The Legend of Romulus

Although it is said that Rome was founded and hailed as a hero, romulus's legacy is very complicated, and his biography is sometimes even disturbing. It is said that he committed many terrible acts that still deter readers, but according to legend, his illegal acts usually bring positive results-at least from the perspective of the Romans. Thanks to his efforts, the Romans celebrated their legendary founder to a great extent, and they seemed to realize the valuable lesson hidden in his biography: greatness sometimes stems from shame, and the road to redemption is often close at hand.

Descent and birth

According to the basic Roman mythology, romulus was born sometime in 700 BC. It is said that his parents were a priestess named Rhea Silvia and Mars, the god of war, which provided romulus with one of the few lineages in the ancient world. For some people, this may mean that he will enjoy a lifetime of prosperity, and he will become a model of morality without being seriously challenged. On the contrary, romulus is doomed to live a life full of shame and evil deeds.

Despite overcoming challenges and displaying some admirable qualities, romulus proved to be the greatest enemy of his legacy itself.

Romulus's grandfather's name was Numito, and he was the king of Albalonga, an influential settlement in the mountainous area of Alban in central Italy. Ancient historians trace their foundation back to a descendant of Aeneas. However, shortly after Numitor ascended the throne, his jealous brother Amulius plotted to overthrow Numitor's rule. Somehow, his efforts succeeded and he became the king of Albalonga. In order to further consolidate his power, Amulius treacherously ordered the murder of Egers Toth, the son of Numitor, and forced Rhea Sylvia, the daughter of Numitor, to become the priestess of Vesta, the kitchen god. Since such a priestess is required to remain chaste during her term of office and bear the pain of death, Amulius believes that Rhea will not let any potential rival to the throne become a mother. But as romulus's story says, one day, Mars ravaged her. This led to her pregnancy, and later she gave birth to twins: romulus and remus.

Although Rhea tried to hide the truth, Amulius learned that Rhea was pregnant. Shortly after romulus and remus were born, the rogue and tyrannical King Albalonga sentenced the baby to drowning. However, due to fate, they survived. At first, a wolf named Lupa allegedly protected them until a shepherd named Fox Tulus rescued the boys and raised them as his own children. About 18 years later, romulus and remus returned to Albalonga, led an armed uprising, liberated Albalonians from the control of tyrants, killed Amulius, and restored the moderate Numitor to the throne.

Romulus by Mark Hayden.

Romulus: The Legend of the Father of Rome

Mark Hayden

Romulus: The Legend of the Founding Fathers of Rome is the first comprehensive biography of the founding fathers of modern Rome with the same name. This is a story from scratch: from abandoned baby to founder and the first king of Rome, a story about killing each other, war, kidnapping, cruelty and overcoming adversity. Fact, fiction or something in between, romulus's legends support the identity of the Romans.

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Romulus's early life was defiled by a shameful act-trying to kill a baby, which was not his own fault, but he overcame this obstacle and showed his potential value. In fact, he survived the struggle against death, restored the proper rule of Albalonga, and provided his enemies with justice that the ancients thought appropriate. Despite overcoming these challenges and showing some admirable qualities, romulus proved to be the greatest enemy of his legacy itself, and showed that he was a seriously flawed figure.

The establishment of Rome

Shortly after abandoning Amauri, romulus and his twin brother began to think about their future. They are ambitious, but realize that as long as Numito is alive, they can aspire to be a respected prince of Albalonga. Therefore, it is said that they decided to build their own city nearby, but they clashed on some issues, including its location and who will be its king. They finally decided to pass a divination contest and leave the decision to the gods. They will look for vultures in the sky, and those who observe more favorable signs will become kings and decide where to build their cities.

Romulus was worried that he might lose the game, so he decided to cheat to increase his chances of winning. To this end, he sent a letter and lied that his brother saw the signs, but the news came too late. Remus once saw six vultures flying over his position, which he thought was evidence that the gods cared for him. Only after that did Romulus really see 12 vultures soaring over his observation deck. Remus realized romulus's duplicity, which naturally angered him, so they argued about which symbol was better, the first witness or more vultures. This disagreement has created a dangerous rift between the stubborn twins.

