Arminius

Arminius (Teut. Hermann), the German hero who freed his country from the Roman yoke, born about 16 B.C. He was the son of Sigimer, Chief of the Cherusci, and served in the Roman army. When Quintilius Varus, the legate in Germany, had stirred up the hatred of the tribes by his oppression, Arminius took the lead in a desperate conspiracy. He persuaded Varus, in A.D. 9, to march against the insurgents into the country between the Weser and the Ems, but harassed him on the way until his forces were exhausted. Then falling upon the legions in a defile between Wiedenbruck and Detmold, he slaughtered them to a man. Germanicus was sent to punish him, but failed in his mission. Arminius was killed in 21 A.D. by his own kinfolk during some tribal dispute. A colossal statue of him was set up near Detmold in 1875.