CURTIUS

[Roman] Marcus Curtius, a Roman hero. When one day a gap suddenly appeared on the Forum in Rome, an oracle said that it could only be closed by the most precious thing Rome possessed. The wellbeing of the town depended on it. Curtius sacrificed himself by jumping fully armed and mounted on the finest horse into the gap, which then closed itself. The gap, called the Lacus Curtius is situated at the Forum Romanum. According to other sources, the gap was created when lightning struck, which was then consecrated by the consul Caius Curtius in 445 BCE.