How The Fall Of Veii Turned Rome Into A Religious Capital.

Livy describes Veii as the wealthiest of the Etruscan cities. The Etruscans were one of the Romans’ most advanced neighboring nations. In this post, I tell you about the fall of this city and how that added to Rome becoming a religious capital of the ancient world.

Even before the emergence of Christianity, Rome had been a capital of ancient religion, especially for the different nations that lived on the land we know today as Italy and even beyond.

By large, the city gained this position gradually. However, Livy describes a few turning points in that progression. One of those that stands out the most was the fall of Veii.

Livy’s first extensive mention of Veii is regarding its failed attempt, alongside Tarquinii (another Etruscan city), in 508 BCE to reinstate Lucius Tarquinius Superbus as king after his expulsion from Rome.

For hundreds of years after this event, Veii remained one of the most persistent enemies of Rome. The two nations fought almost continually, and it was apparent the end of this hostility would be the utter destruction of one.

Livy states that:

“The Romans and Veientians were in arms with such rancor and animosity that it was evident that ruin awaited the vanquished party.”

In the meantime, Veii continued to grow and became more powerful and wealthy than most other Etruscan towns, such as Tarquinii, Caere, and Clusium. Like most of the other 11 Etruscan states, Veii was ruled by an elected King.

As Livy describes it, the city also served as the religious capital of the Etruscan people and most of the other neighboring cities, including Rome. In particular, the temple of Queen Juno, known as the most powerful goddess in Roman mythology, was located in the city, and people came from all over the ancient world to worship her.

The fall of Veii was triggered by the election of a king around 400 BCE who was not religious enough. Livy does not give us the actual name of this king, but he tells us that he was wealthy and arrogant.

This king stopped some religious practices in the city because the Etruscan Federation had chosen someone else to be the priest to lead ceremonies. He, in particular, stopped games dedicated to gods, usually attended by many nations, including Rome.

His decision to stop religious sports made him hated not only by Veii citizens, who also feared him, but also by many other Etruscan city-states as well as other neighboring nations.

Livy writes:

“He had become obnoxious to the nation by reason of his wealth and arrogance because he had violently broken off the performance of some annual games, the omission of which was deemed an impiety: when through resentment of a repulse, because another had been preferred to him as a priest by the suffrages of the twelve states, he suddenly carried off, in the middle of the performance, the performers, of whom a great part were his own slaves.”

Indeed, the hatred against this king was so great that an Etruscan prophet predicted his doom. Livy tells us this prophet was taken to Rome to present his report to the senate. He declared that the day the Alban Lake would outflow without rain, it would be a signal from the gods for the other city-states to attack and conquer Veii.

However, not all Etruscan states abandoned Veii. Livy tells of two states that came to Veii’s aid: the Capenatians and Faliscians.

Livy writes:

“While these things are going on, assemblies of Etruria were held at the temple of Voltumna, and the Capenatians and Faliscians demanding that all the states of Etruria should by common consent and resolve aid in raising the siege of Veii.”

Indeed, when the war started, after the Alban Lake had overflown as predicted, the Romans and their allies struggled to overcome the Veiantines and their allies. At some point, Rome was losing so much in the war that there was panic in the city.

Livy writes:

“The Roman soldiers were with difficulty restrained from flight, as a report had spread through the camp that, the generals and army having been cut to pieces, the victorious Capenatians and Faliscians and all the youth of Etruria were not far off. At Rome, they gave credit to accounts still more alarming than these, that the camp at Veii was now attacked, that a part of the enemy was now advancing to the city prepared for an attack.”

Livy tells us that in the panic, Romans resorted to prayers and offering sacrifices so that the gods could save them from ruination in the hands of an army from Veii.

Because of the lack of success in the war and the serious threat the city faced, Romans appointed Marcus Furius Camillus as a dictator, and he appointed Publius Cornelius Scipio as his master of the horse. With the appointment of a dictator in Rome, other neighboring nations joined the war on the side of Rome.

