The Origins of Rome

Earliest Romans

• primacy of the familia (pater familias)

• pastoral emphasis• centrality of religion

(numina)

The traditions of what happened prior to the foundation of the City or whilst it was being built, are more fitted to adorn the creations of the poet than the authentic records of the historian, and I have no intention of establishing either their truth or their falsehood. This much licence is conceded to the ancients, that by intermingling human actions with divine they may confer a more august dignity on the origins of states. Now, if any nation ought to be allowed to claim a sacred origin and point back to a divine paternity that nation is Rome. For such is her renown in war that when she chooses to represent Mars as her own and her founder's father, the nations of the world accept the statement with the same equanimity with which they accept her dominion. But whatever opinions may be formed or criticisms passed upon these and similar traditions, I regard them as of small importance. The subjects to which I would ask each of my readers to devote his earnest attention are these-the life and morals of the community; the men and the qualities by which through domestic policy and foreign war dominion was won and extended. Then as the standard of morality gradually lowers, let him follow the decay of the national character, observing how at first it slowly sinks, then slips downward more and more rapidly, and finally begins to plunge into headlong ruin, until he reaches these days, in which we can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies.

Myth or History

• Livy’s History• mos maiorum

Not without reason did gods and men choose this spot for the site of our city – the salubrious hills, the river to bring us produce from the inland regions and sea-borne commerce from abroad, the sea itself, near enough for convenience yet not so near as to bring danger from foreign fleets, our situation in the very heart of Italy – all these advantages make it of all places in the world the best for a city destined to grow great.

Site of Rome and the Founding of the City

• trade route between Etruria and Greek city-states in southern Italy

• geographic benefits• Roman city planning

Aeneas

• “Arms and the man…”• “I fear the Greeks…”• Abandonment of

Creusa• Queen Dido• “Easy is the descent…”• “Everyman’s last

day…”• “All for love…”

Others will cast more tenderly in bronze Their breathing figures, I can well believe, And bring more lifelike portraits out of marble, Argue more eloquently, use the pointer To trace the paths of heaven accurately And accurately foretell the rising stars. Roman, remember by your strength to rule Earth’s peoples,for your arts are to be these: To pacify, to impose the rule of law, To spare the conquered, battle down the proud.

Romulus and Remus

• Numitor and Amulius• Rhea Silvia• The Lupa and the

shephard, Faustulus• April 21, 753BC

(A.U.C.)• Fratricide

THINK PAIR SHARE:Cicero once stated: “Nescire autem quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum. Quid enim est aetas hominis, nisi ea

memoria rerum veterum cum superiorum aetate contexitur?” (To be ignorant of what happened

before you were born is to be forever a child. For what is man's lifetime unless the memory of past

events is woven with those of earlier times?) What does this quote mean? How might Romans during Cicero’s day connect between their own lives and the origin stories of Rome? How do you connect

with your own history?

Romulus, the First King of Rome (753 – 715 BC)

• outlaws and fugitives

• Rape of the Sabines

• creation of the Senate and the Comitia Curiata

• mysterious death and deification of Romulus

Numa Pompilius (715 – 673 BC)

• emphasis on religion• Pontifex Maximus• flamens• vestal virgins• Temple of Janus• Machiavelli’s

interpretation

Tullius Hostilius (672 – 641 BC)

• Oath of the Horatii

• betrayal of Mettius

• destruction of Alba Longa

• plague, and death by lightening

Ancus Marcius (640 – 616BC)

• Ostia• Pons

Sublicius• Declaration

of War

THINK PAIR SHARE:What do each of these monarchs symbolize? What precedents do they set for future rulers? What

lessons, or conceptions about the past can be taken from this origin

story?