Verginia
Verginia, or Virginia, was the subject of an ancient Roman story recounted in Roman historian Livy's text Ab Urbe Condita. Upon a threat to her virtue, Verginia was killed by her father Verginius. Livy directly links Verginia's death to the overthrow of the decemviri and the re-establishment of the Roman Republic.
The story of Verginia
In 451 BC, the decemvir Appius Claudius began to lust after Verginia, a beautiful plebeian girl who was the daughter of Lucius Verginius, a respected centurion. Verginia was betrothed to Lucius Icilius, a former tribune of the plebs. When Verginia rejected Claudius' advances, he had one of his clients, Marcus Claudius, claim that she was not the daughter of Verginius but instead the daughter of his slave, and therefore a slave herself. Marcus Claudius then abducted her while she was on her way to school in the Forum, taking advantage of her father's absence from Rome. The crowd in the Forum objected to this, as both Verginius and Icilius were well-respected men, and they forced Marcus Claudius to bring the case before the decemvirs. However, the case was to be presided over by Appius Claudius himself. Verginius was recalled from the field to defend his daughter. Icilius, after threats of violence, succeeded in having Verginia returned to her house while the court waited for her father to appear. Claudius tried to have his own supporters intercept the messengers sent to summon Verginius, but they arrived too late to delay Verginius' arrival.File:The Death of Virginia.jpg|thumb|298x298px|Giovanni Folo after Vincenzo Camuccini, "," 1870/1909, engraving and etching,
When Verginius arrived two days later, he gathered his supporters in the Forum. Claudius, unmoved by Verginius' widespread support, would not let him speak or defend himself, and declared that Verginia was indeed Marcus Claudius' slave. Additionally, Claudius had brought an armed escort with him and accused the citizens of sedition, and the supporters of Verginius left the Forum rather than cause any violence. Verginius begged Claudius to question his daughter himself, which Claudius agreed to. However, Verginius grabbed a knife and, at the Shrine of Venus Cloacina, he stabbed Verginia, the only way he felt he could uphold her freedom and virtue. Upon killing her, Livy claims that Verginius spoke to Claudius directly, yelling: "By this blood, Appius, I devote thy head to the infernal gods." Verginius and Icilius were arrested, but their supporters, angered by Claudius' actions, returned to attack the lictors and destroy their fasces. The pair was then released. Claudius was eventually jailed but he committed suicide before his trial. Marcus Claudius was tried, found guilty, and exiled to Tibur. This controversy led to the overthrow of the decemviri and the re-establishment of the Roman Republic.