|
Amulius
In Roman mythology, Amulius () was king of Alba Longa who ordered the death of his infant, twin grandnephews Romulus, the eventual founder and king of Rome, and Remus. He was deposed and killed by them after they survived and grew to adulthood. He is the brother and usurper of Numitor and son of Procas. He was said to have reigned 42 years before his death (794-752 BC).Dionysius of Halicarnassus ''Roman Antiquities'' 1.71 His brother had been king, but Amulius overthrew him, killed his son, and took the throne. He forced Rhea Silvia, Numitor's daughter, to become a Vestal Virgin, a priestess of Vesta, so that she would never bear any sons that might overthrow him. However, she was raped or seduced by the god Mars, resulting in the birth of the twins. Rhea was thrown into prison and her sons ordered to be thrown into the river Tiber. The twins washed up onto dry land and were found by a she-wolf who suckled them. Later their mother was saved by the river god Tiberinus who end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romulus And Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling the twins in their infancy has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the ancient Romans since at least the 3rd century BC. Although the tale takes place before the founding of Rome around 750 BC, the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC. Possible historical bases for the story, and interpretations of its various local variants, are subjects of ongoing debate. Overview Romulus and Remus were born in Alba Longa, one of the many ancient Latin cities near the future site of Rome. Their mother, Rhea Silvia, was a vestal virgin and the daughter of the former king, Numitor, who had been displaced by his brother Amulius. In some sources, Rhea Silvia conceived them when their father, the god Mars, visited her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Numitor
In Roman mythology, King Numitor () of Alba Longa, was the maternal grandfather of Rome's founder and first king, Romulus, and his twin brother Remus. He was the son of Procas, descendant of Aeneas the Trojan, and father of the twins' mother, Rhea Silvia, and Lausus. In 794 BC Procas died and was meant to be succeeded by Numitor. Instead he was overthrown and removed from the kingdom by his brother, Amulius, who had no respect for his father's will or his brother's seniority. Amulius also murdered Numitor's sons, in an effort to remove power from his brother for himself.Livy I.3.10 Rhea Silvia was made a Vestal Virgin by Amulius rendering her unable to have children on pain of death; however, according to myth she was forcibly impregnated by the god Mars. Romulus and Remus overthrew Amulius and reinstated Numitor as king in 752 B.C .Dionysius of Halicarnassus ''Roman Antiquities'' 71.5 Family tree See also *''Aeneid'' *The Golden Bough (mythology) The Golden Bough is one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faustulus
In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infant Romulus (the future founder of the city of Rome) and his twin brother Remus along the banks of the Tiber River as they were being suckled by the she-wolf, Lupa. According to legend, Faustulus carried the babies back to his sheepfold for his wife Acca Larentia to nurse them. Faustulus and Acca Larentia then raised the boys as their own. Romulus later killed King Amulius of Alba Longa and his brother Remus before founding the city of Rome "in the place where they omulus and Remushad been raised." Representation in Livy's ''From the Founding of the City'' The Roman historian Livy details the story of the infants Romulus and Remus in his work ''Ab urbe condita libri'' (From the Founding of the City). According to Livy, after the rape of the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia, who later claimed Mars as the father (either out of truth or for the respectability that came of divine providence, as Livy points out), King Amuli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
She-wolf (Roman Mythology)
In the Roman foundation myth, it was a she-wolf (lupa) that nursed and sheltered the twins Romulus and Remus after they were abandoned in the wild by order of King Amulius of Alba Longa. She cared for the infants at her den, a cave known as the Lupercal, until they were discovered by a shepherd, Faustulus. Romulus would later become the founder and first king of Rome. The image of the she-wolf suckling the twins has been a symbol of Rome since ancient times and is one of the most recognizable icons of ancient mythology. Origins There is evidence that the wolf held a special place in the world of the ancient peoples of Italy. One legend claims that the Hirpini people were so-called because, when they set out to find their first colony, they were led to its location by a wolf (from the Osco-Umbrian word for wolf: ''hirpus''). The tale of the Lupercal is central to that of the twins, and probably predates theirs. To the Roman god Mars, the wolf is a sacred animal. There is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lausus (son Of Numitor)
Lausus is a minor character from the Roman mythology and the legend of the founding of Rome. He is the son of Albe's king Numitor and he was to succeed him, but he was killed by his uncle Amulius who wanted to seize the throne. His history is written in a few words by Ovid ; with Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the son of Numitor killed on Amulius' order is Aegestus. This character does not appear in Tite-Live, nor in ''The life of Romulus and Remus'' of Plutarch. In the story of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Amulius ambushed Aegestus or Lausus while the latter was hunting. He tried to pretend that he was killed by brigands, but many Albani did not believe this story. According to Paul Marius Martin, this character was not one of the ancient versions of the legend of the origins of Rome:For this reason, Plutarch who is based on the version of Diocles of Peperethos, source of Fabius Pictor Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, writ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhea Silvia
