Even the mildest of history lovers probably know the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins that were raised by a she-wolf for a time until a man found them and adopted them. They lived and were raised on the spot that eventually became Rome. BUT is that how Rome was REALLY founded?
In my virtual journey through time and history to research for my novels, I stumbled upon another path to existence for Rome. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Rome became a Republic in 509 BCE. Just one year after Athens, Greece became a Democracy in 510 BCE. What did Rome have for the ruling structure prior to 509 BCE do you think? Naturally, they had royal rulers. How did those royal rulers begin?
Did you know they had ties to Ancient Troy?
Yes, there was once a massive kingdom of Troy. I’m not saying all the mythological points of the Illiad are 100% accurate, but the story did have a foundation in a real situation. Archaeology has found the site and proven certain elements really did happen. Upon the sacking of that ancient city Aeneas, the second cousin to Hector (Prince of Troy), was able to flee the city. He was a cousin and second in battle stature only to Hector’s abilities. Very formidable fighter, make no mistake about it. He ended up in Carthage and almost stayed to be King with Queen Dido before leaving to fulfill his destiny of founding Rome.
I think the Roman lineage connects Aeneas with the twins, but I’m not sure how they work that out. Any guesses out there?
The Aeneas and Dido connection to the extensive wars between Rome and Carthage I’ll leave for another day.