Rome: Founded by Romulus After All?
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This month's (July-August 2007) issue of Archaeology Magazine features an article about the beginning of Rome-and, by extension, the beginning of us.
Us? Yes. We may not be literal descendents of Rome, but consider: the Roman Empire forced their particular culture on everyone else around the Mediterranean. Those people, centuries later, forced their culture on people overseas.
Rome conquered Europe-south, east, and west-as well as North Africa, the Middle East, Asia Minor. Wherever they went, they imposed their ordered way of life. Rome was the original Borg, assimilating everyone.
Our law codes come from Rome. Military organization, ideas about citizenship, urbanization, roads and transportation-all Roman in origin. The Romans were administrators. They united their conquered territories under one language, written and spoken, and controlled their empire for centuries. True, the Greeks set our basic standards for art, theatre, philosophy, and literature-but it was Rome that copied and perpetuated those standards.
Other lands and tribes had laws, customs, poems, and myths aplenty. Given the choice, we might have been happier believing in Thracian mores, Gallic science, or Ligourian gods-but we weren't given the choice. Rome won, they lost, and the wisdom of Thrace, Gaul, and Ligouria vanished.
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We trace Western civilization to Rome, which brings us back to Archaeology Magazine.
Rome's origin myth goes like this: Twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a wolf, became fratricidal over who would be king. Romulus killed Remus to found the city of Rome and become its first king on April 21, 753 B.C.
The Roman historians who recorded this story do not seem to accept it as literal truth, but a respected archaeologist named Andrea Carandini does. His excavation of the Forum at the Palatine Hill in Rome led to an interview in Archaeology.
Carandini, a professor at Sapienza University who has been digging in Rome for over 20 years, found a palace and wall dating to the middle of the 8th century B.C. The palace covers 3700 square feet, and had clay and wood walls (materials which allowed dating). Ceramics and furnishings, as well as a grand entrance, were uncovered as well. Carandini has proclaimed the discoveries as proof that Romulus existed. He is now as popular in Italy as Leonardo de Caprio.
"After 750 B.C., everything was born," Carandini said. He believes that there was no slow buildup from village to town to city, "but the sudden evolution of a city that was great and remains great."
Not everyone agrees; in fact, for all his popularity and professional cachet, Carandini is definitely pushing a minority opinion. His discoveries, though, are spectacular, whether or not you believe in a historical Romulus.
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u fail fail fail
Romulus start the law in Rome. This is hard action to do,but we need to think today about to form a good theory today and virtu of tomorow. What is your poit of view?
It's obvious by your choice of words what feelings you convey. You don't like the Romans. You use words like force and copy to discredit my ancestors. Yes, woman, I am literally blood descendant of the people you clearly do not approve of. As if your approval of us mattered. You try to speak for others with your implications. However, they don't feel the same as you. Jealousy and envy ooze from your words along with your condescending nature. You are no historian, you know nothing about how moral the Romans were in their young days, nor would you admit it if you knew. You don't care that every tribe surrounding the Romans from the Gauls, Greeks, Latins & Carthaginians wanted to take Rome for themselves. With their blood, those Romans, you dislike, fought to preserve their way of life and their families. They shared their ideas and complied them with what they learned from others to improve and build on the things that came before them. There is so much history to put you, as a blogger, to shame. Now that I have done so with my eloquence, I honor the very people you loathe & have proven you are nothing more than a fool. Rome never forced anything on anyone, we fought and conquered, once the threat was eliminated we left those people in peace to worship their own gods, live their own way as long as their paid tribute to the very people THEY tried to defeat. If you prefer to live a life worshiping norse or celtic gods by all means do so but others took to our way of life by sheer attraction & that is what you refuse to understand. You, my dear, live in your own world where truth is what you want it to be not what history tells you it is. You do not have the right to speak of them in the disgraceful manner you have chosen. With that, I leave you in peace as the fool you are.
Angelica 2 years ago
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