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Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius (640 BC-616 BC.), fourth king of
Rome, and possibly legendary. Like Numa[?], his reputed grandfather, he was a friend of peace and religion, but was obliged to make war to defend his territories.
He conquered the Latins, and a number of them he
settled on the Aventine Hill formed the origin of the Plebeians. He
fortified the Janiculum[?], threw a wooden bridge across the Tiber, founded the port of Ostia, established salt-works and built a prison.
Ancus Marcius is merely a duplicate of Numa, as is shown by
his second name, Numa Marcius, the confidant and pontifex of
Numa, being no other than Numa Pompilius himself, represented as
priest. The identification with Ancus is shown by the legend
which makes the latter a bridge-builder (pontifex), the
constructor of the first wooden bridge over the Tiber. It is
in the exercise of his priestly functions that the resemblance
is most clearly shown. Like Numa, Ancus died a natural death.
See Livy i. 32, 33; Dion Halicarnassus[?] iii. 36-45; Cicero, De
Republica, ii. 18.
Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed
see Roman Republic, Kings of Rome
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