Legendary Roman hero.
He is said to have lived in the late 6th and early 5th century BC and to have owed his surname to his courage at the siege of Corioli (493 BC) in the war against the Volsci . For trying to have the office of tribune abolished during a famine in Rome, he was sent into exile. Taking refuge with the king of the Volsci, he led the Volscian army against Rome but turned back in response to pleas from his family. He is the subject of William Shakespeare 's play Coriolanus .