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Publius Decius Mus, son of Quintus, of the plebeian gens Decia, was a Roman consul in 340 BC. He is noted particularly for sacrificing himself in battle through the ritual of devotio , as recorded by the Augustan historian Livy.
Decius Mus first enters history in 352 BC as an appointed official, one of the quinqueviri mensarii, public bankers charged with relieving citizen debts to some extent. [1]
He served with distinction in the First Samnite War under Aulus Cornelius Cossus Arvina. In 343 BC, Cossus, leading his army through the mountain fastnesses of Samnium, became trapped in a valley by the Samnites. Decius, taking 1,600 men, seized a strong point through which the Samnites were obliged to pass, and held it against them until nightfall; breaking through their lines, he re-joined the main body of the army, which had gained the summit of the mountain and relative safety. The army then swept into the Samnites, gaining a complete victory and the spoils of the enemy camp. [2] For the rescue of the trapped army he was awarded the Grass Crown by both his own army and by the army he relieved.
In 340 he was raised to the consular rank as co-consul with Titus Manlius Torquatus, and the Romans allied themselves with their former enemies against the Latins in the Latin War. When during his consulate, an oracle announced that an army and the opposite army's general both would go to their deaths, Mus devoted himself and his foes to the Dii Manes and mother Earth to give his army the victory in the Battle of Vesuvius, in which he was slain and the enemy annihilated.
According to Livy, as the army marched near Capua, it was given to the two consuls in mutual dreams that the army whose general pledged himself and his foemen's host to the Dii Manes and Tellus Mater would be victorious. Upon confirmation from the haruspices, the two divulged a plan to their senior officers and their army that they would not lose heart, for they intended that whosoever's wing should falter first should so pledge his life to the gods of the underworld and the Earth.
Once the battle was engaged, the left wing began to falter and Decius Mus called upon the Pontifex Maximus, M. Valerius, to tell him the means by which to save the army. The pontifex prescribed the required ritual acts and a prayer (see devotio ). [3] After performing the ritual, the fully armored Decius Mus plunged his horse into the enemy with such supernatural vigor and violence that the awe-struck Latins soon refused to engage him, eventually bringing him down with darts. Even then, the Latins avoided his body, leaving a large space around it, and the left wing of the Romans, once faltering, now swept into this weakness in the enemy lines. Manlius, conducting the right wing, held fast, allowing the Latins to use up their reserves, before crushing the enemy host between the renewed left and Samnite foederati at their flank, leaving only a quarter of the enemy to flee. [4]
He was the father of Publius Decius P.f. Mus, consul in 312 BC, 308 BC, 297 BC, and 295 BC and the grandfather of Publius Decius P.f. Mus, consul in 279 BC.
At the behest of Franco Cattaneo, a Genoese businessman, Peter Paul Rubens created a series of eight paintings, modelli for tapestry weavers to recreate, commemorating Decius Mus.
In the 2016 United States presidential election, Michael Anton wrote under the pseudonym Publius Decius Mus to put forward a defence of the positions of then candidate Donald Trump. His writings were aimed at Republicans who held that Trump was not politically conservative enough to represent the party. He wrote that a risk of self-sacrifice was necessary to save the nation, maintaining that progressives had brought it to the brink of destruction. He used the actions of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 as an analogy. [5]
During the 290s BC, Hellenistic civilization begins its emergence throughout the successor states of the former Argead Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, resulting in the diffusion of Greek culture throughout the Levant and advances in science, mathematics, philosophy, etc. Meanwhile, the Roman Republic is embroiled in war against the Samnites, the Mauryan Empire continues to thrive in Ancient India, and the Kingdom of Qin in Ancient China, the one which in the future will conquer its adversaries and unite China, begins to emerge as a significant power during the Warring States period.
