Tanaquilla
She was an Etruscan woman, belonging to an aristocratic family from Tarquinia. He did not have much fame in literature. She was seen as a dark character. Tito Livio in his “Ad Urbe Condita” tells his story. In Tarquinia he met Lucumone, son of Demaratus originally from Corinth. At the death of his father Lucumone obteined a large fortune, but being a foreigner he was treated with distrust. The two fell in love and decided to head towards Rome, through the mountains and Lake Bolsena. They went up the Tiber to the city then governed by Ancus Marzio. Near the Janiculum an eagle took away Lucumone's headgear and then put it back in its place.
Tanaquilla, an expert in divination, interprets this sign as a favorable omen. Once in Rome Lucumone changed his name to Lucio Tarquinio Prisco and with the help, advice and guidance of his wife he emerged in every social fi eld and became very famous in the city. When Ancus Martius dies, Tarquinius Priscus becomes the fi fth King of Rome after a convincing electoral campaign. Under his reign the city is full of life and games are celebrated. He only trusts his wife, who lives in the shadows and advises him. She is the one who thinks about their future! A noblewoman friend of his has a son, Servius Tullius. This man marries one of the king's daughters. When the sons of Ancus Marzio understand the danger deriving from this union of remaining out of the game for power, they kill King Tarquinius.
Tanaquilla hides her husband's death and with a ruse has him appoint her son-in-law Servius Tullius as interim regent of Rome. It is the fi rst case in Rome of a King appointed by his predecessor! In this way Tanaquilla becomes queen for the second time and disappears from the scene again to advise the King on the sidelines. In the following years her relics, a cloak made for her husband and a hair clip are the object of veneration in the temple of the goddess Fortuna. Juvenal defi nes her as cold, witch and conspirator, but perhaps the future fortunes of Rome will depend precisely on her actions and her role as behind-the-scenes advisor.