Myth and the City: ROME Foundation Stories Flashcards
Rome
Who was Livy?
- Titus Livius: Born in Padu 64-59BC, avoided politics of his status in favour of writing, notably a History of Rome.
- Livy lived through the political storms - born during Caesar’s and Pompey’s civil war, he was 21 when Caesar was assassinated.
- The following year, Octavian defeated Mark Antony at Actium in 31BC and his forces defeated Caesar’s murderers Cassius and Brutus.
- Livy thus saw the fall of the republic and the creation of the Empire under Octavian/Augustus.
Incidental - what was Livy’s moral position on the Empire?
“Livy’s history of Rome…is moral in the sense that Livy hoped to inspire the reading class, the aristocrats, who were once so noble and so brave in his estimation, to reclaim their noble heritage and patriotism. In this moral revival there was also subversiveness. It would lead to their independence from Augustus and end the despotic sycophancy that dominated Roman politics…” Paul Krause, Historian online
frontporchrepublic.com/2022/08/shame-and-exceptionalism-livys-subversive-history-for-liberty/
Could Livy rely on primary resources?
- No, he noted that much had been destroyed when the Gauls sacked Rome in 387/6 BC
- He recognised that the lack of sources and the distance of time (seven hundred years) made his task difficult
- He would nonetheless employ the gods in his narration.
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Birth of Aeneas story source
From The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite.
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How did Aeneas come about according to the legends?
- Venus boasted to the gods that she had persuaded them to reproduce with mortals - thus causing much trouble!
- Jupiter sought revenge on Venus by causing her to fall in love with a mortal.
- She bumps into Anchises, fell in love with him, pretended she was a mortal, and sleeps with him - their offspring will be Aeneas, who will be ‘closest to the gods in their beauty and form’ (Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite)
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Explore Aeneas’ wanderings
After the fall of Troy Aeneas flees with his father, Anchises, his wife Creusa and son Ascanius/Julius (name confusion here).
Creusa is lost (and killed by the Greeks) in the confusion and later appears to him as a ghost.
He takes the public Penates (sacred objects with him) - later to be looked after by the Vestal Virgins.
He travels to Macedon, Carthage, then to Sicily, and from Sicily to the west coast of Italy.
In Italy he wins a war with a local tribe, makes peace with King Latinus of Latium.
His new wife Lavinia has a son, also called Ascanius (?! name confusion).
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What moral virtue does Aeneas uphold?
pietas
heroic quality in the Aeneid meaning ‘sense of duty’ towards family, gods, and city.
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Why was Aeneas’ story important to Rome?
- The Caesars traced their lineage back to Aeneas to legitimise their rule.
- Augustus in turn could claim he was a descendant of the gods and that they founded the Roman race.
- Also Aeneas’ son Ascanius founded a neighbouring city after his father’s death called Alba Longa. The city generated the line of kings that culminated in the births of Romulus and Remus.
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What is the founding of Rome legend
King Numitor, grandfather to Romulus and Remus, lost his throne to Amulius, his brother.
Romulus and Remus took revenge on Amulius, killing him, and returning the throne to Amulius. Since Alba Longa was becoming crowded, the brothers decided to found a new city
Describe what is happening here and why
This is a relief of Aeneas finding the location of the future city of Rome.
His son is following him and a sow is showing where the city will prosper.
The ship on the right suggests that Aeneas has just landed on the western coast of Italy.
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What was Virgil seeking to achieve with his Aeneid?
To rival Homer’s Iliad and especially the Odyssey and the wanderings of Odysseus.
As with Homer, Virgil refers to the gods and the mythology of the ancient world/
How did Plutarch compare the Athenian and Roman foundation stories?
- Plutarch was a biographer so his focus was on the individual rather than historical narrative.
- Where there were gaps, he filled them in with his own ideas; his main source remained Livy.
- He compared Theseus and Romulus based on- their deeds, their leadership, the reasons for their misfortune, their achievements, their relationships to their familes, and to women and the gods.
