The Flight of Cloelia

Cloelia’s adventure thrilled readers in antiquity and again in the Renaissance. She and some other young Romans were taken hostage by the Etruscan king Lars Porsena in exchange for lifting a siege on the city of Rome. In the story, she mounts a horse to lead several girls in a dangerous escape, and they cross the Tiber River amid a hail of spears. Unfortunately, the Romans felt their honor was stained, and Cloelia was returned to the enraged Etruscans. When his anger subsided, Porsena extolled Cloelia’s bravery and the rectitude of the Romans for having returned her. He ordered her release and let her choose some hostages to take home. Battista Franco condensed the story into a single image. In a profile view resembling a classical relief, he shows Cloelia on horseback, lunging toward the Tiber, yet also suggests the unhurried departure of hostages freed from the Etruscan camp. Although Cloelia was supposedly an inexperienced rider, Franco has her riding with the confidence of a general—solidly seated on the rearing horse with her arm thrust outward, pointing the way to freedom.