The Death of Viriatus, Chief of the Lusitanians
Artist: José de Madrazo y Agudo (Spanish, 1781-1859)
Date: 1807
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
Description
Viriatus, the legendary Lusitanian chief who fiercely resisted Roman expansion in the Iberian Peninsula, was assassinated in his sleep around 139 BC by his own trusted companions, Audax, Ditalcus, and Minurus, who were bribed by the Roman general Quintus Servilius Caepio. While the Lusitanians held grand funeral rites, the betrayal demoralized them, leading to their eventual defeat and marking the end of organized resistance against Rome, with the famous Roman phrase, "Rome does not pay traitors," reportedly uttered as the assassins were denied their promised reward.
