Lot Essay
Hortensia was a celebrated Roman, the daughter of Hortensius (d. 50 B.C.), who gained prominence through her oratorical skills inherited from her father. Having pleaded the cause of 14,000 women before the triumvirs who had forced them to give an account of their possessions towards in order to pay for the state's expenses, she succeeded in excluding 1,000 women from making any payment. In the first of these two illuminations Hortensia is shown pleading her case.
Virginia is shown in the second being executed by her father the centurion Virginius. Appius Claudius is shown in the background. The decemvir, out of lust for Virginia, had delivered her into the hands of one of his favourites, on the grounds that she was the daughter of a slave. Virginius killed his daughter to save her virtue. The episode led to the end of the decemvirate in about 449 B.C.
Virginia is shown in the second being executed by her father the centurion Virginius. Appius Claudius is shown in the background. The decemvir, out of lust for Virginia, had delivered her into the hands of one of his favourites, on the grounds that she was the daughter of a slave. Virginius killed his daughter to save her virtue. The episode led to the end of the decemvirate in about 449 B.C.