ANCIENT ROME On the left bank of the Tiber River rise Seven low hills At this point the river is shallow and easy to cross Latin merchants built a village on one of the hills called the Palatine to trade with the wealthy Etruscans who lived north of the river Settlements were later built on the other hills also The towns on the seven hills finally joined to make one city Rome THE KINGS OF EARLY ROME The early Romans kept no written records Their his tory is so mixed with fables and myths that historians have difficulty distinguish ing truth from fiction Only two existing works give the continuous early history of Rome Both works were written long after the events they depict and neither I I ROMULUS Romulus Hulton Archive Getty Images 12
EARLY ROME is complete They are the histories of Livy and the Roman Antiquities of Dionysius of Halicarnassus These men used inaccurate literary works for their information about early Rome The old legends say that Romulus founded the city in 753 BC when the settlements on the seven hills were united This date is probably too late for the actual founding of the city Romulus was a mythical person but there is some evidence that the kings who are said to have followed him actually existed Legend says that Numa Pompilius suc ceeded Romulus He is described as a wise and pious ruler One of his accomplishments is supposed to have been the adding of two months to the 10 month calendar Inder his successor Tullus Hostilus the Romans conquered Alba Longa the reli gious center of the Latin people There is a legend that Tullus was killed by lightning when he was meddling with the weather During the reign of Ancus Martius the next king a number of troublesome Latin cities were conquered and their inhabitants were brought to Rome Ancus Martius is said to have built Rome s seaport Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber 13
ANCIENT ROME ROMULUS AND REMUS The legendary founders of the city of Rome were Romulus and Remus They were said to be the twin sons of Mars the god of war and Rhea Silvia the daughter of Numitor king of Alba Longa Rhea had been forced to become a vestal virgin by her uncle Amulius who had deposed Numitor When Rhea gave birth Amulius imprisoned Rhea Silvia and ordered servants to cast the infants adrift on the Tiber River The Tiber was in flood and the high waters safely In Roman legend Romulus and Remus twin sons of the god Mars were rescued by a she wolf and a woodpecker They went on to found the city of Rome Shutterstock com
EARLY ROME a s carried the twins basket to the riverbank where they were deposited under a fig tree There a she wolf and a woodpecker animals sacred to Mars found the boys The animals nursed fed and cared for them until they were found by Faustulus the king's herds man He and his wife reared the twins When Romulus and Remus grew to manhood they killed Amulius and restored Numitor as king The twins then determined to build a city on the Tiber Remus selected Aventine Hill as the site but Romulus insisted on Palatine Hill Remus was killed in the quarrel that followed and Romulus was declared king To hasten the city's growth Romulus made Rome a refuge for outcasts and fugitives Because there were no women he persuaded the Romans to lure the neighboring Sabines to a festival and to kid nap the women A war was averted when the women said they would stay with the Romans After about 40 years of rule Romulus was miraculously taken to Mount Olympus to become a god and to dwell with his father The ancient Romans then worshiped Romulus under the name of Quirinus THE ETRUSCAN CONQUEST Shortly before 600 BC Rome was conquered by several Etruscan princes from across the Tiber River Dating from this period of time information about Roman history is 15
