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Curtius is a Roman nomen shared
by several notables.
The name is also shared by several modern personages.
- Ernst Curtius, archaeologist, historian
- Georg Curtius, philologist
- Ernest Robert
Curtius, scholar
- Friedrich Curtius,
internist
- Theodor Curtius,
chemist
(move below to Lacus
Curtius)?
In Roman mythology, Curtius was Marcus Curtius.
In 445 BC, lightning struck near the Forum Romanum. The hole it created was called the Lacus Curtius. An oracle claimed that the hole,
which severely disrupted the business at the Forum, could be closed by the most precious thing Rome had. Curtius, dressed in full armor and riding a fine horse, jumped into the hole, which then
disappeared.
Livy VII, 6.
Alternately, the Lacus was named after Mettius Curtius, a Sabine
horseman who rode into or fell into it while fighting against Romulus.
Still another version has it that Caius Curtius, a consul of
445 BC, consecrated the site after the lightning strike.
Curtius is a crater on the Moon.
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