# Discourses on Livy — Character guide

> Key figures in Discourses on Livy by Niccolò Machiavelli.

- [Titus Livius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/titus_livius.md): Livius is the source Machiavelli reads with a statesman's eye, mining Roman history for lessons on law, war, and liberty. He is not a neutral chronicler but a moralist whose judgments about virtue, fortune, and corruptio
- [Hannibal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/hannibal.md): Hannibal stands as the great counterexample in Machiavelli's inquiry into leadership: a general whose harsh methods produced loyalty and triumph no less than Valerius Corvinus's gentleness. His presence in the Discourses
- [Appius Claudius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/appius_claudius.md): Appius begins as the people's unlikely champion, his sudden affability toward the commons masking a design to entrench himself as tyrant. His manipulation of the decemvirate, including the audacious nomination of himself
- [Valerius Corvinus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/valerius_corvinus.md): Roman consul and general known for his victory over the Gauls.
- [Fabius Maximus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/fabius_maximus.md): Fabius represents the disciplined restraint that Machiavelli admires in captains who understand when not to fight. His presence in the Discourses anchors the argument that a well-ordered republic produces leaders capable
- [Furius Camillus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/furius_camillus.md): Camillus is Machiavelli's model of the prudent captain who secures both the city's walls and its discipline, enrolling a third army to defend Rome rather than trusting an armed multitude. His speech on the Latins—offerin
- [Piero Soderini](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/piero_soderini.md): Soderini trusted that patience, kindness, and conferring benefits could overcome the envy of rivals, refusing to strike first while he still held the people's affection. Machiavelli, writing from bitter experience, judge
- [Scipio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/scipio.md): Scipio stands among Machiavelli's prime exhibits in the argument that popular governments judge more soundly than monarchs, since the Roman people raised him to glory and only later soured on him. His career embodies the
- [Caesar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/caesar.md): Caesar haunts the Discourses as the shadow cast over every free state: the citizen whose military glory and popular favor make him irresistible to himself. Machiavelli treats him less as a villain than as a structural wa
- [Manlius Capitolinus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/manlius_capitolinus.md): Roman patrician who saved the Capitol but was later executed for ambition.
- [Manlius Torquatus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/manlius_torquatus.md): Roman dictator known for executing his own son for disobeying orders.
- [Philip of Macedon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/philip_of_macedon.md): King of Macedon and father of Alexander, used as an example of cunning.
- [Claudius Nero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/claudius_nero.md): Roman consul who defeated Hasdrubal at the Metaurus River.
- [Titus Manlius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/titus_manlius.md): Roman consul who fought against the Latins and enforced strict discipline.
- [Pope Julius II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/pope_julius_ii.md): Julius appears in the Discourses as a modern example of the impetuous prince whose audacity, though reckless, succeeds where caution would have failed. His willingness to trade the papal throne's dignity for the camp and
- [Romulus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/romulus.md): Romulus stands at the origin of Rome as the man who understood that founding a city requires deeds no ordinary morality can sanction. Machiavelli cites his killing of Remus and Titus Tatius not as crime but as the grim p
- [Tarquin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/tarquin.md): Last king of Rome whose tyranny led to the establishment of the Republic.
- [Alexander the Great](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/alexander_the_great.md): Macedonian conqueror whose empire-building is compared to Roman methods.
- [Decius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/decius.md): Roman consul who sacrificed himself in battle to secure victory.
- [Agis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/agis.md): Spartan king who attempted reform and was executed, discussed in political context.
- [Brutus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/brutus.md): Junius Brutus founded the Republic and then, when his sons joined a plot to bring back the kings, watched them die by his own order rather than let family loyalty undermine the new order. Machiavelli treats this as the i
- [Numa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/numa.md): Second king of Rome who established religious institutions and laws.
- [Girolamo Savonarola](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/girolamo_savonarola.md): Savonarola preached against the corrupt wise of this world and tried to remake Florence in the image of his visions, but as a friar he lacked the authority to strike down the rivals his reforms provoked. Machiavelli pair
- [Cosimo de' Medici](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/cosimo_de_medici.md): Founder of the Medici political dynasty in Florence.
- [Antonio Giacomini](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/antonio_giacomini.md): Florentine military commander who failed to capture Pisa.
- [Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/lucius_quintius_cincinnatus.md): Roman dictator who left his farm to save Rome and returned to farming.
- [Tullus Hostilius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/tullus_hostilius.md): Third king of Rome known for his warlike nature and destruction of Alba.
- [Giovanpagolo Baglioni](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/giovanpagolo_baglioni.md): Perugian tyrant who failed to kill Pope Julius II when he had the chance.
