The Founding of Rome essays

The Founding of Rome essays Greek and Roman myths were generally based on historical events and were told to explain why something occurred, to teach a moral lesson, or to simply be entertaining. The events were not recorded immediately and the stories about the past changed with time. When myths were formally written down, the writers were essentially writing down history known to them through generations of oral tradition. Over time, the stories evolved to be more interesting or appropriate for the time. Different versions of the stories could have come out as a result. Nonetheless, we can still find historical information in the stories and can learn about the people and events of the past. From what we know, we conclude that the historical background on the founding of Rome adheres to the story of Aeneas and the story of Romulus and Remus. We learn about all the ancestors of Romulus through the story of Aeneas. After the Trojan War, Aeneas went down to Hades with the Sibyl of Cumae. He sought his father, Anchises, for advice on how to start a great city. Anchises showed Aeneas his descendants. According to Edith Hamilton, One by one Anchises pointed them out, and told of the deeds they would do which men would never through all time forget, (Mythology, page 240). These men would become the great leaders of Rome. When Aeneas arrived on the west coast of Italy, he fought in a series of terrible battles to win the hand of Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus. With the help of the Etruscan people, Aeneas defeated the leader of the Rutulians, Turnus. His travels were finally over and he married a Latin princess called Lavinia, (Oxford Latin Course: Part 1, page 78). The Trojans took the name of those they conquered, the Latins, and settled along the Mediterranean Sea. The newly established Lavinium was named after its queen, Lavinia. Through Aeneass marriage, he became the originator of a line of kings and a dir ...