Rhea (or Rea) Silvia (), also known as Ilia (as well as other names) was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome. Her story is told in the first book of ''Ab Urbe Condita Libri'' of Livy and in Cassius Dio's ''Roman History''. The Legend of Rhea Silvia recounts how she was raped by Mars while she was a Vestal Virgin and as a result became the mother of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.Livy I.4.2 This event was portrayed numerous times in Roman art and mentioned in the ''Aeneid'' and the works of Ovid. Modern academics consider both how Rhea Silvia is relevant for the treatment of rape victims in Roman mythology as well as the different ways she is portrayed in Roman art. Legend According to Livy's account of the legend, she was the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa, and descended from Aeneas. Numitor's younger brother Amulius seized the throne and killed Numitor's son, then forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romulus
Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these traditions incorporate elements of folklore, and it is not clear to what extent a historical figure underlies the mythical Romulus, the events and institutions ascribed to him were central to the myths surrounding Rome's origins and cultural traditions. Traditional account The myths concerning Romulus involve several distinct episodes and figures, including the miraculous birth and youth of Romulus and his twin brother, Remus; Remus' murder and the founding of Rome; the Rape of the Sabine Women, and the subsequent war with the Sabines; a period of joint rule with Titus Tatius; the establishment of various Roman institutions; the death or apotheosis of Romulus, and the succession of Numa Pompil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundation Of Rome
The tale of the founding of Rome is recounted in traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves as the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, twins who were suckled by a she-wolf as infants. Another account, set earlier in time, claims that the Roman people are descended from Trojan War hero Aeneas, who escaped to Italy after the war, and whose son, Iulus, was the ancestor of the family of Julius Caesar. The archaeological evidence of human occupation of the area of modern-day Rome dates from about 14,000 years ago. Founding myths and sources Aeneas The national epic of mythical Rome, the ''Aeneid'' of Virgil, tells the story of how Trojan prince Aeneas came to Italy. The ''Aeneid'' was written under Augustus, who claimed ancestry through Julius Caesar to Aeneas and his mother Venus. According to the ''Aeneid'', the survi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars (god)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Mars ( la, Mārs, ) was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was pre-eminent among the Roman army's military gods. Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him ( Latin ''Martius''), and in October, which began the season for military campaigning and ended the season for farming. Under the influence of Greek culture, Mars was identified with the Greek god Ares,''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. whose myths were reinterpreted in Roman literature and art under the name of Mars. The character and dignity of Mars differed in fundamental ways from that of his Greek counterpart, who is often treated with contempt and revulsion in Greek literature. Mars's altar in the Campus Martius, the area of Rome that took its name from him, was supposed to have been dedicated by Numa, the peace-lovi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procas
Procas or Proca (said to have reigned 817-794 BC) was one of the Kings of Alba Longa, Latin kings of Alba Longa in the Roman mythology, mythic tradition of the founding of Rome. He was the father of Amulius and Numitor and the great-grandfather of Romulus, Romulus and Remus, Rome's legendary founders. The name The names of the Alban kings are often related to toponyms around Rome, or to legendary figures in the early history of Rome. The constructed genealogies in which they appear may reflect the desire of status-seeking gens, families in the Roman Republic#Late Republic (147 BC - 30 BC), Late Republic to lay claim to Troy, Trojan ancestry. The name ''Procas'' or ''Proca'' may be related to the mythological figure Prochyte, a kinswoman of AeneasGary D. Farney, ''Ethnic Identity and Aristocratic Competition in Republican Rome'' (Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 57. who died when the fleet carrying the refugees of Troy to Italy was within sight of the coast. She was buried on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quintus Fabius Pictor
Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Greek historiographical methods to the Roman world. However, the work was highly partisan towards Rome, blaming the Second Punic War (218–201 BC) on Carthage and idealizing the Roman Republic as a well-ordered state loyal to its allies. Fabius probably served as praetor, was a member of the Senate, and participated in a delegation sent to the oracle at Delphi in 216 BC. Some scholars consider him one of the earliest annalists, although this conclusion has been criticized. Life Quintus Fabius Pictor was born ca. 270 BC to a prestigious patrician family of the Roman Republic, the gens Fabia. The cognomen ''Pictor'' (Latin for 'painter') was inherited from his grandfather, Gaius Fabius Pictor, who had decorated the temple of Salus in 304. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usurper
A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as one's own. Usurpers can rise to power in a region by often unexpected physical force, as well as through political influence and deceit. Etymology The word originally came from the Latin word ''usurpare'' (“to seize", "to take forcefully" or "to use”). Politics The Greeks had their own conception of what usurpers were, calling them tyrants. In the ancient Greek usage, a tyrant (''tyrannos''/''τύραννος'' in Greek) was an individual who rose to power via unconstitutional or illegitimate means, usually not being an heir to an existing throne. Such individuals were perceived negatively by political philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Usurpers often try to legitimize their position by claiming to be a descendant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> She-wolf (Roman Mythology)")
