Mettius Fufetius

Mettius Fufettius
dictator of Alba Longa
Battle between Horatii and Curiatii. Mettius Fufetius and Tullus Hostilius in the background (Giuseppe Cesari, 1612/1613)
Died	670s BC Fidenae, Ancient Rome

Mettius Fufetius (died in 673 BC) was a dictator of Alba Longa, an ancient town in central Italy near Rome. He was appointed after the death of king Gaius Cluilius. When a full-blown war threatened to erupt between the Alba Longans and the Romans, Fufetius proposed to the third legendary King of Rome, Tullus Hostilius, a smaller 3 vs. 3 battle (Horatii and Curiatii). Having lost this, the Albans submitted themselves to Roman rule. Disappointed in the outcome, Fufetius later schemed with an Etruscan rival, but was defeated by Rome.

Mettius Fufetius subsequently betrayed the Romans in battle. For this, he was torn in two by chariots running in opposite directions by the Roman king Hostilius, who destroyed Alba Longa.

Mettius had an alliance with the Romans while they were rivals of Alba Longa, but in an important battle he withheld his support. It is for this that he is punished; Virgil later recounts this betrayal and its punishment in the Aeneid.

In the battle itself, Mettius, having provoked the inhabitants of Veii^[1] to attack Rome, retreated to a hilltop with his Alban forces where he waited to see which force would be victorious; he then planned to join the winning side. Tullus Hostilius, the third king of Rome and the king at that time, after winning the battle, said that since Mettius was torn between the two cities, the same would be done to his body: his arms were then attached to two chariots that then ran in opposite directions. The result was naturally fatal and remained a warning to all future allies of Rome not to betray her.

See also[]

• Latin kings of Alba Longa

References[]

• Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, 1:23-28.

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