Veturia

Female, Person

32

Who is Veturia?

Veturia was a Roman matron, the mother of the possibly legendary Roman general Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. Veturia came from a patrician family and encouraged her son's involvement in Roman politics. As the story is told, Coriolanus was expelled from Rome in the early fifth century BC because he demanded the abolition of the people's tribunate in return for distributing state grain to the starving plebeians. He settled with the Volscians, a people hostile to Rome, while formulating his revenge.

Coriolanus and the Volscians marched upon Rome, which did not have the military power to defeat them. A few Roman consuls and an embassy of Roman matrons decided that Veturia might be the only person who could convince Coriolanus to put an end to his campaign. Veturia was skeptical of her influence, but agreed to help; she also brought along Coriolanus' wife and children.

When Veturia came to her son's camp, Coriolanus embraced her and begged her to ally herself with his cause. Veturia refused on behalf of all the Roman citizens and convinced her son to cease his crusade against Rome, throwing herself at his feet and threatening to do harm to herself if he did not retreat.

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Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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"Veturia." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/veturia>.

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