Romulus: The Legend of Rome's Founding Father

295 Pages·2020·14.164 MB·English

by  Marc Hyden

Romulus
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Romulus
The Legend of Rome’s
Founding Father
By Marc Hyden
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First published in Great Britain in 2020 by
Pen & Sword History
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Yorkshire – Philadelphia
Copyright © Marc Hyden 2020
Front jacket image Copyright © Sarah Johnson 2017
ISBN 978 1 52678 317 2
The right of Marc Hyden to be identified as Author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the
Publisher in writing.
Typeset in 11.5/14 Ehrhardt by Vman Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
Printed and bound in the UK by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall.
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For my family and their endless love and encouragement.
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Contents
Preface ix
I Aeneas 1
II Romulus and Remus 15
III Numitor 31
IV Remoria 50
V Parilia 68
VI Consualia 80
VII Caenina 99
VIII Antemnae and Crustumerium 106
IX Tarpeia 117
X Tatius 129
XI Duarchy 142
XII Cameria 157
XIII Laurentum 163
XIV Fidenae 176
XV Veii 189
XVI Apotheosis 197
XVII Interregnum 210
XVIII Legacy 218
XIX Myth 229
Bibliography 245
Notes and References 247
Index 279
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Seven Hills of Rome
Ancient Latium
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Preface
F
act, fiction, or somewhere in between, Rome’s eponymous
founder has long fascinated Western society and is a household
name even to this day. Most learned about the Romulus myth in
primary or secondary school and can recount some basic components of
the legend: Romulus was the son of a god; he was left for dead until a
she-wolf rescued him; sometime later, he murdered his brother Remus
and ultimately established Rome.
Unfortunately, few people know much more about Rome’s purported
founding father than this because historians have, in large part, disregarded
him. They generally only provide a cursory lesson on Romulus and
quickly move on to later Roman times, which is understandable. Most
historians doubt the veracity of the Romulus legend in its entirety and
naturally prefer to spend their time chronicling better-attested histories,
rather than what they consider to be little more than a fairy tale.
Admittedly, there is much to doubt in the Romulus myth. There are
at least sixty different extant histories of Rome’s founding (some don’t
even mention Romulus); even the canonical traditions presented by
Livy, Plutarch, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Cicero are inconsistent at
times; and many accounts contain supernatural episodes, which cannot be
true. All of this combined has evidently dissuaded writers from assembling
a comprehensive biography detailing Romulus’ supposed life. Indeed,
no one has ever published an attempt in English until now.
The objective of this work is to rectify Romulus’ long-term neglect.
However, this is easier said than done, given that the extant sources often
seem contradictory. To compensate for these deficiencies, this work
required a little creativity.
I primarily relied on the canonical versions and frequently judged
their variations as differing viewpoints of the same events. As such, when
possible, I combined these accounts to provide a more comprehensive story.
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