110- Thunderbolts and Lighting Part II: House Fire or Murder?

Tullus Hostilius' time is drawing to a close. Today, we see a plague overtake Rome, and Tullus himself die alongside his wife and children in a tragic housefire caused by a lightning strike. But- hang on... what's this? Ancus Marcius, what were you doing with that lighter? And why is your sword dripping? Oh, food colouring, you say? All right, carry on...Time period: 640 BCERelevant individuals:Tullus Hostilius, 3rd King of RomeAncus Marcius, 4th King of RomeSources for this episode:Appian (1972), Appian's Roman History in Four Volumes (Volume I). London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.Caseau, B. (2018), Too Young to be Accountable: Is 15 Years Old a Threshold in Byzantium? Chapter in: Ariantzi, D. (ed.), Coming of Age in Byzantium. Berlin: De Gruyter Brill.Cassius Dio (1961), Dio's Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.Diodorus of Sicily (1993), The Library of History Books IV.59- VIII. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.Eutropius (1760), Eutropius: Epitome of the Roman History. London: Printed for W. Johnston et al.Harkness, A. G. (1896), Age at Marriage and Death in the Roman Empire. Transactions of the American Philological Assocation 27: 35-72.Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.Matyszak, P. (2008), Chronicle of the Roman Republic: The Rulers of Ancient Rome from Romulus to Augustus. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.Orosius (1936), History Against the Pagans. Translated by I. W. Raymond. Available at Attalus.Robinson's History of the Roman Republic (TBA).Sextus Aurelius Victor (1825), Galerie Romaine, ou les Hommes Illustres de Rome et les Cesars. Translate by A. Caillot. Paris.Author unknown, Convert Units (date unknown), Convert stade to mile - Conversion of Measurement Units (online) (Accessed 12/07/2026).Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Ancus Marcius (online) (Accessed 02/11/2025).