Cloelia

Cloelia led a group of Roman girls towards the Tiber after Lars Porsena’s soldiers placed them in a tent in the Etruscan camp. Porsena had captured the Janiculum, which then lay outside Rome’s limits. He demanded Roman hostages in exchange for withdrawing his forces and returning to Etruria. The Roman leaders accepted his terms and sent the hostages to him. Cloelia and the other women were among them.

The girls reached the river while Etruscan soldiers hurled missiles at them. Cloelia led them through the water and brought them safely to the Roman side.

Porsena reacted with fury. He demanded that Rome return Cloelia at once. Otherwise, he declared, he would treat the agreement as broken. The Romans obeyed the agreement and ordered Cloelia to surrender herself. She walked back to the Etruscan camp. Porsena then reconsidered what had happened. Her escape had shown him that Roman women possessed the same courage that Roman men had shown in battle.

Porsena praised Cloelia publicly and allowed her to take more of the hostages back to Rome. Friendly relations were restored between Porsena and the Romans. Soon afterwards, Porsena gathered his soldiers and left Roman territory.