Sicinius Velutus

Also known as: Sicinius · Family: Rome · Role: tribune · First appears: Coriolanus · Act I, Scene I

Sicinius Velutus becomes one of the five tribunes granted to the people of Rome, alongside Junius Brutus. From the beginning he is a rival of Coriolanus, and in the Capitol, when Coriolanus is expected to become consul, Sicinius and Junius Brutus resolve to turn the people against him and destroy his new authority. He also stands against Menenius, while urging the plebeians to revoke Coriolanus’s election and gather at the Capitol.

In Rome, Sicinius publicly accuses Coriolanus of treason, orders his arrest, and joins the confrontation when Coriolanus resists with a drawn sword. The tribunes first decree, “Therefore it is decreed He dies tonight,” then suspend immediate execution for lawful proceedings. When Coriolanus submits to trial, Sicinius charges him with tyrannical designs and treason against the people, and finally banishes him from Rome under threat of death from the Tarpeian Rock.

After Coriolanus’s departure, Sicinius and Junius Brutus consolidate their political power and then present themselves more humbly. Their action draws public condemnation from Volumnia, who is his enemy, and from Virgilia, whom Sicinius also confronts as he defends the banishment.