Spurius Tarpeius held the command of the Roman citadel. His daughter, Tarpeia, was bribed by Tatius the Sabine King, to admit his armed men into the citadel: by chance, she had gone out of the walls to seek water for sacred rites at that time. When they had been admitted, they crushed her with their shields and killed her, either so that the citadel might rather seem to have been captured by force, or in order to set an example, so that no faith might ever be kept with a traitor.
An additional story claims that since the Sabines commonly wore gold bracelets of great weight on their left arms, and jewel-studded rings of great beauty, Tarpeia had made her bargain for "what they had on their left arms": therefore shields were piled upon her in place of golden presents, since they saw she was acting deceitfully, they destroyed her by means of her own remuneration.
Titus Livius
