Gnaeus Marcius was a Roman general whose capture of the Volscian town of Corioli brought him the surname Coriolanus. Much emboldened, Coriolanus tried to use his standing (and a food shortage) to repeal concessions made to the Roman public, provoking outrage and almost getting himself executed. Banished from Rome, he found refuge with his former enemies, the Volscians.

Coriolanus joined forces with the Volscians to attack Rome, and soon had the City at his mercy. Desperate to save themselves, the Senate sent out Coriolanus’s mother, wife and children, who implored him to draw off his troops; and Coriolanus relented. He foretold that they had signed his death-warrant, and indeed the Volscians subsequently murdered him.

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