The tale about Tarpeia is linked to the period of the monarchy in ancient Rome. Tarpeia was a noble lady who betrayed the Romans allowing the Sabins of Titus Tatius to enter and sack Rome. As soon as the lady saw the jewels worn by the Sabins, she was caught by the desire to own them all and asked the Sabins to have them. The Sabins said that it was ok but only if the lady opened the gates of the city. However, as soon as they got close to her, instead of giving her the jewels ,they crushed her with the weight of their weaponry and they killed her. After that the Sabins got rid of her, they had free access to the newborn city and inflicted several casualties to the Roman army. This account, however, tells only about the legend built around Tarpeia. The physical evidence says, however, that a cliff on the Capitol hill was dedicated to the ancient deity called Tarpeia. From this cliff all the criminals sentenced to death as well as the deformed babies were thrown down.
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