Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/880

Rh 862 CORVUS. In the year following, b, c. 342, Comis was appointed dictator in consequence of the mutiny of the anny. The legions stationed at Capua and the surrounding Campanian towns had openly re- belled, marched against Rome, and pitched their camp within eight miles of the city. Here they Avere met by Corvus at the head of an army ; but before proceeding to use force, he offered them peace. This was accepted by the soldiers, who could place implicit confidence in their favourite general and a member likewise of the Valerian house. Through his influence an amnesty was grante I to the soldiers ; and this was followed by the en ictment of several important laws. Another accoun ., however, of this revolt has been preserved, and the whole subject has been investigated by Niebuhr (iii. p. 63, &c.) at great length. (Liv. vii. 40—42.) In B. c. 335 Corvus was elected consul a fourth time with M. Atilius Regulus, since the Sidici- iiians had joined the Ausonians of Cales, and the senate was anxious that the war should be en- trusted to a general on whom they could entirely depend The consuls accordingly did not draw lots for their provinces, and that of Cales was given to Corvus. He did not disappoint their ex- pectations. Cales was taken by storm, and, in consequence of the importance of its situation, the Romans settled there a colony of 2,500 men. Corvus obtained the honour of a triumph, and also the surname of Calenus from the conquest of the town. (Liv. viii. 16.) With the exception of the years B. c. 332 and 320, in which he acted as interrex (viii. 17, ix. 7), we do not hear of Corvus again for several years. The M. Valerius, who was one of the le- gates of the dictator L. Papiriua Cursor in the great battle fought against the Samnites in B. c. 309, is probably the same as our Corvus, since Livy says, that he was created praetor for the fourth time as a reward for hi* services in this battle, and we know that Corvus held curule dig- nities twenty-one times, (ix. 40, 41.) In a. c. 301, in consequence of the dangers which threatened Rome, Corvus, who was then in his 70th year, was again summoned to the dicta- torship, Etruria was in arms, and the Marsi, one of the most warlike of the neighbouring people, had also risen. But the genius of Corvus again triumphed. The Marsi were defeated in battle; several of their fortified towns, Milionia, Plestina, and Fresilia, were taken ; and the Marsi were glad to have their ancient alliance renewed on the forfeiture of part of their land. Having thus quickly finished the war against the Marsi, Corvus marched into Etruria ; but, before commencing active operations, he had to return to Rome to re- new the auspices. In his absence, his master of the horse was attacked by the enemy while on a foraging expedition, and was shut up in his camp with the loss of several of his men and some mili- tary standards. This disaster caused the greatest terror at Rome ; a "justitium" or universal cessa- tion from business was proclaimed, and the gates and walls were manned and guarded as if the ene- my were at hand. But the arrival of Corvus in the camp soon changed the posture of affairs. The Etruscans were defeated in a great battle ; and an- other triumph was added to the laurels of Corvus. (x. 3—5.) In J$. c. 300, Corvus was elected consul for the COR YPH ASIA. fifth time with Q. Appuleius Pansa. The state of aft'airs at home rather than those abroad led to his election this year. There must have been se- vere struggles between the two orders for some time previously, and probably both of them looked to Corvus as the man most likely to bring matters to an amicable settlement. During his fifth con- sulship the Ogulnian law was passed, by which the colleges of pontiffs and augurs were thrown open to the plebeians. The consul himself renew- ed the law of his ancestor respecting the right of appeal {provocatio) to the people, and rendered it more certain to be observed by afiixing a definite punishment for any magistrate who transgressed it. (x. 5, 6—9.) In B. c. 299 Corvus was elected consul a sixth time in place of T, Manlius Torquatus, who had been killed by a fall from his horse while engaged in the Etruscan war. The death of so great a man, and the superstitious feeling attending it, induced the people unanimously to appoint Corvus to the vacant office. The Etruscans, who had been elated by the death cf Torqujitus, no sooner heard of the arrival of Corvus, tlian they kept close within their fortifications, nor could he pro- voke them to risk a battle, although he set whole villages on fire. (x. 11.) From this time, Corvus retired from public life ; but he lived nearly thirty years longer, and reach- ed the age of a hundred. His health was sound and vigorous to the last, and he is frequently re- ferred to by the later Roman writers as a memor- able example of the favours of fortune. He was twice dictator, six times consul, and had filled the curule chair twenty-one times. He lived to see Pyrrhus driven out of Italy, and the dominion of Rome firmly established in the peninsula. He died about b. c. 217, seven years before the commencement of the first Punic war, (Cic. de Sened. 17 ; Vah Max. viii. 13, § 1 ; Plin. H. N. vii. 48. s. 49; Niebuhr, iii, p. 124.) A statue of Valerius Corvus was erected by Augustus in his own forum along with the statues of the other great Roman heroes. (Gell. ix. 11; comp. Suet. Aug. 31.) 2. M. Valerius M. f. M. n. Maximuss Cor- viNUS, son apparently of the preceding, was consul with Q, Caedicius Noctua in b, c. 289 ; but his name occurs only in the Fasti. CORYBANTES. [Cabeiri and Cybele.j CORY'CIA {KwpvKia or Kwpu/cts), a nymph, who became by Apollo the mother of Lycorus or Lycoreus, and from whom the Corycian cave in mount Parnassus was believed to have derived its name, (Pans. x. 6. § 2, 32. § 2.) The plural, Coryciae, is applied to the daughters of Pleistus. (Apollon. Rhod. ii. 710; Ov. Met. i. 320, Heroid. XX. 221.) [L. S.] CO'RYDUS (KjpvSos), a surname of Apollo, under which the god had a temple eighty stadia from Corone, on the sea-coast. (Paus. iv. 34. § 4, &c,) [L. S.] CO'RYLAS. [CoTYS, No. 1.] CORYPHAEA {Kopv<paia the goddess who inhabits the summit of the mountain, a surname of Artemis, under which she had a temple on mount Coryphaeon, near Epidaurus, (Paus, ii, 28, § 2,; It is also applied to designate the highest or supreme god, and is consequently given as an epi- thet to Zeus. (Paus. ii. 4. § 5.) [L. S.] CORYPHA'SIA {Kopv(pa(Tia), a surname of