753 BC: Rome founded
According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin
brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a
she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth
originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of
Rome's founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in
the first century B.C.
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea
Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was a
mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would
become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his
younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so
that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title.
However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to
Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber,
but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill,
where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the
shepherd Faustulus.
Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a
band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity,
they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored
their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a
town on the site where they had been saved as infants. They soon
became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by
his brother. Romulus then became ruler of the settlement, which was
named "Rome" after him.
To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles.
Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines
to a festival and abducted their women. A war then ensued, but the
Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A
peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint
rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus Tatius. Tatius' early
death, perhaps perpetrated by Romulus, left the Roman as the sole king
again. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure
circumstances. Many Romans believed he was changed into a god and
worshipped him as the deity Quirinus. After Romulus, there were six
more kings of Rome, the last three believed to be Etruscans. Around
509 B.C., the Roman republic was established.
Another Roman foundation legend, which has its origins in ancient
Greece, tells of how the mythical Trojan Aeneas founded Lavinium and
started a dynasty that would lead to the birth of Romulus and Remus
several centuries later. In the Iliad, an epic Greek poem probably
composed by Homer in the eighth century B.C., Aeneas was the only
major Trojan hero to survive the Greek destruction of Troy. A passage
told of how he and his descendants would rule the Trojans, but since
there was no record of any such dynasty in Troy, Greek scholars
proposed that Aeneas and his followers relocated.
In the fifth century B.C., a few Greek historians speculated that
Aeneas settled at Rome, which was then still a small city-state. In
the fourth century B.C., Rome began to expand within the Italian
peninsula, and Romans, coming into greater contact with the Greeks,
embraced the suggestion that Aeneas had a role in the foundation of
their great city. In the first century B.C., the Roman poet Virgil
developed the Aeneas myth in his epic poem the Aeneid, which told of
Aeneas' journey to Rome. Augustus, the first Roman emperor and emperor
during Virgil's time, and Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and
predecessor as Roman ruler, were said to be descended from Aeneas.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
753 BC: Rome founded
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6874
1836 : The Battle of San Jacinto
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4940
1918 : Red Baron killed in action
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4941
1989 : Chinese students begin protests at Tiananmen Square
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4942
#########################################
According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin
brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a
she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth
originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of
Rome's founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in
the first century B.C.
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea
Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was a
mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would
become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his
younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so
that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title.
However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to
Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber,
but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill,
where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the
shepherd Faustulus.
Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a
band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity,
they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored
their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a
town on the site where they had been saved as infants. They soon
became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by
his brother. Romulus then became ruler of the settlement, which was
named "Rome" after him.
To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles.
Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines
to a festival and abducted their women. A war then ensued, but the
Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A
peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint
rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus Tatius. Tatius' early
death, perhaps perpetrated by Romulus, left the Roman as the sole king
again. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure
circumstances. Many Romans believed he was changed into a god and
worshipped him as the deity Quirinus. After Romulus, there were six
more kings of Rome, the last three believed to be Etruscans. Around
509 B.C., the Roman republic was established.
Another Roman foundation legend, which has its origins in ancient
Greece, tells of how the mythical Trojan Aeneas founded Lavinium and
started a dynasty that would lead to the birth of Romulus and Remus
several centuries later. In the Iliad, an epic Greek poem probably
composed by Homer in the eighth century B.C., Aeneas was the only
major Trojan hero to survive the Greek destruction of Troy. A passage
told of how he and his descendants would rule the Trojans, but since
there was no record of any such dynasty in Troy, Greek scholars
proposed that Aeneas and his followers relocated.
In the fifth century B.C., a few Greek historians speculated that
Aeneas settled at Rome, which was then still a small city-state. In
the fourth century B.C., Rome began to expand within the Italian
peninsula, and Romans, coming into greater contact with the Greeks,
embraced the suggestion that Aeneas had a role in the foundation of
their great city. In the first century B.C., the Roman poet Virgil
developed the Aeneas myth in his epic poem the Aeneid, which told of
Aeneas' journey to Rome. Augustus, the first Roman emperor and emperor
during Virgil's time, and Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and
predecessor as Roman ruler, were said to be descended from Aeneas.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
753 BC: Rome founded
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=6874
1836 : The Battle of San Jacinto
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4940
1918 : Red Baron killed in action
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4941
1989 : Chinese students begin protests at Tiananmen Square
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4942
#########################################
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