When he was brought to the consul's tent covered with wounds, Cominius did all he could to show his gratitude--set on the young man's head the crown of victory, gave him the surname of Coriolanus in honor of his exploits, and granted him the tenth part of the spoil of ten prisoners.

Of them, however, Coriolanus only accepted one, an old friend of the family, whom he set at liberty at once.

Afterwards, when there was a great famine in Rome, Coriolanus led an expedition to Antium, and brought away quantities of corn and cattle, which he distributed freely, keeping none for himself.
But though he was so free of hand, Coriolanus was a proud, shy man, who would not make friends with the plebeians, and whom the tribunes hated as much as he despised them.

He was elected consul, and the tribunes refused to permit him to become one; and when a shipload of wheat arrived from Sicily, there was a fierce quarrel as to how it should be distributed.

The tribunes impeached him before the people for withholding it from them, and by the vote of a large number of citizens he was banished from Roman lands.