When was Rome founded according to ancient historians?
Ancient historians disagreed widely, with dates ranging from around 1100 BC to 729 BC. The two dates most used in official Roman ceremonies were 753 BC, established by Varro and used from Claudius's Secular Games in AD 47 to Hadrian's Romaea in AD 121, and 752 BC, used in Augustus's Fasti and the Secular Games under Antoninus Pius and Philip I. The 753 BC date remains the basis for modern AUC calendar calculations despite known errors in Varro's work.
Who were Romulus and Remus in the founding myth of Rome?
Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, sons of the war god Mars and Rhea Silvia, a Vestal virgin and princess of Alba Longa. Ordered to die as infants, they were suckled by a she-wolf at the Lupercal cave and raised by the shepherd Faustulus. After deposing the usurper Amulius and restoring their grandfather Numitor to the throne of Alba Longa, they set out to found a new city, a quarrel ending in Remus's death and Romulus founding Rome on the Palatine Hill.
What does archaeology say about the founding of Rome?
Archaeological evidence shows Rome developed gradually from hilltop villages over many centuries rather than at a single founding moment. Settlements on the Capitoline Hill date to as early as around 1700 BC, a necropolis existed in the Forum area by 1000 BC, and hut remains on the Palatine date to the 9th or 8th centuries BC. Modern excavations find no single founding layer beneath the city.
How did the legend of Aeneas connect to the founding of Rome?
Roman tradition held that Aeneas, a Trojan hero and son of the goddess Venus, fled Troy after its destruction and sailed to Italy, where he allied with the ruler Latinus and founded the city of Lavinium. His son Ascanius later founded Alba Longa, whose royal line eventually produced Romulus and Remus. Greek historians first suggested a Roman connection to Aeneas at the end of the 5th century BC, with a firmer link emerging when Rome began formal dealings with the Greek world in the late 4th century BC.
How many different founding myths did Rome have?
By the time of the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BC), roughly sixty different foundation myths for Rome circulated in the Greek world. Most named an eponymous founder called Rhomos or Rhome rather than Romulus. One account credited a son of Odysseus and Circe; another attributed the city's founding to a woman named Rhome, one of Aeneas's followers.
What is the Parilia Festival and how does it relate to Rome's founding?
The Parilia was a Roman festival held on the 21st of April, which during the late Republic became associated with the anniversary of Rome's founding. Its connection to the founding grew in importance under the Empire and it was eventually transformed into the Romaea in AD 121, under Hadrian.