Career
Roman hero who is credited with conquering Veii and defeating the Gauls. Camillus may have been born about 447 b.c. According to legend he captured Veii, Rome's great rival across the Tiber, after a ten-year siege in 396 b.c. Soon afterward, accused of distributing the booty from Veii improperly, he withdrew to Ardea, a port near Rome. During his exile Brennus' Gauls sacked Rome (390 b.c.). Camillus was appointed dictator, routed the Gauls just as they were being bribed to retire, and became "Rome's second founder." Camillus also won many victories over Rome's neighbors in Latium; in all he celebrated four triumphs. He had political successes too. After Brennus' raid he dissuaded the plebeians from migrating to Veii and during the Licinio-Sextian agitation (376-367 b.c.) he persuaded the patricians, whose champion he was, to yield inevitable concessions to the plebeians gracefully. He was never consul but was consular tribune six times, dictator five times, interrex three times, and censor once. He died in 365 b.c.
So many legends have accumulated around Camillus that the truth cannot be discovered. He is probably an historical figure who played a prominent role in Roman affairs during the early fourth century b.c.