Macstrna
Etruscan · mortal · classical · mortal
Macstrna is the man with the knife. In the François Tomb at Vulci he is painted cutting the bonds from Caile Vipinas while the rest of the Vulcian band falls on champions from Volsinii, Sovana and Rome — the decisive act of the whole frieze. What makes him more than a figure in a painting is the emperor Claudius, who knew Etruscan antiquities well and told the Senate that this Mastarna, companion of Caelius Vibenna, was the man Rome remembered as its sixth king, Servius Tullius. The equation is ancient and considered, and it is recorded here as Claudius's claim rather than acted on by merging the records.
Domains
- war
- kingship and sovereignty
Relations
- companion: Caile Vipinas
Sources
- François Tomb, Vulci, battle frieze.
- The emperor Claudius, on the adventures of Caelius Vibenna and his companion Mastarna, whom he equates with Servius Tullius.