Tarquinius of Rome, perhaps the son of Tarquin the Elder and father of Tarquin the Proud.
Many of the leading figures on both sides in the establishment of theRoman Republic were descendants of Demaratus.[1] In addition to the king, the king's wife was also a descendant of Demaratus, as her mother is said to have been the daughter of the elder Tarquin; and their three sons played prominent roles in the unfolding of events. It was the rape ofLucretia bySextus Tarquinius that inspired the Roman nobles to rebel against the king;[17][18][19]Arruns Tarquinius and the Roman consulLucius Junius Brutus slew one another in thefirst great battle of the Roman Republic;[20][21] andTitus Tarquinius was wounded, and perhaps perished at theBattle of Lake Regillus.[22][23] The Latin army that marched against the Romans on that occasion was commanded byOctavius Mamilius,[24] the dictator ofTusculum, and a son-in-law of Tarquin's.[25][26]
Meanwhile, the first two consuls were each descendants of Demaratus; Brutus' mother was the king's sister,[27][28] while his colleague wasLucius Tarquinius Collatinus, the son of Egerius, and husband of Lucretia.[29][30] Before his death at the hands of Arruns Tarquinius, Brutus compelled his colleague to resign and go into exile, arguing that none of the Tarquinian gens should hold power at Rome.[31][32]
Three important Roman gentes claimed descent from Demaratus; theJunii, through the first consul; theMamilii, who came to Rome from Tusculum in the fifth century BC; and theTullii, through Servius Tullius.
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