The Lacus Curtius ("Lake Curtius") was a pit or pool in the ground of the Forum Romanum. The area where the Forum would be built was likely once a lake, as the wider area is known to have been surrounded by brooks and marshes. One part was never drained and gradually shrank until only a basin, known as the Lacus Curtius, was left. Its nature and significance in Rome’s early history is uncertain, and several conflicting stories exist about its origin and purpose.
The name of the place is likely connected with the Curtia gens, a very old Roman Family with Sabine origins.
History
The exact history of the feature was not well known even to the Romans themselves, and at least three different explanations were given for its name. Two were given by Livy, and another by Varro. By order of when they are said to have taken place:
Livy's Sabine war origin
According to the oldest story (8th century BCE), the Lacus Curtius was named after a champion of the Sabines, the horseman Mettius Curtius. In the war that followed the Rape of the Sabine Women, he was said to have gotten stuck in the marsh during battle. This is corroborated by the fact that the Forum was once marshland, the fact that the Curtia Gens was of Sabine origin, and that the name Mettius was an authentic Sabine one taken from the word medìss "leader". The story, though clearly epic in nature, was likely a copy of another very similar Greek story concerning king Midas.