Horatius Cocles by Hendrik Goltzius 1586

"The same fate overtook Lucretius, his colleague, also, so that dismay fell upon the Romans, and they fled for safety towards the city. But as the enemy were forcing their way onto the wooden bridge, Rome was in danger of being taken by storm. Horatius Cocles, however, first, and with him two of the most illustrious men of the city, Herminius and Lartius, defended the wooden bridge against them. Horatius had been given his surname of Cocles because he had lost one of his eyes in the wars. Some, however, say that his nose was flat and sunken, so that there was nothing to separate his eyes, and his eye-brows ran together, and that for this reason the multitude wished to call him Cyclops, but by a slip of the tongue the name of Cocles became generally prevalent instead. This Cocles, standing at the head of the bridge, kept the enemy back until his companions had cut the bridge in two behind him. Then, all accoutred as he was, he plunged into the river and swam across to the other side, in spite of a wound in the buttocks from a Tuscan spear. Publicola, out of admiration for his valour, proposed that every Roman should at once contribute for him as much provision as each consumed in a day, and that afterwards he should be given as much land as he could plough round in a day. Besides this, they set up a bronze statue of him in the temple of Vulcan, to console him with honour for the lameness consequent upon his wound."

-Plutarch, Publicola 16.4-7

Horatius Cocles by Hendrik Goltzius 1586. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Horatius_Cocles.jpg

 

Quote:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:tlg,0007,008:16