Horatius Cocles was a Roman hero of legend, who may or may not have existed on Earth. He single handedly defended the Pons Sublicius, which was a bridge that led across the Tiber River to Rome. He defended this bridge against the Etruscans while the Romans destroyed it behind him. A cycloptic statue of him was erected in the temple of Vulcan on Earth near Vatican Hill. Spock retold this history to Captain James T. Kirk prior to their arrival in the Horatian system in 2267. (TOS novel: Mission to Horatius)