The origins of the society: fact and myth

Aeneas, Romulus and Remus

Livy wrote a combination of Greek myths and Roman folktales to provide an account of how Rome was founded.

Aeneas was a mythical hero from Greek legend. He was a citizen of Troy, the city that the Greeks besieged after the Trojan prince Paris abducted the Greek beauty Helen. After Troy was defeated by the Greeks, Aeneas escaped from the city with his father and his son, Iulus. His journey from Troy to Italy was filled with adventure. He eventually arrived in the plain of Latium where he settled and married a Latin princess.

Two of Aeneas' descendants were twin boys named Romulus and Remus. They were the grandsons of the ruler of a city called Alba Longa. Their parents were believed to be Mars, the god of war, and the Latin princess Rhea Silvia. Their great uncle Amulius seized the throne and ordered the two boys to be drowned in the Tiber River. Refer Image1 and animation

The men who had been ordered to drown the boys took pity on them. Instead, they put the twins in a cradle and sent them down the river. The cradle eventually drifted to shore and was discovered by a she-wolf, who fed and protected them until a shepherd found them.

When Romulus and Remus grew up they went back to Alba Longa and killed their great uncle Amulius, winning back their kingdom.

The brothers decided to build a city on the site where the she-wolf had discovered them on the banks of the Tiber.

Romulus founded a settlement on the Palatine Hill, but as the city walls were being constructed, Remus and Romulus got into a fight. The disagreement ended violently with Romulus killing his brother. Romulus became ruler of his new city, which he called Rome. Settlement began in 753 BC.

Kings and the birth of the republic

After Rome was founded by Romulus, the city was ruled by a series of kings. These kings were chosen and advised by a council of elders, the senes. Of the seven kings who ruled Rome, the last three were Etruscans and were regarded with hatred by the Romans.

The last king, Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud, was particularly hated by Romans. Tarquin the Proud came to power by throwing the previous king down the steps of the Senate House, killing him. He was a selfish tyrant who ignored the advice of the council of elders. His son had inherited his bad habits. One night Tarquin's son attacked and raped a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia. The Roman people were enraged and they drove Tarquin and his family out of Rome. Refer Image2

Tarquin the Proud was not willing to give up his city without a fight. He appealed to the King of Clusium, a northern Etruscan city, to help him attack Rome. The Romans defended their city passionately, stopping the invading army at a wooden bridge over the Tiber. A courageous Roman soldier, Horatio, single-handedly fought off the invaders as the Romans destroyed the bridge.

Many of these stories were traditional folktales built up around a shred of truth. The truth was that around 600 BC, Etruscan kings took control of the city of Rome. During Etruscan rule, Rome grew into a large city with many public buildings, huge defensive walls and an efficient drainage system. By 510 BC the final Etruscan king ended his rule and Rome became an independent republic. The brief period of monarchy that the Romans had endured left a lasting impression on them. For the rest of the Republic, Romans were suspicious of kings and dictators.

The Etruscans

There were many different people living on the Italian Peninsula when the city of Rome was founded. In the north there were the Etruscans, in the south the Greek colonists. Throughout the middle of the peninsula there were groups such as the Aequi, Volsci and Samnites. Refer Image3

The Etruscans lived in the north of the Italian Peninsula. Although no one knows where the Etruscans originally came from, they may have migrated from northern Asia Minor. The Etruscans had a rich culture. They built carefully planned towns with drainage systems and wide paved roads. Their prosperity came from their rich farmland which yielded many crops, including grapes and olives.

The Etruscans traded with other towns and overseas peoples, exchanging iron and copper for gold, silver and tin. Through trade they came into contact with many other ancient cultures. They adopted the Greek alphabet and used it for their own language. There were many highly skilled artists, tradesmen and craftsmen. The Etruscans buried their dead in elaborate tombs decorated with beautiful wall paintings of daily life.

The Etruscans had a strong influence on the development of Roman culture. It was from the Etruscans that the Romans discovered chariot races, gladiator fights, aqueducts (a man-made channel that transports water) and the toga.

Many Etruscan villages were situated on the Latium plain, a fertile area on the west coast of Italy. The area had been occupied since 1000 BC by a group of Etruscans called the Latins. These original people lived in wooden huts with thatched roofs. Eventually the villages on the Latium plain merged to create one town - Rome.

Greek influence

In the 8th century BC, the Greeks were sending colonists to set up cities around the Mediterranean. Many colonies were founded in the south of the Italian Peninsula and on the island of Sicily. The Greeks had a very strong influence in these areas. The Romans later called it Magna Graecia, Greater Greece.

The Greeks had a considerable impact on the development of Roman culture. The Etruscans adopted the Greek alphabet for their own language and passed it on to the Romans. Greek became the language of education and the aristocracy of Rome. The Greeks also influenced the development of Roman literature, drama, art, architecture and mythology. Many of the Roman gods and goddesses were Greek gods and goddesses with Roman names.