Rome Before Rome
The Legends that Shaped the Romans
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- £16.99
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- £16.99
Publisher Description
I sing of arms and the man wrote Virgil at the start of the Aeneid, one of Romes most iconic origin stories exploring the tumultuous journey of Aeneas from Trojan prince to a hero of Rome. But did Aeneas actually flee from Troy? How did this story affect the Romans perspective of themselves? And did they believe it? In Rome Before Rome, Philip Matyszak explores the myths and legends, heroes and villains that shaped the Roman sense of self.
There are few books which explain how these different legends fit into Romes overall narrative and none which explore the range of myths Matyszak describes. Some of the legends are well known, from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of the Sabines, whilst others are more obscure such as the story of the praetor Cipus, who grew horns and became a King of Rome. Whether renowned or unfamiliar, all are significant in their own way and have had a profound impact on the Romans. Even today these myths continue to reverberate throughout western culture as films, TV shows and plays.
Matyszak dissects these myths, investigating hard-to-find texts, such as the historical texts of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Plutarchs Roman Questions sources, as well as classic texts like Livys From the Founding of the City and Ovids Metamorphoses, revealing that Romes illustrious mythological past is not quite as it might seem.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Matyszak (A Walk Through Ancient Rome) provides an appealing and deft compendium of fables, legends, and tall tales that ancient Romans believed about their own civilization. Some of what Matyszak conveys is well known, though surprising in its details, like the story of Romulus and Remus. As Matyszak notes, it was Romulus's spotting of 12 flying vultures that determined the gods favored his proposed location for a city over that of his twin brother Remus. Throughout, Matyszak aims to show how Rome's legends not only served as metaphors or lessons but yielded real historical consequences, as when Caesar came to power based on a legend that he was descended from a Trojan hero. Later, Brutus killed Caesar because of a different legend that his own ancestor had once rescued Rome from a tyrant. "Not only can we not understand Romans without understanding their legends," Matyszak writes, "but we cannot understand Western culture either." Full of intrigue, romance, and human struggle, and marvelously illustrated in a two-tone black and ochre palette, this is a delight.
