Cincinnatus

Statue of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus in the park of Schönbrunn Palace. In this representation Cincinnatus personified the ideal servant of the state. He puts his foot on his plough while tying his sandals to immediately follow the messengers of the Senate. The sculpture dates from the end of the 18th century. Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (-519 B.C. -430 B.C.) was a Roman nobleman and politician. His services as consul in 460 BC and dictator in 458 BC and 439 BC made him a model of civic virtue. Cincinnatus was regarded by the Romans, especially by the noble patricians, as the hero of ancient Rome and a symbol of simplicity and virtue. George Washington also took him as an example and officers of the American War of Independence founded the Society of the Cincinnati shortly before the end of the war to preserve the ideals of the independence movement.