Year 340 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Torquatus and Mus. The denomination 340 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 299 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paetinus and Torquatus/Corvus. The denomination 299 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 297 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rullianus and Mus. The denomination 297 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 296 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Violens and Caecus. The denomination 296 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 295 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. It was known in the Roman Republic as the Year of the Consulship of Rullianus and Mus. The denomination 295 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 290 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufinus and Dentatus. The denomination 290 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The Battle of Vesuvius was the first recorded battle of the Latin War. The battle was fought near Mount Vesuvius in 340 BC between the Romans, with their allies the Samnites, against a coalition of several peoples: Latins, Campanians, Volsci, Sidicini, and Aurunci. The surviving sources on the battle, however, focus almost solely on the Romans and the Latins.
The (Second) Latin War of 340–338 BC was a conflict between the Roman Republic and its neighbors, the Latin peoples of ancient Italy. It ended in the dissolution of the Latin League and incorporation of its territory into the Roman sphere of influence, with the Latins gaining partial rights and varying levels of citizenship.
Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus was a famous politician and general of the Roman Republic, of the old gens Manlia. He had an outstanding career, being consul three times, in 347, 344, and 340 BC, and dictator three times, in 353, 349, and 320 BC. He was one of the early heroes of the Republic, alongside Cincinnatus, Cornelius Cossus, Furius Camillus, and Valerius Corvus. As a young military tribune, he defeated a huge Gaul in a duel in one of the most famous duels of the Republic, which earned him the epithet Torquatus after the torc he took from the Gaul's body. He was also known for his moral virtues, especially his severity as he had his own son executed for disobeying orders in a battle. His life was seen as a model for his descendants, who tried to emulate his heroic deeds, even centuries after his death.
Publius Decius Mus, of the plebeian gens Decia, was a Roman consul in the years 312 BC, 308 BC, 297 BC and 295 BC. He was a member of a family that was renowned for sacrificing themselves on the battlefield for Rome.
The Battle of Suessula was the third and last battle between the Samnites and the Roman Republic in 343 BC, the first year of the First Samnite War. According to the Augustan historian Livy, the Samnites gathered their army at Suessula, at the eastern edge of Campania. The Roman consul Marcus Valerius Corvus took his army by forced marches to Suessula. When the Samnites had to scatter their army to forage for food, Valerius seized the opportunity to capture the Samnite camp and then rout the Samnite foragers. Modern historians believe that details of the battle were entirely invented by Livy and his annalistic sources, and the battle's historicity has also been questioned.
The Battle of Tifernum was an important battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 297 BC near Castropignano, either on the banks of the river Biferno or near the Matese mountains in the province of Campobasso, in what is now southern Italy, where the Romans overcame a determined Samnite army. The result would lead to the decisive Battle of Sentinum, which granted Rome the domination of central Italy.
Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus was the first of the patrician gens Manlia to obtain the consulship, which he held in 480 BC, together with Marcus Fabius Vibulanus. His father's name was Publius.
The Battle of Saticula, 343 BC, was the second of three battles described by the Roman historian Livy, in Book Seven of his history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, as taking place in the first year of the First Samnite War. According to Livy's extensive description, the Roman commander, the consul Aulus Cornelius Cossus was marching from Saticula when he was almost trapped by a Samnite army in a mountain pass. His army was only saved because one of his military tribunes, Publius Decius Mus, led a small group of men to seize a hilltop, distracting the Samnites and allowing the consul to escape. During the night Decius and his men were themselves able to escape. The next day the reunited Romans attacked the Samnites and completely routed them. Several other ancient authors also mention Decius' heroic acts. Modern historians are however sceptical of the historical accuracy of Livy's account, and have in particular noted the similarities with how a military tribune is said to have saved Roman army in 258 BC during the First Punic War.
Marcus Fabius Vibulanus was consul of the Roman republic in 483 and 480 BC.
The gens Geminia was a plebeian family at Rome. The only member of this gens to hold any of the higher offices of the Roman state under the Republic was Gaius Geminius, praetor in 92 BC.
Aulus Cornelius Cossus Arvina was a Roman politician and general who served as both consul and Magister Equitum twice, and Dictator once in the mid 4th century BC.
Publius Cornelius Arvina was a Roman politician and general who lived in the late 4th century and early 3rd century BC, who served as consul of the Roman Republic twice, and as censor once.
