In 540 BC, three Roman boys, Titus Tarquin, Arruns Tarquin, and their cousin Brutus – so dubbed because he was considered as dumb as a brute – were trekking to the Oracle at Delphi. Surely the oracle would predict that one of the Tarquin boys would be king; after all, they were the sons of Tarquin the Proud, Rome’s ruling monarch. Brutus was only brought along so that the ruling family did not look arrogant.