3-041-217 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Head of Marcus Shown to Caius Marius and the Killing of Marius; Des cas des nobles hommes et femmes, about 1413-1415. Caius Marius, whose forces had recently been defeated during the Roman civil war, despairs when he sees his brother's decapitated head. Caius Marius had been exiled after the civil war, and the vindictive general who had defeated him ordered that his brother Marcus be punished. Marcus was dragged and blinded and had his hands cut off, his legs broken, and finally, his head cut off. Upon receiving his brother's severed head, Caius Marius lost all hope that he and his faction would ever regain control of Rome. He begged a reluctant servant to kill him, as seen on the right.