Lucretia Earrings

These earrings are inspired by a Hellenistic Greek example. Here, a small round disk ornamented with a small flower terminates a delicate hook earring; three small drops hang beneath.

One Lucretia (d. 510 BC) was the beautiful wife of the Roman nobleman Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, who became famous as the most faithful and virtuous of women - indeed the epitome of a proper Roman matron. As Livy recounts, in his Ab Urbe Condita (I.57 - 60), a violent act was inflicted upon Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, son of tyrannical Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (the Etruscan king of Rome), upon which her wifely honor was lost by no fault of her own. Lucretia ended her own life out of the shame of which she, her family, and her husband could not be rid. Her strong actions and the actions of those who loved and avenged her brought about the end of the first period of Roman history, and helped usher in the period of the Republic.

Earring Details

Height: 3 cm (1.2 in)

Diameter of disk: 1 cm (.4 in)

Available Precious Metals and Prices

925 Sterling Silver: $125

18 Karat Gold Over Sterling Silver: $175

14 Karat Gold: $325

18 Karat Gold: $455