Please read the Preface and Book I of Livy's History of Rome). Read the preface carefully. Skim through Book I, concentrating on stories you find particularly interesting.Unfortunately, the formatting and arrangement of the online Livy history makes for tough reading. You might find it easier to look at the Baldwin project version of Livy. This are "retellings" of the stories, but close enough for our purposes. Just click on any of the first six links in the left hand column, and you'll get to a story you can easily read and comment on.
After you've done the reading, choose one (1) character from one of the Livy stories that you think particularly interesting. What parts of the story do you think really happened, and what parts do you disbelieve? Why? How is the story of this character important for understanding Roman history/subsequent history?
If I were to choose any one character, it would be Rhea Sylvia.
ReplyDeleteNot only was her father put to death (one can only assume that is what dethronement meant), but she also lost all of her brothers. We can only assume she was the only sister, as there were no mentions of sisters joining her in becoming vestals.
After suffering the loss of her family and being forced to swear perpetual virginity, she is assumedly raped and falls pregnant. Anyone who has suffered such a horrifying act will be able to explain the suffering one undergoes during this process.
Once bearing not just one child, but two, she is then severely punished for being raped. Livy moves on from her at this point, but it is mentioned elsewhere that she was either executed for giving birth to the twins or she commits suicide.
While her ending is certainly a tragedy, one can only imagine the strength she showed while going through all the tragedies in her life. No one would have been surprised if she had committed suicide much earlier, and her uncle may very well have celebrated it. But she continued to live, even when she was violated, gave birth, and had her sons taken from her.
It is no wonder she is rather prominent in the story of Rome, especially when a good portion of women in history fade into the background as wives or mothers.
We learn that Rhea Silvia was resilient, strong, and tried to keep her children safe by claiming demigod status. While we may never know what she was truly experiencing during those days, we can assume she was doing what she could to survive.
As for what I believe truly happened:
-Her entire family was killed and she was forced into eternal maidenhood to ensure her father would have no heirs to reclaim the throne.
-She was raped during her time as a vestal, and was either too ashamed or too afraid to admit who the father was.
-She was severely punished for giving birth to not just one, but two male heirs.
-She died an early death.
As for the parts I don't believe happened:
-She was raped by Mars (I believe it was merely someone who was close to her, close to her dwelling, or was a traveler. She may have said a god to both maintain some semblance of dignity and honor and to attempt to save her sons' lives).
She is important to the history of Rome because she is, in essence, the mother of Rome. Her sons established the building blocks of the empire that would continue to wow those even today. And her status as a vestal implies that the founding of Rome was in some way sacred or was a cause of divine planning.
The tale also fits the 'impressive founding story' category, clearly intended to either instill fear or awe into those who hear it.
After doing some reading I liked the story of the Trojans and the story of Æneas. Æneas story felt familiar in a sense where journey of driven from his home wandering and pillaging before finding a home to settle often occurs in many pieces of literature. Though some things seemed unrealistic. The story has two accounts of how Æneas was able to secure an alliance with the country of Laurentines. It claims that the only 600 strong force of trojans were able to overpower the Laurentines forces which seems unlikely but more plausible then the other account in which the the Ruler Latinus rode out in front of his forces to speak with Æneas and heard their tragic story and let them settle their home there. To me no ruler would let a pillaging force just settle after raiding their lands unless they had been beaten by them. I do believe that Æneas and his trojans sailed the Mediterranean pillaging and did overpower Latinus and his forces.
ReplyDeleteThis story is important due to the fact that it provides the backstory to the arrival of the people which would go onto create Rome. It also demonstrates the themes of exploration, conquest, and settlement that is synonymous with the creation and expansion of the Roman empire.
I too also enjoyed the first part of book 1 that touched on the story of Æneas. I found it odd and partially unbelievable that he was one of the only two that wasn't touched by the Greeks after the sacking of Troy. But I enjoyed the storytelling of it. I also find it far fetched that he was son of Venus, which is the Goddess of Love. I do think that Æneas really did escape Troy and made the journey to Italy. I also think that Æneas went to war with Latinus while there and fight bravely. I don't think he had divine intervention like the book claims, but that they took it that way back then.
