Hostilius, TULLUS

Hostilius, TULLUS, the third of the legendary kings of Rome, succeeded Numa Pompilius in 670 B.C. He it was who made the famous arrangement by which the combat of the Horatii with the Curiatii decided the question of supremacy between Rome and Alba in favour of the former. He fought against Fidenæ and Veii, and conquered them; and destroyed Alba, and removed the inhabitants to Rome, giving them Mount Cælius to dwell on; and carried on war against the Sabines. At length the gods grew wrathful with him for his love of war and his neglect to worship them, and Jupiter Elicius consumed him and his house with fire about 638 B.C. According to Niebuhr and Arnold, there are glimpses of a distinct personality in the legend of Hostilius, unlike those of Romulus and Numa, which are merely personifications of the two principal stages of a nation's growth.