Origins of Rome

Origins of Rome

• Timeframe: foundation of the city in $753 ext{ BC}$ to the empire’s end in $AD ext{ 476}$; span about $1250 ext{ years}$.
• Rome as a benchmark for modern society; long-term influence from Gibbon to today.
• Rome as innovator, not merely imitator of Greek culture; adaptation of Greek myth and law into a distinct Roman form.
• Early Rome in Italy: a melting pot of cultures (Etruscan, Oscan, Latin, Greek); few early settlers would have seen themselves as strictly "Roman".
• Three-part government timeline:
  • Regal period: $753 ext{ BC}$ – $510 ext{ BC}$.
  • Republic: $509 ext{ BC}$ – $27 ext{ BC}$ (Augustus as first emperor in effect; hardly a formal end of the Republic).
  • Empire: $27 ext{ BC}$ – $AD ext{ 476}$ (Eastern empire continues in the meantime until 1453).
• Foundation legends and their sources:
  • Trojan Aeneas arrives in Italy (c. $1200 ext{ BC} ext{ ± }50 ext{ yrs}$).
  • City founded by Romulus on $21 ext{ April} ext{ 753 BC}$.
  • Gap of about $500 ext{ years}$ between these events, largely undocumented; later authors (Livy, Virgil) supply narratives.
  • Foundation myths used to articulate Roman identity and values; not strict historical accounts.
• Key authors and purposes:
  • Livy (Ab Urbe Condita) and Virgil (Aeneid) blend history with myth to promote Roman virtues and Augustus-era ideals; stories emphasize predestination, traditional family values, and Rome’s destined greatness.

Aeneas Arrives in Italy: Virgil and the Trojan Wars

• Aeneas’ journey ties Rome to the Greek epic tradition while signaling Roman distinctness; he reaches Latium and meets Evander in a journey that foreshadows Rome’s future.
• Aeneas’ dream by Old Tiber (divine guidance) confirms a destined homeland in Italy; prophecy of Alba Longa via Ascanius.
• Aeneas’ tour through landscapes that will become Rome (Capitoline, Forum, Palatine, etc.) blends myth with geography.
• Virgil’s Aeneid as a political tool: places Augustus’ achievements at the center of Rome’s identity; depicts Rome’s diverse cultural roots (Latins, Samnites, Etruscans, Greeks).
• Aeneas as pious founder who experiences divine guidance but also difficult, morally complex choices.
• The episode culminates in Aeneas gaining support from the Etruscan king and founding a line leading to Rome.

The Story of Romulus: Livy on the Founding (753 BC)

• Livy’s Preface: history blends divine and human elements; emphasizes moral lessons and civic virtues.
• Romulus and Remus: descendants of a Vestal Virgin, rescued by a she-wolf (lupa); raised among shepherds; Romulus laterfound the city.
• Founding myths and urban association:
  • Romulus prefers the Palatine Hill; Remus favors the Aventine.
  • Omens (six vultures on the Aventine, twelve on the Palatine) lead to conflict; Romulus kills Remus (fratricide).
• Romulus’ asylum on Capitoline Hill and recruitment of outsiders (the first “patres” families) to populate the city.
• The Sabine Women (the so-called "rape of the Sabine women") as a political and social alliance mechanism; women’s speech emphasizes family and unity.
• Livy’s romance with the idea that Rome grew through exile and inclusion of diverse groups; not purely military conquest.

Archaeology and Consistencies

• Limited early archaeological evidence for the 8th century BC; Palatine huts and the “Hut of Romulus” as iconic but not definitive proof.
• Burials and Esquiline/Palatine finds show early cultural mixing (Latin and Sabine practices).
• Forum and habitation patterns evidence inconsistent or incomplete; the overall picture supports a landscape of small farming communities.
• Consistencies between myth and archaeology: agrarian society, omens/divine interventions, and tensions between patrician and plebeian groups; these narratives served Augustus-era propaganda but also reflect Rome’s foundational values.

