The Romans - Part 1

After some reading and research I have realized that it would be very hard to understand Spanish history, religious history, European history, or ultimately anything about history without having some background knowledge of the Roman Empire. While there were many civilizations that existed before the Roman empire, none had as great an influence on the world and European history as they. As I go through my book by Mark Williams, "The Story of Spain," I will also be writing about Roman history. The most developed parts of Spain came directly from the Romans and their influence can still be seen and felt today throughout Europe and the world. (Take a look around Washington, DC and notice how Thomas Jefferson made sure the newly formed United States had buildings that represented those of the Romans) I will start the story of Rome from the very beginning..... the famous twins, Romulus and Remus.

To get a brief introduction to the mythology of the twins, Romulus and Remus, I will rely on some excerpts from Wikipedia.

"Romulus (c. 771 BC–c. 717 BC) and Remus (c. 771 BC–c. 753 BC) are the traditional founders of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, and fathered by the god Mars. It is believed that Romulus served as the first king of Rome.

Romulus slew Remus over a dispute about which one of the two brothers had the support of the local deities to rule the new city and give it his name. The name they gave the city was Rome. Supposedly, Romulus had stood on one hill and Remus another, and a circle of birds flew over Romulus, signifying that he should be king. After founding Rome, Romulus not only created the Roman Legions and Roman Senate, but also added citizens to his new city by abducting the women of the neighboring Sabine tribes, which resulted in the mixture of the Sabines and Romans into one people. Romulus would become ancient Rome's greatest conqueror, adding large amounts of territory and people to the dominion of Rome."

It is largely agreed upon that the story of Romulus and Remus is a myth and nothing more. Similar to the story of Moses, Romulus and Remus were put into baskets and floated along the river as babies until they drifted unto shore and were rescued.

In February of 2008 USA Today published a story titled, "Does a cave prove Romulus and Remus or no myth"? (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2008-02-06-romulus-remus-lupercale_N.htm). Earlier in 2008 some Italian archaeologists believe they may have found the cave in which mythology tells a she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus, the future founder(s) of Rome.

(See picture above)

At the time the Greeks, their main competitors in terms of technology and architecture, had concrete stories of their founding, which I will touch on later when I start a section about Greece. So it was very important to the Romans to have a story to tell about their founding, even if twins nursing from a she-wolf turned out to be all they could come up with.

Now, that I have touched on the mythological founding of Rome, I will talk about the concrete historical beginnings.

In the beginning, what we would later consider "Romans" consisted of a mirage of people. Starting from 800BC many Greeks began moving into the region of southern Italy, followed in 500BC by the Celts. From this there were two main groups: the Indo-European Speaking and the Non-Indo-European Speaking. Of the Indo-European Speaking came the Venetians around the Po Valley, the Oscans and Umbrians around the central highlands and east coast, and the Latins to the west. (Nagle, 253). Of the Non-Indo-European Speaking came the Etruscans, Messapians around the Alps, and the Ligurians from the northwest (Nagle 254).

History talks more about the Etruscans than any other of the previously mentioned groups, due to their advancements, and their greatly influential culture and government structure. Up until approximately 500BC the Etruscans were ruled by kings that had the same power as priests, judges, and political leaders. This Etruscan influence lasted through most of the Middle Ages with monarchs in countries such as Great Britain, France, and Spain. It is a shame that monarchs paid little attention to Etruscan history after 500BC, because it would have showed them that monarchs and appointed positions never seem to last. After 500BC the Etruscans began electing their leadership annually. This also had some negative affects by dividing the upper aristocrat class, and lower class, with no middle class in sight. It is strange that with only an upper and lower class women had so many freedoms. In fact, in the Etruscan culture after 500BC, women had more rights than they did in the "land of the free", America, almost three thousand years later.

The religious and cultural beliefs of the Etruscans also affected many in the region. One odd practice they had performed was called Disciplina Etrusca; this was considered the Art of Divination. (Yes, you have heard of this before in the movie series, Harry Potter). In the Art of Divination for the Etruscans they examined animal entrails. I have added a picture of a bronzed liver to show how they divided up the liver to determine certain things within their culture. Different parts of the liver represented varying things, but for the most part it reflected the state of their world at the moment the animal was killed. Odd that this aspect of their culture lasted for several decades and was even picked up by other societies.

Another important influence that the Etruscans left for the Romans was their burial grounds and temples. Their temples were made in the same likeness as that of the Egyptian pyramids, except smaller, and they were made with wood and Tera-cloth. What is so great about this is that their wooden temples have stood for just as long as the stone temples created by the Egyptians, and some are in better shape today than the pyramids.

Stay tuned for more information on the beginnings of Rome....

Books Used:

Williams, Mark R., The Story of Spain: The dramatic history of Europe's most fascinating country", Golden Era Books, 2004.

Nagle, Brendan D., The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History", 5th Edition, 2002.