the Roman cause and their rule over the Albans. He thrust his sword down the Alban's throat and took the armor of his slain enemies as the spoils of his victory. Afterwards, the Alban dictator Mettius honored the treaty and Alba Longa briefly accepted Roman rule, before provoking a war with the Fidenates and betraying Rome. Homecoming of Publius The victorious Horatius returned to a hero's welcome. Before the war had broken out, Publius' sister, Camilla, had been engaged to one of the Alban triplets. When she saw the cloak that she herself had woven and given to the Curiatius on her brother's shoulder, now stained with his blood, she realized that her betrothed had been slain. Camilla was overcome with grief and began wailing and crying out his name. Proclaiming that no Roman woman should mourn Rome's fallen enemies, Publius killed his sister on the spot. For his crime, he was condemned to death. On the advice of a jurist named Tullus, Publius appealed to one of the popular assemblies. In defense of his son, the Horatius' father, also Publius, spoke of the recent victory and entreated them to spare his last surviving son (his fourth son, a brother of the Horatii, had also died). The assembly was persuaded and Publius' sentence was commuted. This may be the source of the Roman tradition of allowing the condemned to appeal their sentences to the populace. Publius the elder was required to offer a sacrifice to atone for his son's crime and from that time forward, the Horatia family made it a tradition to offer the same. The spoils of the victory were hung in a place that became known as Pila Horatia. A wooden beam was erected on the slope of the Oppian Hill, which was called the Sororium Tigillum (Sister's Beam). It symbolized a yoke, under which Publius the younger was made to pass. It remained standing long after his death. See also Cato the Elder Cincinnatus Marcus Atilius Regulus Publius Decius Mus References Sources Livy, Ab urbe condita, 1:24-26 7th-century BC Romans Characters in Roman mythology Horatii Curiatii Triplets