Publius Valerius Publicola
Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud) was the seventh king of Rome. His youngest son, Sextus Tarquinius, fell in love with Lucretia, the wife of his second cousin, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus ( a Tarquin family tree).
When she refused his advances, he threatened to kill her and then put a dead slave in bed with her to make it look as if she had been caught in adultery. She gave way under this threat to her reputation, and then after Sextus had left, sent for her husband and father, who were away with the troops fighting a war. She told them something terrible had happened and to each bring a friend as a witness. Her father brought Publius Valerius and her husband brought Lucius Junius Brutus, the king's nephew. (510 BC)
Lucretia told them what had happened and then stabbed herself before their eyes. Brutus vowed vengeance on Tarquin and his children, and led the citizens in deposing the king and exiling the royal family. Rather than appoint a new king, the Romans instituted a republic with Brutus and Collatinus as the first consuls.
Valerius had expected to become one of the consuls and retired from public life in a huff (509). There was speculation that he and others might side with the Tarquins if they ever tried to return by force, and so the whole senate, led by Valerius took an oath never to surrender to the Tarquins.
This oath was not enough to quiet the people's fears, and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, as part of the Tarquin family, was also forced to go into exile (although Brutus was more nearly related by blood it was through his mother, and so he was not counted as part of the Tarquin family). Valerius was elected consul to replace him.
Under cover of negotiations for the return of their property, the Tarquins made contact with some young nobles who were unhappy with the new order of things and a conspiracy was launched. The conspirators swore on the entrails of a human sacrifice not to reveal the details of the plot, but they were overheard by a slave, Vindicius, who informed Valerius. The conspirators were arrested, incriminating letters were found, the plot was foiled. Valerius produced the slave and after a short trial the conspirators were sentenced to death. One of the conspirators was Brutus' own son, but Brutus watched unflinchingly as the young man was put to death.
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