Rome: Centre of the Universe

• Geography made Rome well-placed for growth: cluster of hills on a plateau, fertile soil from Tiber alluvium, marshy footholds, proximity to sea, and routes to Greek and Etruscan ports.
• Location aided trade and communication with Greek settlements (south) and Etruria (north).
• This strategic positioning contributed to Rome’s rise as a hub in the Italian peninsula.

Etruscan Influence

• Etruscans: origin debated (Herodotus’ Lydia vs. Dionysius’ Villanovans); genetic findings support multiple origins.
• Etruscans shaped Rome’s urbanization and culture, including:
  • Water management and drainage, road paving, and the arch.
  • Public works (Temple plans, Circus Maximus, Regia) and urban layout (Vicus Tuscus).
  • Religious and political practices integrated into early Roman life.
• The Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Caere, end of the 6th century BC) illustrates different social customs and domestic life; contrasts with later Roman ceremonial life.

Rome Under the Kings: A City of Mud

• Early Rome was built with mud and clay due to Tiber floods and alluvial deposits; terra cotta tiles were common.
• Material culture: simple huts to more developed temples; later, Augustus would claim to found Rome in brick and leave it in marble.
• The seven kings (traditionally): Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, Tarquinius Superbus.
• Governmental structure under the kings:
  • Oligarchic elements via a council of patrician families; kings held military, political, religious authority; the curule chair, purple toga, and fasces carried by lictors.
  • Lapis Niger: a sacred, ceremonial inscription site in the Forum; its writing is boustrophedon (read left-to-right, then right-to-left) and undecipherable today.
• Etruscan contributions include major public works and urban planning features (Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Cloaca Maxima, Circus Maximus).
• Servius Tullius: reformer who reorganized the population into five wealth-based classes; expanded plebeian participation and military service; built the Temple of Diana on the Aventine; mythic birth from a giant phallus tied him to plebs.
• Money and economy: wealth tied to land (iugera) and cattle (pecus); Pliny the Elder credits Servius with an early form of minted money, though early “coins” were not widely used until the late $4^{ ext{th}}$ century BC; first Roman coins minted in the $late ext{ 4th century BC}$, with later didrachms (two-drachma) showing SLG imagery; earlier currency included Aes rude and Aes signatum.
• Tarquinius Superbus’ rule: oppressive governance, conscription of plebs into public works, and neglect of Senate; alliance-building with Latins but authoritarian rule.
• Fall of the kings and the Republic: the rape and crimes of Tarquin’s son Sextus trigger Lucretia’s tale and Brutus’ coup; in $509 ext{ BC}$, Rome expels the kings and establishes the Republic.
• The fall marks a conscious rejection of kingship and the adoption of a republican framework, distinct from Greek democracy yet sharing some features of collective governance.

The Republic and Early Developments (Summary)

• Republic established in $509 ext{ BC}$; power centered in annual magistrates and a citizen-based political structure, with patrician-plebeian tensions continuing for centuries.
• Economic and social foundations laid in late monarchy and early republic; the shift from kin-based authority to more formal institutions.

Further Reading (Selected)

• Barker, G. and Rasmussen, T., The Etruscans, Blackwell, 2000.
• Carandini, A. (trans. Sartarelli, S.), Rome: Day One, Princeton University Press, 2011.
• Cobbold, G.B. (trans.), Vergil's Aeneid: Hero, War, Humanity, Bolchazy-Carducci, 2005.
• Cornell, T., The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (ca. $1000-264 ext{ BCE}$), Routledge, 1995.
• Forsythe, G., A Critical History of Rome from Prehistory to Early Rome, University of California Press, 2005.
• Macmullen, R., The Earliest Romans: A Character Sketch, University of Michigan Press, 2011.
• Wiseman, T.P., The Myths of Rome, Exeter University Press, 2004.