Lucretia is a legendary figure in the history of the Roman Republic. According to the story, told mainly by two Roman historians, Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, her rape by the king's son and consequent suicide were the immediate cause of the revolution that overthrew the monarchy and established the Roman Republic. The incident kindled the flames of dissatisfaction over the tyrannical methods of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. As a result, the prominent families instit… (More on Lucretia)