The history of Rome is that of a city which originally had only a few miles of territory, and gradually extended its dominions at first over Italy and then over the civilized world. The city lay in the central part of the peninsula, on the left bank of the Tiber, and about fifteen miles from its mouth. Its situation was upon the borders of three of the most powerful races in Italy, the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. Though originally a Latin town, it received at an early period a considerable Sabine population, which left a permanent impression upon the sacred rites and religious institutions of the people. The Etruscans exercised less influence upon Rome, though it appears nearly certain that a part of its population was of Etruscan origin, and that the two Tarquins represent the establishment of an Etruscan dynasty at Rome. The population of the city may therefore be regarded as one of mixed origin, consisting of the three elements of Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans, but the last in much smaller proportion than the other two. That the Latin element predominated over the Sabine is also evident from the fact that the language of the Romans was a Latin and not a Sabellian dialect.
The early history of Rome is given in an unbroken narrative by the Roman writers, and was received by the Romans themselves as a faithful record of facts. But it can no longer be regarded in that light. Not only is it full of marvellous tales and poetical embellishments, of contradictions and impossibilities, but it wants the very foundation upon which all history must be based. The reader, therefore, must not receive the history of the first four centuries of the city as a statement of undoubted facts, though it has unquestionably preserved many circumstances which did actually occur. It is not until we come to the war with Pyrrhus that we can place full reliance upon the narrative as a trustworthy statement of facts. With this caution we now proceed to relate the celebrated legends of the foundation and early history of Home.
Aeneas, son of Anchises and Venus, fled after the fall of Troy to seek a new home in a foreign land. He carried with him his son Ascanius, the Penates or household gods, and the Palladium of Troy. Upon reaching the coast of Latium he was kindly received by Latinus, the king of the country, who gave him his daughter Lavinia in marriage. Aeneas now built a city, which he named Lavinium, in honour of his wife. But Lavinia had been previously promised to Turnus, the leader of the Rutulians. This youthful chief, enraged at the insult, attacked the strangers. He was slain, however, by the hands of Aeneas; but in a new war which broke out three years afterward the Trojan hero disappeared amid the waters of the River Numicius, and was henceforward worshiped under the name of Jupiter Indiges, or “god of the country.”
Ascanius, who was also called Iulus, removed from Lavinium thirty years after its foundation, and built Alba Longa, or the “Long White City,” on a ridge of the Alban Mount about fifteen miles southeast of Rome. It became the most powerful city in Latium, and the head of a confederacy of Latin cities. Twelve kings of the family of Aeneas
Succeeded Ascanius. The last of these, named Procas, left two sons, Numitor and Amulius. Amulius, the younger, seized the kingdom; and Numitor, who was of a peaceful disposition, made no resistance to his brother. Amulius, fearing lest the children of Numitor might not submit so quietly to his usurpation, caused his only son to be murdered, and made his daughter, Rhea Silvia, one of the vestal virgins, who were compelled to live and die unmarried. But the maiden became, by the god Mars, the mother of twins. She was, in consequence, put to death, because she had broken her vow, and her babes were doomed to be drowned in the river. The Tiber had overflowed its banks far and wide; and the cradle in which the babes were placed was stranded at the foot of the Palatine, and overturned on the root of a wild fig-tree. A she-wolf, which had come to drink of the stream, carried them into her den hard by, and suckled them; and when they wanted other food, the woodpecker, a bird sacred to Mars, brought it to them. At length, this marvellous spectacle was seen by Faustulus, the king’s shepherd, who took the children home to his wife, Acca Larentia. They were called Romulus and Remus, and grew up along with the sons of their foster-parents on the Palatine Hill.
A quarrel arose between them and the herdsmen of Numitor, who stalled their cattle on the neighbouring hill of the Aventine. Remus was taken by a stratagem, and carried off to Numitor. His age and noble bearing made Numitor think of his grandsons; and his suspicions were confirmed by the tale of the marvellous nurture of the twin brothers. Soon afterward Romulus hastened with his fosterfather to Numitor; suspicion was changed into certainty, and the old man recognized them as his grandsons. They now resolved to avenge the wrongs which their family had suffered. With the help of their
Faithful comrades they slew Amulius, and placed Numitor on the throne.
Romulus and Remus loved their old abode, and therefore left Alba to found a city on the banks of the Tiber. But a dispute arose between the brothers where the city should be built, and after whose name it should be called. Romulus wished to build it on the Palatine, Remus on the Aventine. It was agreed that the question should be decided by the gods; and each took his station on the top of his chosen hill, awaiting the pleasure of the gods by some striking sign. The night passed away, and as the day was dawning Remus saw six vultures; but at sunrise, when these tidings were brought to Romulus, twelve vultures flew by him. Each claimed the augury in his own favour; but the shepherds decided for Romulus, and Remus was therefore obliged to yield.
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