"Rome Wasn't Built in a Day"- The Mythical Foundings of Rome

“Rome wasn’t built in a Day” 
(Great Things take time)

 - The Mythical Foundings of Rome -

  By Suryatej Vakkalanka

Many ancient civilizations created myths to explain how they began, and one of the myths the Romans created was “The myth of Romulus and Remus”. This myth dated back to April 21st, 753 B.C, close to when Rome was actually founded. It all started when Numitor, king of Alba Longa was overthrown by his brother, Amulius, and ordered Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, to become a vestal virgin. This meant she would not give birth, but she and the god Ares had twins, who were the mighty Romulus and Remus. Enraged, Amulius ordered Silvia to drown the babies in the Tiber river. Although, they survived with the guidance of Tiberinus “the father of the river”, and Mars, their father  

Romulus and Remus washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where Lupus, a she-wolf, took them in. After they were a bit older, the shepherd Faustulus raised them to be strong, helpful adults. Although, they were furious when they learned that Amulius overthrew their grandfather, and went to their birthplace to restore their grandfather’s power. While coming back to Faustulus’s village, they decided to build a city to celebrate their grandfather’s victory. Even though they worked together with the creation of the city, naming it was a problem. As a result, Romulus killed his brother, Remus, and named the city after himself, which was Rome. In retrospect, the people of Rome also might have liked Rome better than “Reme”, as it sounded fiercer.

Another myth of Rome’s beginnings is called The Aeneid, which was written by Virgil, an ancient Roman poet. This is described as a sequel to the world-famous Iliad, except in a different direction (because the Iliad already has sequel, the Odyssey). In the Iliad, after the Greeks destroyed Troy, half a dozen people-including Aeneas’s father (Anchises), son (Ascanius,) were lead by Aeneas. Directed by the hearth gods, Aeneas was told to find a new city in the Italian Peninsula. Although, Hera threw them off their course because Paris didn’t choose her as the most beautiful goddess, and they were Paris’s fellow Trojans. At last, they landed in African city of Carthage. There, Dido was the founder and queen, and took them in. Aeneas told his story of how the Trojans fled from Troy, and he was destined to found a new city, although he accidentally wound up here. Feeling sympathy for him, Dido married Aeneas, and he stayed there for a period of time, enjoying the luxuries of Carthage. Later, the hearth gods reminded him of his duties, so he set sail for Italy. Meanwhile, Dido was depressed that Aeneas left, so she gathered all his belongings, stood on the summit, and stabbed herself with his sword.

Again, bad weather blew Aeneas’s ship around, but they finally make it to Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island. There, they held a funeral for Anchises, Aeneas’s father, and Aeneas went to the underworld and saw that if he built Rome, the descendants of him will make him proud. Instantly, he went back up and resumed his journey upcoast, to the region of Latium. Latinus, the king, greeted Aeneas’s people, and was about to marry Aeneas to Lavinia, his daughter, when Turnus came. Turnus wanted to marry Lavinia too, thus a quarrel started between them both. It turned to a war when  Ascanius (Aeneas’s son,) killed a deer of Turnus’s men. To get help, Aeneas went to some tribes who were angry at Turnus. The war started, and after sometime, Turnus killed Pallas, the son of the tribes’ king. Angry at this, Aeneas went one-on-one with Turnus and killed him, thus ending the war. After the battle, Aeneas married Lavinia, and found the city of Rome, becoming the first king.