Tarpeia

thumb|Reverse of a denarius (89 BCE) depicting the torture of Tarpeia thumb|Reverse of a denarius (19-18 BCE) of [[Augustus showing Tarpeia crushed by the soldiers' shields]] In Roman legend, Tarpeia (; mid-8th century BCE), daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of their women's abduction for what she thought would be a reward of jewelry. She was instead crushed to death by Sabine shields and her body cast from the southern Rock (Rupes Tarpeia).

==Legend== thumb|right|Soldiers attacking Tarpeia, on a fragmentary relief from the [[frieze of the Basilica Aemilia (1st century CE)]] The legend tells that while Rome was besieged by the Sabine king Titus Tatius, Tarpeia, a Vestal Virgin and daughter of the commander of the citadel, Spurius Tarpeius, approached the Sabine camp and offered them entry to the city in exchange for "what they bore on their left arms". Greedy for gold, she had meant their bracelets, but instead the Sabines threw their shields—carried on the left arm—upon her, crushing her to death. Her body was then hurled from (or, according to some accounts, buried at) a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill. The Sabines were however unable to conquer the Forum, its gates miraculously protected by boiling jets of water created by Janus. thumb|The Sabines Tempting Tarpeia to Betray Rome. 19th century illustration The legend was depicted in 89 BC by Sabinus following the Civil Wars as well as on a silver denarius of the Emperor Augustus in approximately 20 BC. Tarpeia would later become a symbol of betrayal and greed in Rome. The cliff from which she was thrown was named the Tarpeian Rock, and would become the place of execution for Rome's most notorious traitors. Traitors and murderers were reported to have been thrown off the Tarpeian Rock, which extended over a steep drop from the Capitol. The exact positioning of the rock is debated. Varro asserts that it was near the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, whereas Dionysius of Halicarnassus asserts that it was located in the southeast above the Roman Forum.