Famous Men of Rome · Ch. XII · Unit 2: The early Republic

16. Manlius Torquatus

Goal: Your child can tell how Titus Manlius got the name Torquatus, why he punished his own son, and where our word rostrum comes from.

⏱ About 20 minutes · 6 steps

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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

What's in the book

Chapter XII: Titus Manlius kills a giant Gaul at the bridge on the Anio and takes his twisted gold collar (torques). Later, as consul in a war with the Latins near Mount Vesuvius, he orders that no one fight before the signal, and has his own son put to death for disobeying. The Romans take the warships of Antium and fix their beaks to the speakers' platform in the Forum.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Set the scene

    Find Mount Vesuvius on the map, near the bay of Naples. We will hear about Vesuvius again much later.

  2. Read the chapter

    Read Chapter XII aloud. It begins:

    Marcus Manlius, who commanded the Roman army at the battle of Allia and who so well defended the Capitol against the Gauls, belonged to a family known as the Manlii.

    Heads-up: the consul has his son beheaded. The book tells it in a few sentences.

  3. Tell it back

    Prompts:

    - How did Titus beat the giant Gaul?

    - What order did he give his army, and who broke it?

    - What did the Romans do with the beaks of the ships from Antium?

  4. Talk it over

    Read what Torquatus told his son:

    But the first duty of a soldier is obedience.

    Ask: The soldiers cried out in horror. What do you think? Was the father right, too harsh, or both?

  5. Words from Rome

    SayTorques is Latin for a twisted collar. Rostrum was the beak of a warship. The Romans fixed the beaks to the speakers' platform, so a rostrum came to mean a platform for speaking. We still use the word.

  6. Extra (optional)

    Draw a Roman warship with its pointed beak, and the speakers' platform with beaks fixed on the front.

Answers to the book's problems

There is no single right answer. Romans thought an army must obey orders exactly or it would lose. But the book shows that even the soldiers were horrified, and most people today would say it was far too harsh.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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