In 321 BC the Romans had suffered a humiliating defeat at the Caudine Forks, where both consuls were obliged to surrender their army and pass under the yoke. The Romans were escorted to the borders of Campania and allowed to return home with their lives. Ofilius Calavius, father of the two brothers, warned that the sting of their defeat would likely be erased only with the return of Roman arms and the renewal of the war.