grand tour fan with marcus curtius in the roman forum, Rome XIXth Century
Legend has it that in 362 BC a seemingly bottomless chasm opened up in the Roman Forum. The priests interpreted the event as a sign of misfortune, predicting that the chasm would widen until it swallowed up Rome, unless the most precious possessions of every Roman citizen were thrown into that abyss.The young patrician Marcus Curtius, one of the most valiant warriors of the Roman army, convinced that the supreme good of every Roman was valor and courage, threw himself into the chasm armed and on horseback, thus stopping the expansion of the chasm.