Some time later, in a construction project in romulus, remus and his friends decided to check their work. Remus doesn't think so. He belittled the fortifications, although it would certainly offend romulus and his faction. Perhaps to prove his point, Remus even jumped the roadblock, which seems to expose its shortcomings. After landing, romulus or one of his deputies was very angry and knocked remus on the head with a pickaxe, killing him. According to the historian Orosius, this kind of behavior "destroyed the reputation of [romulus's] rule", and the ancient poet Horace believed that this argument laid the foundation for the later struggle of Rome (Orosius's Seven Books Against the Pagans, 2.4). In fact, he wrote:

What chased the Romans was a painful fate and the murder of his brother. Since the innocent Remus' blood flowed into the earth, it has been the curse of his descendants (Horace, Epodes, 7. 17-20).

Romulus has a lot to confess. He cheated openly in a sacred divination contest, and the murder of Remus was absolutely despicable. For some Romans, this is even unforgivable. "When dealing with one's brother, no one can escape romulus's unreasonable anger or hasty and meaningless anger," Plutarch commented (comparison of Plutarch, theseus and romulus, 3. 1). "He has no good reason to fly into such a * * *" (Comparison of Plutarch, theseus and Romulus, 3.2). Nevertheless, due to his later efforts, romulus managed to achieve a certain degree of redemption. It is said that romulus chose the location of Rome (Palatini Mountain), which proved to be a wise choice; Formulating popular religious, social and civil rules; Become the first king of Rome.

Some people think that it is necessary for romulus to seize power. Florus, an ancient writer, wrote, "Where can I find greater courage than romulus? Such people are needed to seize the royal power "(Florus, the epitome of Roman history, 1.8.2). Similarly, the Roman jurist Cicero (BC 106-43) praised romulus for choosing the seat of Rome, which he thought made Rome prosperous and created an admirable national cornerstone (Cicero, Republic * *, 2. 17). Cicero means Roman Senate and the use of divination.

Plutarch praised romulus for standing up from a humble position and wrote:

But first Romulus has a great sense of superiority. He became an outstanding figure from the beginning. Because he and his brother are called the sons of slaves and swineherd, however, they not only liberated themselves, but also liberated almost all Latin nationalities from the beginning, and at the same time enjoyed the most glorious titles, such as killers, saviors, their relatives and friends, kings of races and people, founders of cities, etc. (Comparison of Plutarch, theseus and romulus, 4. 1).

Sabine women

Although his legacy has been consolidated through these commendable actions, it is said that romulus once again showed his love for outrageous misconduct. Shortly after Rome was founded, romulus began to worry about the future of his new settlement. He founded this organization with many shepherds and abandoned people from Albalonga, who are mainly men. He also formulated a policy to provide asylum for those who want to become Roman citizens-even if they are fugitives and debtors from other cities. This helps to increase the population of Rome, but immigrants are almost all men. Without the influx of women in Rome, the city may be doomed to destruction within a generation. After all, it is impossible to create a new generation of Romans without them.

The king of Rome was troubled by the lack of women in Rome, so he plotted with his confidante. After piecing together a deceptive plan, romulus invited the neighboring communities to participate in a grand festival-perhaps dedicated to the god Consos. Therefore, people from all over central Italy naively entered Rome, ready to enjoy revelry, sports competitions and spectacular scenes.

The highlight of the festival is horse racing. When the game was going on, when the foreign audience were all focused on the sports events, romulus sent a signal to his subordinates to start their cunning plans. Then sword-wielding Romans rushed into the crowd, kidnapped as many as 683 virgins and forced them to marry Roman bachelors. Orosius understandably condemned this strategy as "* * *". He wrote:

[romulus] The act of detaining Sabine women, in which he lured them by providing treaties and inviting them to participate in game celebrations, is as evil as his dishonest behavior of catching them from the beginning (Orosius, seven history books) against pagans, 2.4).

