Lucretia was the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, a nobleman related to the fifth (and it would turn out, the last) king of Rome. She was not a typical upper class wife. While others would go out when their husbands were away, Lucretia always stayed home. In 509 B.C., King Tarquin’s army was laying siege to a city. Collatinus was off with the army. One night, he and his comrades, who included Tarquin’s son Sextus, were having a drinking party. Collatinus bet that he had the most virtuous wife in Rome. The drunken men hopped on their horses to prove him wrong. When they stopped at each of their houses, they found the other wives either partying or preparing to go out. However, when they peeped in on Lucretia, they saw a woman sitting alone weaving. Sextus was attracted to her. The next night Sextus visited Lucretia. She showed hospitality to her husband’s friend. After she went to bed, Sextus snuck into the bedroom and begged her to make love to her. When she refused, he put a sword to her neck and threatened to kill her. Not only that, he would put her dead body next to a dead nude slave to besmirch her reputation. She acquiesced. The next morning, she called for her husband and father. They arrived with Collatinus’ friend Lucius Junius Brutus. Lucretia tearfully told her story and then stabbed herself with a dagger. The men vowed revenge and revolt over her dead body. They carried the body to the Forum, which attracted a crowd. Brutus gave a speech informed the Romans of the death of this paragon of virtue. He went on to outline the abuses of King Tarquin and the need for a new government that would not be a monarchy. The public rose up in rebellion. Tarquin was forced to flee and Rome became a republic. Sextus fled to a city where he hoped to find refuge, but his reputation proceeded himself and he was killed. Centuries later, a descendent of Lucius Junius Brutus brought down another tyrant, or so he saw him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretia
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