Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (c. 519 – c. 430 BC) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a famous model of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Modern historians question some particulars of the story of Cincinnatus that was recounted in Livy's History of Rome and elsewhere, but it is usually accepted that Cincinnatus was a historical figure who served as suffect consul in 460 BC and as dictator in 458 BC and (possibly) again in 439 BC. The most famous story related to Cincinnatus occurs after his retirement from public service to a simple life of farming. As Roman forces struggled to defeat the Aequi, Cincinnatus was summoned from his plough to assume complete control over the state.
Cincinnatus