But according to legend, this marriage produced a combination of sincere love, but it also triggered countless wars. Romulus defeated the armies of Kaainina, Antamnay and Krutu Mullin in the battle. He also launched a defensive war against Sabine people led by King titus Tatius, but it ended in a draw. Faced with the reality of a deadly and protracted war, the two leaders are determined to unite and rule Rome like the same monarch. Because of all this, romulus regained some reputation-at least in the eyes of the Romans. That's because forced marriage was fruitful-it led to many births-and after a series of related military conflicts, Rome's scale, population and strength grew rapidly.

Old age and death

With the passage of time, it is said that romulus also launched a successful war against Cameli, Federer and the powerful city of Vier. He planted colonies and let many defeated people enter Rome as citizens-because his tax base and the number of armed personnel soared. The ancient writer Tacitus (about 56- about 1 18) even praised romulus's behavior, saying, "On the same day" (Tacitus, Yearbook,1.24).

According to your reading tradition, romulus either miraculously ascended to live with his pious father Mars, or was murdered.

Thanks to romulus's efforts, Rome was temporarily protected from foreign attacks, but not everything went well inside Rome. According to some records, Romulus became more and more bossy and gave up many forms he created. In fact, he often takes action without the consent of the Senate or the people. He instructed his entourage to beat the citizens who made him unhappy, and ordered others to be thrown off the Tapian rock-undoubtedly in front of the frightened and captured audience.

All this angered his subjects. According to the tradition you read, romulus either miraculously ascended to live with his pious father Mars, or was murdered. Some ancient writers understandably rejected his supernatural deification, but asserted that due to romulus's tyrannical rule, his elders secretly killed him, cut his body into small pieces, and then hid his body. After that, they told the Romans that they saw Romulus called to heaven.

In any case, the founder of Rome once again managed to get a certain degree of redemption in some way-probably because of the foundation he established, the growth he promoted, and the construction of Rome into a military power. In fact, he was recognized as the God of Quirinus-the God of Roman countries-and finally enjoyed a temple worthy of his respect.

The image of Romulus

Although the ancients acknowledged romulus's many crimes, even long after his death, the Romans still regarded him as a commendable hero. His name is endowed with such powerful power and legitimacy that many people long to be called the other founder of romulus or Rome. During the Roman Republic, the famous generals Marcus Frius Camillus (about 446-365 BC) and Gaius Marius (about 157-86 BC) were honored as the founders of Rome. Although they didn't actually establish Rome, many people think that their efforts ushered in the rebirth of * * * and the city-state. Compared with Romulus, their contribution is enormous. This is a privilege that many people long for.

Ancient historians believed that Julius Caesar (BC 100-44) was closely related to romulus, and some even called him "romulus" because he provided a certain degree of stability for Rome and expanded its borders. Similarly, Augustus, the first Roman emperor (27 BC-AD 14), also considered adopting the name romulus after being suggested. Considering that the Romans in this era hated the idea of being ruled by the king, he finally chose not to do so, which may be a wise decision.

However, perhaps in order to interweave the greatness of romulus and Augustus, at the emperor's funeral, the people attending the funeral all showed the image of romulus-all these show that many people have high respect for romulus. Other Romans were less reserved when trying to connect with romulus's greatness. In fact, countless Roman parents even named their children romulus.

However, romulus's legendary misconduct seems to give others permission to act recklessly. For example, when attending the wedding of gaius calpurnius piso and Livia Oresti La, the troubled emperor caligula (located in 37-4 1 year) decided to abscond with Piso's bride. Sure enough, he stole her and married her. Caligula later announced that he got his wife the same way that romulus and his subjects got their bride: kidnapping.

The fact is that romulus is an absolute threat in many ways. However, his biography tells the Romans that few people have perfect careers, but their evil deeds do not necessarily invalidate their achievements. In romulus's case, his so-called life proved to the Romans that heroism and glory can sometimes be traced back to those with serious defects. Although everyone should aspire to be a better person than romulus, this is partly because he, the Roman, thinks that Rome has been established, grown into a very successful empire, and prospered in many aspects for more than 1000 years.