Episode

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

Podcast
Autocrat- A Roman History Podcast
Published
Jul 19, 2026
Duration seconds
1136
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Summary

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 BCE Relevant individuals: Tullus Hostilius, 3rd King of Rome; Ancus Marcius, 4th King of Rome Sources 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 Rom…