They conspired to mount an insurrection against the Romans, but when their conspiracy was discovered, and steps taken to prevent their plan from coming to fruition, they did away with themselves rather than face arrest.
[1] In 321 BC the Romans had suffered a humiliating defeat at the Caudine Forks, where both consuls were obliged to surrender their army and pass under the yoke.
Ofilius Calavius, father of the two brothers, warned that the sting of their defeat would likely be erased only with the return of Roman arms and the renewal of the war.
When this plot was discovered and reported to the Roman Senate, the alarm wrought by the potential defection of a nominal ally prompted the appointment of a dictator.
Gaius Maenius, who had been consul in 338 BC, was nominated, and as his magister equitum he chose Marcus Foslius Flaccinator.