Dentatus

views updated

Dentatus (Manius Curius Dentatus) (dĕntā´təs; mā´nēəs kyŏŏr´ēəs), d. 270 BC, Roman general. As consul (290) he defeated the Samnites, Sabines, and Lucani; in his third consulship (275) he drove Pyrrhus from Italy. Many stories are told of his simplicity and incorruptible honor. He refused to be bribed by Samnite ambassadors, saying that it was more glorious to conquer owners of gold than to possess it himself. He began (272) Rome's second aqueduct, Anio Vetus.

More From encyclopedia.com