Ah, Rome. A place full of romance, fountains, popstar doppelgangers and school field trips. For those of us who have not had the pleasure of visiting, it is one of the most magical places imaginable. But how much do you know about it’s long history? Not much? That’s why I’m here.
The date that is accepted as the founding of Rome is April 21, 753 BC. The story goes like this, twin brothers, Romulus and Remus were orphaned as infants. Fortunately they were saved and nurtured by a she-wolf at the location we now call Rome.
But how did they become orphaned? Rhea Silvia, their mother, was the daughter of a king. When her uncle took the throne from his brother, she was forced to be a virgin to keep from him having any competition. However, Mars (war god) impregnated Rhea. When she had the babies, they were ordered to be drowned but after surviving and being saved by the aforementioned she-wolf they were taken in by a shepherd named Faustulus.
Now here’s where it really gets interesting. Romulus and Remus were raised by this man and his wife, and became the leaders of a band of warrior-shepherds. Upon learning where they came from they returned to remove their great uncle (the man who tried to kill them) and to give the throne back to their grandfather. After achieving this goal, they decided to found a town in the exact spot they were saved as babies. What a beautiful sentiment. The story continues on with fratricide, abductions and the joining of towns, but we’ll just leave it here with a happy ending.
This myth (and it is a myth) is just one of the more popular stories, but it is definitely not the only one. No matter how it started, without Rome we would have no Lizzie McGuire Movie and without that how would we know what dreams are made of?
Want to learn more about Rome? Here’s where I found this information!
http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/foundation-rome