The story of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the seven legendary kings of Rome and son (or perhaps grandson) of the nobly depicted king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, provides an excellent demonstration of how Livy understood his story to be a “splendid monument” (Livy Preface, p.4) from which one could find both examples to follow and examples to learn from. While most legendary kings are depicted in a largely positive light and appear to demonstrate the honor and tradition of the Romans, and are therefore among the examples to follow. Tarquin the Proud is undoubtedly an example from which to learn, a story of deception and tyranny, very different from others, and which future generations will have to try to avoid. The uniqueness of this is what makes it so important; Livy uses her story to drive home the points she has tried to make with others. This becomes immediately evident after analyzing Livy's story of the rise and fall of the immoral and domineering king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Early in his writing, in the Preface, Livy talks about how Rome as a country has deteriorated from its once grand past. nobility, honor and respect for the gods, in a country tormented by lack of discipline, morality and greed, among other vices, without the strength to endure the remedy that would cure them of said vices (Livy Preface, p.4). It might be said that the stories of the legendary kings of the first book, from Romulus and Numa to the last king, Tarquinius Superbus, mirror the political and moral deterioration that Livy first complained about in the preface of his history. Indeed the first two jointly established Rome as a power of both war and peace, a power composed of a noble people who respected... according to the charter... the Romans their noble heritage in their founder Romulus. and some of the later kings, and to show them what happens when that noble legacy is forgotten or ignored, as in the case of the last legendary king Tarquin the Proud. Each king had a specific function in Livy's story, Romulus serving to remind the people of their valor and honor in war, Numa of his religious piety and skill in peace, and so on. But despite how negatively Superbus' reign is portrayed, it is the most important in Livy's history because while the others demonstrate the honor of the Roman people and the development of their culture, he shows the Romans the importance of their honor and their culture by describing what can happen when they are abandoned, when their values ​​can fade. Livy uses Superbus as a warning to his readers, without which the meaning of the rest might go unnoticed.