- [Cyrus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/cyrus.md): Founder of the Persian Empire, used as an example of virtuous princely conduct.
- [M. de Foix](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/m_de_foix.md): French commander who fought in Italy during the Italian Wars.
- [Giulio Belanti](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/giulio_belanti.md): Sienese nobleman involved in political conspiracies.
- [Selim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/selim.md): Ottoman sultan who conquered Egypt and is cited as a modern tyrant.
- [Marius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/marius.md): Roman general and consul whose military reforms and civil strife are discussed.
- [Solon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/solon.md): Athenian lawgiver whose reforms are compared to Roman institutions.
- [Titus Quintius Flamininus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/titus_quintius_flamininus.md): Roman general who defeated Philip V of Macedon and proclaimed Greek freedom.
- [Coriolanus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/coriolanus.md): Roman patrician who turned against Rome after being exiled.
- [Crassus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/crassus.md): Roman general and triumvir who died fighting the Parthians.
- [Alfonso del Mutolo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/alfonso_del_mutolo.md): Italian captain whose actions are cited as an example of military prudence.
- [Moses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/moses.md): Biblical prophet and lawgiver, used as an example of a founder of a state.
- [Papirius Cursor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/papirius_cursor.md): Roman dictator known for his harsh discipline and military success.
- [David](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/david.md): Biblical king of Israel, cited as an example of a ruler who rose from humble origins.
- [Horatius Cocles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/horatius_cocles.md): Roman hero who single-handedly defended a bridge against the Etruscans.
- [Claudius Pontius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/claudius_pontius.md): Samnite general who defeated the Romans at the Caudine Forks.
- [Spurius Posthumius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/spurius_posthumius.md): Roman consul who surrendered to the Samnites at the Caudine Forks.
- [Pope Alexander VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/pope_alexander_vi.md): Borgia pope whose corrupt and ambitious rule is discussed.
- [Hanno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/hanno.md): Carthaginian statesman who opposed Hannibal's war with Rome.
- [Servius Tullius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/servius_tullius.md): Sixth king of Rome who reformed the Roman constitution and army.
- [Marcus Antonius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/marcus_antonius.md): Roman general and triumvir whose civil war against Octavian is noted.
- [Xenophon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/xenophon.md): Greek historian and philosopher whose works on leadership are cited.
- [Perseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/perseus.md): Last king of Macedon, defeated by the Romans at Pydna.
- [Lycurgus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/lycurgus.md): Spartan lawgiver whose constitution is praised by Machiavelli.
- [Clearchus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/clearchus.md): Spartan general and tyrant of Heraclea, killed by conspirators.
- [Antonius Primus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/antonius_primus.md): Roman general who fought for Vespasian in the Year of the Four Emperors.
- [Il Carmagnola](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/il_carmagnola.md): Italian condottiero who was executed by the Venetians for suspected treachery.
- [Pandolfo Petrucci](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/pandolfo_petrucci.md): Ruler of Siena known for his cunning and political manipulation.
- [Marcus Menenius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/marcus_menenius.md): Roman consul who negotiated with the plebeians during the secession.
- [Francesco Valori](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/francesco_valori.md): Florentine statesman and supporter of Savonarola, later killed by a mob.
- [Messer Giovanni Guicciardini](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/messer_giovanni_guicciardini.md): Florentine diplomat and historian, contemporary of Machiavelli.
- [Catiline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/catiline.md): Roman conspirator whose failed rebellion against the Republic is discussed.
- [King Ferrando](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/king_ferrando.md): King of Naples whose political actions are analyzed.
- [Marcus Fabius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/marcus_fabius.md): Roman consul who fought against the Veientines.
- [Cornelius Tacitus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/cornelius_tacitus.md): Roman historian whose works on the emperors are cited by Machiavelli.
- [Themistocles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/themistocles.md): Athenian general who built the navy and defeated the Persians at Salamis.
- [Pyrrhus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/pyrrhus.md): King of Epirus who fought the Romans with costly victories.
- [Pausanias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/pausanias.md): Spartan general who defeated the Persians at Plataea but later turned traitor.
- [Varro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/varro.md): Roman consul defeated by Hannibal at Cannae, criticized for rashness.
- [King Louis XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/king_louis_xii.md): French king who invaded Italy and is analyzed for his political mistakes.
- [Nicias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/nicias.md): Athenian general whose cautiousness led to disaster in Sicily.
- [Lorenzo de' Medici](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/lorenzo_de_medici.md): Florentine ruler targeted in the Pazzi conspiracy.
- [Antaeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters/antaeus.md): Mythological giant who drew strength from the earth, defeated by Hercules.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_on_livy_se/characters