ANCUS MARCIUS (64o-616 B.C.)  ,

fourth legendary king of Rome . Like Numa, his reputed grandfather, he was a friend of peace and religion, but was obliged to make war to defend his territories . He conquered the Latins, and a number of them he settled on the Aventine formed the origin of the Plebeians . He fortified the Janiculum, threw a wooden bridge across the Tiber, founded the port of Ostia, established salt-works and built a prison . Ancus Marcius is merely a duplicate of Numa, as is shown by his second name, Numa Marcius, the confidant and pontifex of Numa, being no other than Numa Pompilius himself, represented as priest . The identification with Ancus is shown by the legend which makes the latter a bridge-builder (pontifex), the constructor of the first wooden bridge over the Tiber . It is in the exercise of his priestly functions that the resemblance is most clearly shown . Like Numa, Ancus died a natural death . See Livy i . 32, 33; Dion Halic. iii . 36-45; Cicero, De Republica, ii . 18 .

For a

critical examination of the story see Schwegler, Romische Geschichte, bk. xiii.; Sir G . Cornewall Lewis, Credibility of Early Roman History, ch. xi.; W . Ihne, History of Rome, i.; R . Pais, Storia di Roma, i . (1898). who considers that the name points to the personification of the cult of Mars, and that the military achievements of Ancus are anticipations of later events .