Marcus Curtius

[2] He is the legendary namesake of the Lacus Curtius in the Roman Forum, the site of his supposed self-sacrifice.

Despairing, they consulted an augur who responded that the gods demanded the most precious possession of Rome.

However, a young soldier named Marcus Curtius castigated them and responded that arms and the courage of Romans were the nation's most precious possessions.

[3] Astride his horse, fully and meticulously armed and decorated, Marcus rode and leapt into the chasm.

[4] Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846) painted a large oil entitled Marcus Curtius Leaping into the Gulf (c. 1843)