1. ROMULUS & REMUS HAVING DINNER
Story of Romulus and Remus
Story starts with Aenaes
Aenaes was son of Trojan Prince and Aphrodite - character in Iliad
Aenaes escaped from Troy before Greeks burned it at end of Trojan war; sailed off with small ground of followers
Landed in Italy; was welcomed by local people; settled down and mixed with them; eventually started new race called the Latins (c.1150 BC)
Aenaes became king; followed by a long dynasty
Lived at Alba Longa (near Rome)
Fast forward to 775 BC (c.400 yrs. later) – end of Greek Dark Ages
There were two royal brothers – good one and bad one
The good one was supposed to be king, but the bad one overthrew him
Took his daughter and locked her up
Somehow she got pregnant – she said it was the God of War Mars
Had two strong and handsome sons – Romulus and Remus
Evil uncle sent them off with a servant to be drowned in the river Tiber
But servant took pity and floated them down the river in a basket
Miraculously, they didn’t drown but ended up drifting to the river bank
Were rescued and fed by a she-wolf and a woodpecker
Later, a shepherd found them and raised them
They were very large and handsome - knew they were special – went back to Alba Longa to find the secret of their birth
Eventually overthrew evil uncle & put grandfather back on the throne
Decided they wanted to found a city of their own
Went back to place where they were reared
Romulus wanted to built on the Palatine Hill, Remus on Aventine Hill
They were both ambitious & wanted to be king
Decided to ask gods for a sign (auspices)
Before Romans made important decisions they would always seek signs – mark out area of sky with special cane wait to see what direction birds come
Remus stood on his hill and saw 6 birds appear from sacred direction
Romulus went to his hill and saw 12 birds appear
Remus said he saw them first so he should be king
Romulus said he saw more!
People agreed it should be Romulus
So Romulus marked out the boundaries of the city; began to build wall
Remus was still mad; went and made fun of the wall by jumping over it
Romulus killed him on the spot
Romulus became first of 7 kings
Needed people, so they set up area on Capitoline Hill for freed slaves and criminals; tradition of welcoming newcomers as citizens (unlike Greeks)
ROMULUS & REMUS HAVING DINNER

2. AENAES CARRIES HIS FATHER OUT OF TROY

3. SKIP AHEAD ABOUT 400 YEARS!

4. EVIL BROTHER
GOOD BROTHER

5. THE GOOD GUY’S DAUGHTER IS LOCKED UP
(don’t worry, there’s a good ending)

6. THE SERVANT TAKES PITY ON R & R

7. (there should also be a woodpecker somewhere nearby)
YEAH, WE FOUND A MEAL!
(there should also be a woodpecker somewhere nearby)

8. THE GOOD SHEPHARD

9. WHERE SHOULD WE BUILD OUT CITY?
I SAY HERE… NO, I SAY HERE.

10. THE GODS WILL SEND A SIGN (the question is, who can interpret it?)

11. NEVER MAKE FUN OF MY WALLS AGAIN!

12. Key points:
Don’t mess with Romans – especially make sure you don’t violate the sacred walls of their city!
Romans come from people who were cast away – so they made a home for castaways – anyone that wants to come and be a loyal citizen is welcome! This was different from the idea of the Greeks. This is one thing that gave Rome its greatness!!