Horatius Cocles

Overview

Roman hero traditionally of the late 6th century BC but perhaps legendary, who first with two companions and finally alone defended the Sublician bridge (in Rome) against Lars Porsena and the entire Etruscan army, thereby giving the Romans time to cut down the bridge. He then threw himself into the Tiber to swim to the other shore. Versions differ as to whether he reached safety or was drowned. The myth possibly arose in explanation of an ancient statue of a crippled one-eyed man (cocles means “one-eyed”) in the nearby Temple of Vulcan. The ancients claimed this represented the wounded Cocles, but it may be a statue of the god Vulcan, who was both lame and traditionally associated with the Cyclops (One-Eyed). The story is first mentioned by the 2nd-century-BC Greek historian Polybius.

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