Livy writes:

“Youth from foreign states also, Latins and Hernicians, came, promising their service for the war: after the dictator returned them thanks in the senate, all preparations being now completed for the war, he vowed, according to a decree of the senate, that he would, on the capture of Veii, celebrate the great games, and that he would repair and dedicate the temple of Mother Matuta.”

From this point, the fortunes of Rome and its allies turned. It was not long before it was apparent Rome would win the war. The dictator and the senate back at home started to make arrangements for the post-war reality of Veii being conquered.

Livy writes:

“When the dictator now saw that the victory was in his hands, that a most opulent city was on the point of being taken, and that there would be more spoil than had been obtained in all previous wars taken together, that he might not incur either the resentment of the soldiers from a parsimonious partition of the plunder, or displeasure among the patricians from a prodigal lavishing of it, he sent a letter to the Senate, ‘that by the kindness of the immortal gods, his own measures, and the perseverance of the soldiers, Veii would be soon in the power of the Roman people.’ What did they think should be done with respect to the spoil?”

After lengthy discussions, it was agreed that some part of the wealth of Veii would go to the treasury and reduce the taxes people paid. The other part was to be shared among the soldiers and the citizens. Meanwhile, gods in Veii, in particular Queen Juno, were to be carried and settled in Rome.

As these plans were being made, the Veiantines were unaware and were still confident the war would go their way.

Livy writes:

“The Veientians, ignorant that they had already been doomed by their own prophets, already by foreign oracles, that the gods had been already invited to a share in their plunder, that some, called out by vows from their city, were looking towards the temple of the enemy and new habitations, and that they were spending that the last day [of their existence], fearing nothing less than that, their walls being undermined, the citadel was now filled with enemies, briskly run to the walls in arms, wondering what could be the reason that, when no one had stirred from the Roman posts for so many days, then, as if struck with sudden fury, they should run heedlessly to the walls.”

The final attack was short-lived as it happened when the Veintines did not expect it. Roman soldiers had discreetly dug a tunnel into the city. The defenders of the city had little chance and were either killed or surrendered. As initially planned, all the wealth of Veii was transferred to Rome and shared. The people who surrendered were sold into slavery.

Meanwhile, Livy tells us that the religious artifacts were handled with utmost care and respect as they were moved to Rome.

Livy writes:

“When all human wealth had been carried away from Veii, they then began to remove the offerings to their gods and the gods themselves, but more after the manner of worshippers than of plunderers. For youths selected from the entire army, to whom the charge of conveying queen Juno to Rome was assigned, after having thoroughly washed their bodies and arrayed themselves in white garments, entered her temple with profound adoration, applying their hands at first with religious awe, because, according to the Etrurian usage, no one but a priest of a certain family had been accustomed to touch that statue. Then, when someone, moved either by divine inspiration or in youthful jocularity, said, ‘Juno, art thou willing to go to Rome,’ the rest shouted that the goddess had nodded assent.”

With the fall of Veii, many religious pilgrims to the city were diverted to its archrival, Rome.

Before resigning as dictator, Marcus Furius Camillus built a temple for Queen Juno on Mount Aventine. He also consecrated the temple of Mother Matuta, a promise he had made before going to war. These actions scaled up the importance of Rome as a religious center in the ancient world, which continued until personality cult, particularly the worship of emperor Augustus, took over 300 hundred years later.

According to Livy, the fall of Veii was a major historical event due to how important the city was as a religious capital and how wealthy and powerful it had been.

Livy concludes:

“Such was the fall of Veii, the wealthiest city of the Etrurian nation, which even in its final overthrow demonstrated its greatness, for having been besieged for ten summers and winters without intermission, after it had inflicted considerably greater losses than it had sustained, eventually, fate now at length urging [its destruction], it was carried after all by the contrivances of art, not by force.”