Menenius Agrippa
Menenius Agrippa (lat.
Agrippa Menenius Lanatus) was a
Roman of the
Plebian class. Was consul in
503 BC, with
Publius Postumius Tubertus, conquered the
Sabines and obtained the honour of a triumph on account of his victory.
[Liv., Ab Urbe condita libri: II. 16, 32, 33.]He was recruited by the
Patricians to get the Plebs to come back to work in
494 BC.
[Strecker, Udo & Udo Schnelle. (2001) Neuer Wettstein 2/1-2. Texte zur Briefliteratur und zur Johannesapokalypse., Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-014507-3.] The plebs had made a
Secessio plebis, a work stoppage akin to a modern
labor strike, due to their unhappiness.
It is said that Menenius told a story about the parts of the human body and how each has its own purpose in the greater function of the body. The rest of the body thought the stomach was getting a free ride so the body decided to stop nourishing the stomach. Soon, the other parts became fatigued and unable to function so they realized that the stomach did serve a purpose and they were nothing without it. In the story, the stomach represents the Patrician class and the other body parts represent the Plebs.
Eventually, the patricians conceded to some of the plebs demands, such as creating a
tribune of the people, and the plebs went back to work.
He had a son that will become consul in
439 BC.
[Walbank, F. W. & A. E. Astin & M. W. Frederiksen & R. M. Ogilvie. (1990) The Cambridge Ancient History, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23446-8.]He was also featured in
William Shakespeare's
Coriolanus.
