Mythological Origins of Rome

Honors World History

Directions: As you read answer the following questions on your own sheet of paper. Provide specific detail.

  1. What common elements do you see within both stories?
  2. What differences do you see?
  3. Taken together, what do these mythological stories of the founding of Rome tell us about its people, culture, and history? Do you see any similarities between the historical (textbook) founding of Rome and these legends?

Romulus and Remus

The founding of Rome was carefully tied into history. The Roman historian Livy wrote his history in the late 1st century B.C. His history starts with the founding of Rome. Plutarch, a Greek biographer of the early 2nd century A.D., wrote a biography of Romulus. For the Romans, the supernatural details did not detract from the historicity of the events. Equally supernatural stories and prodigies of nature abounded in accounts of other figures in Roman history, down to the emperors.

Our first story is the legend of the founding of Rome by the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. Their grandfather was the rightful king of Alba (located in Northern Italy) but he had been deposed by his brother. Their mother was supposed to be a virgin priestess of the goddess Vesta, but she got pregnant, some say by Mars, the god of war. Their great-uncle recognized that Romulus and Remus were more than human and attempted to have them killed. The servant entrusted with this task abandoned them by the river Tiber, which was in flood. They were found by a she-wolf who suckled them, and a woodpecker, who fed them. A swineherd later found the babies and brought them up.

Romulus and Remus grew up into strong young men, born leaders of the shepherds and outlaws in the surrounding countryside. Remus was captured in a brawl with some of his grandfather's shepherds. Romulus attempted to rescue his brother, and the presence of twins of about the right age uncovered the secret. With their own followers and their grandfather's men, they deposed their great-uncle and restored their grandfather to his throne. Romulus and Remus did not want to serve anybody else as king, so they left Alba to found their own city.

They chose different sites, and decided to seek omens for which would be better. Remus looked round and saw six vultures, a good omen, whereupon Romulus claimed to have seen twelve, even better. While they were arguing, Remus jumped contemptuously over the walls Romulus had built. Romulus was made even angrier by this, and in a fit of rage, killed his brother.

Romulus buried Remus, and carried on with building his city. There was one problem: all the inhabitants, being shepherds, runaway slaves, and thieves, were men. Romulus held games in honor of the gods, and invited people from the communities around them. While they were watching the games, Romulus gave a signal and the Romans seized the young women who were attending the games and made off with them. The Sabines (a local Italian tribe) later tried to

get the women back, but by this time they had married their abductors and some of them had become mothers. The women stood between the two armies, and pleaded not to be forced to choose between their relatives by blood and their relatives by marriage. Peace was restored and Romulus and Tatius, the king of the Sabines, were made joint monarchs. Tatius was killed after only five years, and Romulus then reigned alone.

After having reigned over Rome for 38 years, Romulus disappeared in a violent storm, and it was announced that he had been taken up to heaven, from where he would continue to look after Rome's destiny as the god Quirinus (early Roman god—perhaps a Sabine god of war).

The Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latinepic poem, written by Virgil from 29 to 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines.

Aeneas was born from the union of a man and the goddess, Aphrodite (goddess of love and beauty). He was also a cousin of King Priam of Troy. During the Trojan War, Aeneaswas wounded by Diomedes (a renowned Greek warrior) and would have died if his mother had not come to his rescue. Aphrodite herself was wounded by Diomedeson this occasion, but then Apollo took over the protection of the Aeneas, removing him from the battle to the citadel, where his temple stood.

When the war was over the Trojans debated what they ought to do with the wooden horse, left by the Greeks. There were three opinions: some wanted to hurl the horse down from the rocks, others wished to burn it, and still others were for dedicating it to Athena. This third opinion prevailed, and the Trojans, believing the war was over, turned to feasting.It was then that the two serpents appeared and prophesied to Aeneas that “Either enclosed in this frame there lurk Achaeans (Greeks), or this has been built as an engine of war against our walls, to spy into our homes and come down upon the city from above; or some trickery lurk therein. Trojans, trust not the horse. Whatever it be, I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts." (Virgil, Aeneid) Alarmed Aeneas and his followers withdrew to Mount Ida and were not at Troy when the city was sacked. Following the battle, Aeneas and his followers built a fleet of twenty ships, sailing in the first days of summer.

Eventually Aeneas and his fleet were cast ashore near the North African city of Carthage. Dido, Queen of Carthage, was a Phoenician who had left Tyre and founded Carthage. She received the Trojans with hospitality, and fell in love with Aeneas. He, in turn, started to forget that he was meant to sail to Italy. He was later confronted by Zeus, who argued that “…now you are laying foundations for Carthage, building a beautiful city to please a woman, lost to the interests of your own realm?" (Aeneid) Aeneas then, remembering his own destiny, decided to leave Dido and Carthage:

"In Italy lies my heart, my homeland. You, a Phoenician, are held by these Carthaginian towers, by the charm of your Libyan city…No more reproaches ... they only torture us both. God's will, not mine, says Italy." (Aeneid) Dido, who felt she had rescued Aeneas' lost fleet, saved his friends from death, taken a pauper and a castaway and shared her kingdom with him, could not see in Aeneas' decision more than betrayal and ingratitude. So on Aeneas' departure, Dido cast herself upon Aeneas' sword on a pyre.

After much travel, Aeneas came to Latium (central Italy), a land ruled by King Latinus. Latinus chose to give his daughter (Lavinia) to Aeneas, having learned from an oracle that she was fated to marry a foreigner. Lavinia's former suitor, Turnus, goaded by jealousy and the god Juno (Roman goddess), declared war against the intruder. Significant war broke out with many allies on both sides. This war only ended when Aeneas killed Turnus in single combat. After the war, he married Lavinia.

The circumstances of Aeneas' death are uncertain. Some claim that Aeneas disappeared during a battle against an ally of Turnus. It is also told that Aphrodite asked Zeus to make Aeneas immortal, and as Zeus granted her request, the river god Numicius washed away all of Aeneas' mortal parts, and Aphrodite anointed him with Nectar and Ambrosia, making him a god, whom the people later worshipped under the name of Indiges (early Roman god).