The foundation
of Rome: Archaeology and Tradition
The problem: If
history is the study of causes, and if the understanding of those causes can be
generalized to provide guidance to understanding our current dilemmas, then
surely the insight gained will be limited by the accuracy of the available
evidence. Standards of truth vary: explanations about the past are acceptable to
later generations because they are plausible, or, more significantly, because
they serve the needs of the present (i.e., the provide justification).
I.
On sources: It may appear
self-evident, but what we can know about the ancient world depends upon or is
limited by the nature of what survives of the material culture as well as by
what the ancients themselves thought worthy of recording.
A.
The physical evidence:
B.
Categories of sources
1. Primary and secondary;
written and monumental: inscriptions, coins, buildings, records of sales, etc.
2. Oral tradition in a
marginally literate society.
3. Development of a historical
consciousness was then affected by a number of preconceptions
II.
The Foundation of Rome: The history of
this period consists of colorful legends around a legitimate historical core.
Archaeologists, linguists and other scholars have to a certain degree separated
the 'facts' from the 'fantasy'. Even Livy has his doubts.
A.
The story of Rome's
foundation, as recorded in especially in Vergil's Aeneid and Livy's
History of Rome (both date to the period of Augustus --seven centuries
after the events.)
B.
This is the amalgamation of
several traditional tales supplemented ('fleshed out') by recognized narrative
techniques.
1. The traditional and native
Roman legend has Rome being founded in the 8th century and perhaps too from
Alba. Archaeological evidence tends to support a very close connection (material
culture) between the two sites in the relevant period.
2. The Greek version (Aeneas to
Romulus). Important ideologically because it placed Rome within the very
important Greek tradition; Rome could present herself to the world as every bit
as Greek as Athens or Sparta.
a.
Troy as the beginning;
source of prestige, enhanced Roman reputation, puts Rome within tradition known
to Greeks, importance of Greek public opinion.
b.
Alternate tales claimed
1. that the founder of Rome was
Romulus (' --ulus' ending = 'founder of...'); probably the Latin original
2. that Rhomos was the son of
Odysseus and Circe and the founder of Rome
3. That he had a twin brother
probably derives from the variations in the spelling of the same name in Greek.
Note: nothing is discarded! If there are variations in the name, it must mean
that there were two individuals.
III.
The Major Players in Italy
in the first half of the first millenium BC.
A.
Italic
peoples: known under various names (Samnites, Lucanians, etc.). Pastoral, semi
nomadic peoples, primitive kingship/warrior bands (note the story of Romulus and
early Romans).
B.
Etruscans: because the
language appears to be a non Indo-european one, it has long been believed that
the Etruscans migrated to Italy at some time, but from where? Herodotus suggests
it was from Asia Minor (note tale of Tuscus). Whatever the origins the culture
blossomed in Italy and was profoundly affected by artistic styles of the Aegean.
In terms of urban planning, the Etruscans had a profound and lasting effect on
Roman civilization. Wall paintings from Tarquinia (1.);
(2.);
(3.);
(4.);
(5.); (6.); (7); (8);
C.
The Greeks. Traders arrived
first seeking especially the iron of Etruria. Contact as far back as the Bronze
Age, but with increasing intensity in the 8th Cent., leading
eventually to formal colonies (primarily interested in agricultural land) in
Italy (near Naples=Neapolis) in about 700. By 500, the various Greek colonies
controlled all the important harbors and agricultural areas along the southern
coast of Italy. Romans first encountered Greek culture through the Etruscans,
but by 500 had established their own contacts. The Greek colonies.
Paestum (1.);
(2.)
IV.
The Regal Period
A.
Earliest habitation on Palatine
and Aventine hills (Romulus and Remus) with Capitol as 'Fluchtburg'; the death
of Remus.
B.
Growth through asylum and
the rape of the Sabine women.
C.
Stories of regal period
center around
1. the figures of the kings
--as in other Indo-European societies, it was an elected monarchy-- and
2. on the development of
political and religious institutions
3. on the expansion of the
state against Etruscans and the Sabines
V.
The significance of the
legends
A.
The Romans had only a vague
recollection of their most distant past. This uncertainty left ample opportunity
for creative invention based on recognized principles of narrative/story-telling
B.
The Romans were themselves
skeptical of this semi-historical tradition, but preserved it for patriotic and
didactic purposes
C.
The historical core
1. The very names of the kings
and the stories about the Sabine women (Livy I 7ff.) and Etruscans confirm the
fact of the 'racial' mixture of these three elements in early Rome. To be found
in the archaeological record.
2. There is good reason to
believe that there was constant warfare (of the border raid variety) during this
period. There was surely tension between the increasingly agrarian Romans and
their more pastoral neighbors in the surrounding hills.
3. The tension between king and
aristocracy is duplicated in many Indo-European communities in the Mediterranean
at this time. Note Livy I 15-6.
D.
The Romans also found it
useful to use their legends in political controversies. Aristocrats felt
they must live up to the achievements of their legendary ancestors; Augustus,
for example, felt that his Julian past, with the connection to Aeneas, Mars and
Romulus provided justification for his unusual authority.
