Sala del Concistoro, Figure dell'antica Roma, Postumius kills his son for betraying his orders

The Sala del Concistoro in Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, houses one of Domenico Beccafumi's best works, ceiling frescoes critical of Siena's medieval government.
The brightly coloured frescoes on the ceiling of the Sala del Concistoro, were completed between 1529 and 1535 by Domenico Beccafumi, once more a representation of themes related to justice and patriotic devotion that take their cue from the Lorenzetti Good Government and the di Bartolo Illustrious Men cycles. Next to the Sala del Concistoro is the Sala di Balia, also known as Sala dei Priori. This room is adorned with frescoes by Spinello Aretino (1407) illustrating the Life of Pope Alexander III dei Bandinelli. This scene is a fresco of Postumius kills his son for betraying his orders by Beccafumi in Palazzo Pubblico of Siena.

Aulus Postumius Tubertus was a Roman military leader in the wars with the Aequi and Volsci during the 5th century BC. He served as Magister Equitum under the dictator Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus in 434 BC.[1]

Postumius' son-in-law was Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus Pennus, consul in 431 and 428 BC. When it was decided to appoint a dictator to undertake the war with the Aequi and Volsci in 431, the consuls could not agree, and by lot the choice fell to Cincinnatus, who nominated his father-in-law. The two men proceeded against the enemy, and on the 18th of June, won a great victory over the Aequi and Volsci at Mount Algidus. This was the site of a previous victory over the Aequi by the dictator Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus in 458 BC. That of 431 was the last major battle between Rome and the Aequi, and on his return, Postumius received a triumph.[2]

A well-known story relates that during this campaign, Postumius' son was so eager to engage the enemy that he quitted the post assigned him by his father, and that in consequence Postumius had him put to death. Livius doubted the truth of this account, noting that a similar and more infamous tradition was associated with Titus Manlius Torquatus, consul in 347, 344, and 340 BC. However, Niebuhr felt that Livius' reasoning was insufficient to dismiss the story.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]