Famous Men of Rome · Ch. X · Unit 2: The early Republic
12. Cincinnatus
Goal: Your child can tell how Cincinnatus left his plow to save Rome and then gave up his power, and can explain the words dictator and subjugate.
You'll need
- The book, open to this chapter
- A map of Italy and the Mediterranean (a free online map or a globe)
- Paper and colored pencils
- Three sticks or pencils and some string, to make a little yoke
What's in the book
Chapter X: the Aequian king insults the Roman messengers ("tell it to the oak"), then traps the consul Minucius and his army in a valley. The Senate makes Lucius Quinctius, called Cincinnatus, dictator. He is found plowing his field, raises an army, surrounds the Aequians, makes them pass under the yoke, and gives up his power a few days after his triumph.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
SayThis story happened, the book says, about four hundred and fifty years before the birth of Christ. The Aequians lived in the mountains east of Latium, the land of the Latins around Rome.
Read the chapter
Read Chapter X aloud. It begins:
In the mountains east of Latium there lived a rather wild people called Æquians, who were very often at war with Rome.
Tell it back
Prompts:
- What rude thing did the Aequian king say to the messengers?
- How were Minucius and his army trapped?
- What was Cincinnatus doing when the messengers found him?
- What did he do after his victory?
Words from Rome
Explain from the book: a dictator was chosen only in great danger, had more power than the Senate or consuls, and held office only for six months. Cincinnatus means curly-haired.
Subjugate comes from sub, under, and jugum, a yoke. To pass under the yoke was the greatest disgrace for a soldier.
Talk it over
Read the last line of the chapter:
A few days afterward Cincinnatus gave up the office of dictator and went back to his little farm.
Ask: Why is it remarkable that someone with the power of a king would give it up after a few days?
Remember it
SayThe city of Cincinnati, Ohio, is named after Cincinnatus, through a society of officers from the American Revolution. Americans admired George Washington for going home to his farm too.
Extra (optional)
Tie three sticks into a small yoke (two upright, one across near the top) and let toy soldiers march under it.
Answers to the book's problems
Power is hard to give up. Most people who get it want to keep it. Cincinnatus did his job, then went home, which showed he cared about Rome and not about himself.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.