According to Roman tradition, Lucretia (/luːˈkriːʃə/ loo-KREE-shə, Classical Latin: [ɫʊˈkreːtia]; died c.  510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome.

Secondary sources on the establishment of the republic reiterate the basic events of Lucretia's story, though accounts vary slightly between historians.

The evidence points to the historical existence of a woman named Lucretia and an event that played a critical part in the downfall of the monarchy.

As with Livy, Dionysius' depiction of Lucretia separates her from the rest of Roman women in a story about the men returning home from a battle.

[6] While engaged in the siege of Ardea, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome, sent his son, Tarquin, on a military errand to Collatia.

Spurius Lucretius, father of Collatinus' wife Lucretia and prefect of Rome,[7] made sure that the king's son was treated as a guest and a figure of his rank.

According to Dionysius, "This dreadful scene struck the Romans who were present with so much horror and compassion that they all cried out with one voice that they would rather die a thousand deaths in defense of their liberty than suffer such outrages to be committed by the tyrants.

"[12] After exacting an oath of vengeance while the men were discussing the matter—"Pledge me your solemn word that the adulterer shall not go unpunished"—[13] Lucretia drew a poignard and stabbed herself in her heart.

[14] In this version, Collatinus and Brutus were encountered returning to Rome unaware of Tarquin's rape of Lucretia, were briefed, and were brought to the death scene.

Dio stated that after seeing the hand of Destiny in these events, Brutus called the grieving party to order, explained that his simplicity had been a sham, and proposed that they drive the Tarquins from Rome.

The primary sources of both Dio and Livy agree on this point: Livy's version is:[17] By this blood—most pure before the outrage wrought by the king's son—I swear, and you, O gods, I call to witness that I will drive hence Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, together with his cursed wife and his whole blood, with fire and sword and every means in my power, and I will not suffer them or anyone else to reign in Rome.The newly sworn revolutionary committee paraded the bloody corpse of Lucretia to the Roman Forum where it remained on display as a reminder of the dishonor committed.

Brutus was the Tribune of the Celeres, a minor office of some religious duties, which as a magistracy gave him the theoretical power to summon the curiae, an organization of patrician families used mainly to ratify the decrees of the king.

Summoning them on the spot, he transformed the crowd into an authoritative legislative assembly and began to address them in one of the more noted and effective speeches of ancient Rome.

In summation, he proposed the banishment of the Tarquins from all the territories of Rome and the appointment of an interrex to nominate new magistrates and conduct an election of ratification.

And we have called you together, plebeians, in order to declare our own decision and then ask for your assistance in achieving liberty for our country ....A general election was held and the vote won in favor of the republic.

This constitutional tradition prevented both Julius Caesar and Octavian Augustus from accepting a crown; instead, they had to devise a confluence of several republican offices onto their persons in order to secure absolute power.

Their successors both in Rome and in Constantinople adhered to this tradition in essence, and the office of German Holy Roman Emperor remained elective rather than hereditary—up to its abolition in the Napoleonic Wars, over 2300 years later.

Lucretia became an important embodiment of political and literary ideals for different authors throughout the ages, specifically because "stories of sexual violence against women serve as foundational myths of Western culture.

Ovid recounts the story of Lucretia in Book II of his Fasti, published in 8 AD, concentrating on the bold over-reaching character of Tarquin.

Later, St. Augustine made use of the figure of Lucretia in The City of God (published 426 AD) to defend the honour of Christian women who had been raped in the sack of Rome and had not committed suicide.

Lucretia appears to Dante in the section of Limbo, reserved for the nobles of Rome and other "virtuous pagans", in Canto IV of the Inferno.

The tale also deviates from Livy's account, as it begins with her husband coming home to surprise her, rather than the men placing a bet on the virtue of their wives.

Shakespeare draws on the idea of Lucretia as a moral agent, as Livy did, when he explores his characters' response to death and her unwillingness to yield to her rapist.

The subject also enjoyed a revival in the mid twentieth century; André Obey's 1931 play Le Viol de Lucrèce [fr] was adapted by librettist Ronald Duncan for The Rape of Lucretia, a 1946 opera by Benjamin Britten which premiered at Glyndebourne.

Colonial Mexican poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz also mentions Lucretia in her poem "Redondillas," a commentary on prostitution and who is to blame.

In Donna Leon's 2009 Venetian novel, About Face, Franca Marinello refers to the tale of Tarquin and Lucrezia, as recounted in Ovid's Fasti (Book II, for February 24, "Regifugium") to explain her actions to Commissario Brunetti.

American thrash metal band Megadeth used the name Lucretia as the title for the sixth track on their 1990 release Rust In Peace.

The subject was one of a group showing women from legend or the Bible who were either powerless, such as Susanna and Verginia, or only able to escape their situations by suicide, such as Dido of Carthage and Lucretia.