A mission from Rome offering a baton to Cincinnatus

In 458 BC, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was appointed dictator of Rome: the painting depicts the moment in which the Roman Senate pleaded with Cincinnatus, who lived in humble circumstances, working on his own small farm, to assume the mantle of dictator to save the city from the Aequi and the Volscians. He accepted the request to lead the Roman Army and he defeated the enemy in a single day. He maintained the authority for a mere fifteen days, resigning to go back to his farm. His immediate resignation of his absolute authority following the end of the crisis has often been cited as an example of good leadership, service to the public good, and the virtue of modesty.