ReplyDeleteThis story is important because because it creates divine purpose, and that Rome's history is leading back to a son of Venus. It also sets up the fact that all these people's are connected from Troy all the way to Rome. I think later in Roman history it helps create the sense of Dynasties, and how Roman Emperors can trace there genology back to Æneas.
The character from the story that I found most interesting was that of Rhea Silvia. I found Rhea most interesting because her story is sad but at the same point it is the main idea of Romes foundation as a civilization. I think a lot of parts of her life are real things like after her dad got dethroned she was sent into the vestal order to make sure that she didn't have any children. On the other side I don't think that Romulus and Remullas are actually Mars children. I think she invoked the god’s name either to preserve dignity or to protect her children. Because of the fact that she was most likely assaulted being the reason for her conception of the twins. This grey line between fact and myth is important because it reflects how Romans wanted their origins to appear sacred. Rhea endured a lot, and all of this made her to be the symbolic mother of Rome. Her story shows how Roman history often used myth and suffering to make the empire’s rise as both unstoppable and as if it was their destiny from the gods.
ReplyDeleteServius Tullius had an unusual story. It was said that a flame was said to appear around his head as a boy, which people took as a sign from the gods. From that time on, King Tarquinius Priscus raised Servius like their own child, giving him the best education. Later, he became king and was remembered as a wise and fair ruler. He carried out Rome’s first census, dividing people into classes based on wealth and he reorganized the army and political system. He also expanded the city by adding new hills and building walls to protect them.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think the story about the flame is true because it sounds more like a legend made up to give him divine status with how his life ended. But the census and the social divisions he created seem very real and practical. A growing city would need better organization for both its army and government, and those reforms seem too specific to be pure myth.
Servius was important for Roman history because his reforms shaped the way the Republic would later work. By dividing citizens by wealth and responsibility, he set up a system that balanced military service, political power, and social order and would later make them a powerhouse.
After reading for some time, I found the story of the characters Romulus and Remus to be very interesting. I had always wondered how Rome actually got its name, and this is an interesting possible answer. That is to say, I'm not sold at all that any of it actually happened; it could just be a made up story for all I know. Nonetheless, the story is very intriguing, and it would make for a very good movie.
ReplyDeleteThe characters were raised up as unlikely to succeed, due to their unfortunate circumstances from birth. I thought it was really cool how they still succeeded in creating a following, eventually overthrowing the King at the time, and becoming important figures. Another thing I noticed about the twins was how determined they were. They were willing to push anyone out of their way to get to royalty, and it ended in them betraying one another in a dispute.
I think that the story of these two brothers perfectly exemplify the character of Rome as a nation, based on my very limited knowledge of Rome so far. In my knowledge, Rome came out of nowhere and went from the bottom to the top through conquest, fighting, and gritty determination. Similarly, the twins Remus and Romulus fought their way to the top through determination, with some luck as well.
^ Kyle Brakefield
DeleteDylan Schimke
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting character I found was Aeneas. It was interesting to me because he was from Troy, and I really enjoyed learning about Troy in last year's ancient Greece class. The story is very interesting as well, migrating through the Mediterranean until stopping in central Italy. I can believe most of the things in the story but maybe how everything took place. I am not sold on the idea that he showed up and just became a monumental figure, but overall, his story is fairly believable. His story gives a good background of where the Romans come from, and it gives them a good strong courageous figure to look at as a model citizen.
I really found Romulus in the story to be my favorite or most interesting character that I read about. I find him very interesting because of how him and his twin brother were raised and how he was the first king of Rome. One thing that I think did actually happen was how the twins brothers were raised by a supposed she wolf and then determined to find a new city which ended up being Rome, however i think that the she wolf part is a little far fetched. One thing that is hard for me to grasp is how Romulus is able and was guiding Rome from the heavens after he died i just think that maybe they believed that but he wasn't doing it. I feel like he's very important to the story because without him or his brother maybe its not called Rome or maybe none of this happens.
ReplyDeleteThis is Drew Henriksen forgot to say that in my comment
DeleteJorja Whempner
ReplyDeleteI think the story of Romulus is a compelling part of Roman history. The two brothers grew up being raised by a She-Wolf, became shepherds, thieves, and eventually built the foundation of a city that would come to be a massive empire with great historical significance. I think that this story is fascinating, even if the truth behind it is unknown, because it shows that this empire that we are studying started from nothing.