A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROME

1194 BC The Trojan War (10 years) A. The “Judgment of Paris” begins this war. B. To whom was the Golden Apple marked “For the Fairest” to go: Minerva, Juno, or Venus? C. The war was: TROY vs. GREECE Kings Priam Menelaus and Agamemnon Warriors Hector, Aeneas, Achilles & Ulysses (a.k.a. & Paris Odysseus) Victor via Trojan Horse D. Aeneas escapes with a small pack of Trojans! Anchises (a mortal) + Venus ⇒ Aeneas 1184 BC The Fall of Troy A. Aeneas had one son and a wife. Note the following: Aeneas + Creusa ⇒ Ascanius B. Aeneas flees with his father Anchises, his son Ascanius (a.k.a Iulus), the Penates (household gods). C. Aeneas and his family sail all over the Mediterranean. He desires to found a new city and is urged on by the gods. D. Like Odysseus, Aeneas has many encounters with both disasters and people. His most famous was with Dido, queen of Carthage, a city in North Africa. This ended in an unhappy love affair. E. Aeneas and his men finally settle in Italy, in a region called Latium. F. The entire story of Aeneas is told by the poet Vergil who write the Aeneid. Vergil wrote under the emperor Augustus. 1152 BC The Founding of Alba Longa A. Aeneas’ son, Ascanius, finally moved out of the house and establishes his own town called Alba Longa. Ascanius is the first king of this town. B. Proca was the last king. Note that Proca had two sons: Numitor and Amulius. Both fought over who should rule next. C. Amulius took the rightful power from his elder brother. He also murdered Numitor’s two sons and made Numitor’s daughter, named Rhea Silvia, a Vestal Virgin. D. Rhea Silvia received a special visit from the god Mars. Nine months later she had Romulus and Remus. E. Amulius was outraged and had the children, Romulus and Remus, abandoned in the Tiber river. 753 BC The Founding of Rome/The Monarchy A. A shepherd, Faustulus, found Romulus and Remus being nursed by a she-wolf. He brought them home to his wife Larentia – “Hey honey, guess what I found . . . “ (lupa=prostitute; Was Laurentia a prostitute and there was no wolf?)) B. The each brother vied to name the city after himself. They used augury, foreseeing the future by observing the flight patterns of birds. This led to another fight where in a rage Romulus killed his brother. C. Romulus had now founded his own little city. This city would later be named after him – Rome. D. Rome was said to have been a refuge for criminals. E. Romulus was faced with a major dilemma. He had plenty of male friends but no female ones. His male friends were getting restless. F. Romulus came up with a great idea. He decided to throw a celebration to honor some minor god. He invited all of his neighbor’s and their wives to this event. G. Romulus did not follow the rules of hospitality very well. He ended up kidnapping all the women from the neighboring tribes. He gave these Sabine women as brides to his friends and thus began the city of Roman. H. Romulus was the first king of Rome. There were seven kings, and Tarquinius Superbus was the last. I. The primary source for the history surrounding the founding of Rome comes from Livy, who also wrote under the emperor Augustus. 509 BC The Republic A. During this period, Rome made most of her conquests and became the dominant world power. B. The most powerful governing body in ancient Rome was the Senate. It was an oligarchy, ruled by a few. About 600 people made up the Senate. C. In the beginning, only a small group of people called the Patricians could be senators, but the rest of Rome's people, called the plebeians, complained and eventually they won the right to be made senators too. You had to be very rich to be a senator, and you were expected to spend a lot of your money helping the Roman state. In return, you could boast about how generous you were, and this made you lots of friends who would vote for you in elections. Only men were allowed to be senators. D. The job of the Senate was to make laws and decide what Rome was going to do. E. The Senate was led by two consuls, who were annually. F. In dire emergencies, the Romans elected a dictator. He could order people around like an Emperor, but he was only allowed to rule for six months. Julius Caesar? 508-44 BC The Republic 508-264 BC The Early Republic A. Legendary heroes define how the individual should sacrifice himself for the good of the State. 1. Horatius Cocles 2. Mucius Scaevola 3. Cincinnatus B. The Gauls invade Rome (geese episode). C. Pyrrhus, king of the Greek nation Epirus, wins many battles but a tremendous loss (Pyrrhic victory). The Greek cities in southern Italy remain powerless. 264-241 BC The First Punic War A. The Romans drive the Carthaginians (Phoenicians aka Punici) out of Sicily (the 1st Roman provincia) B. A few naval battles were won, but a major battle lost. C. Regulus denounces prisoner exchange to the Senate but is a man of his word! D. Hamilcar Barca is defeated and swears revenge!

218-201 BC The Second Punic War A. Carthage was beginning to occupy Spain. This was making the Romans nervous. Rome declares war. B. Hannibal Barca ruled after his father. C. Hannibal invaded Italy with elephants and wins many battles by means of “strategery.” D. Hannibal gets very close to Rome. Hannibal ad portas!!! However, he does not have enough men to take the city. E. Hasdrubal, Hannibal’s brother, comes into Italy from Spain with auxiliary forces. He is defeated. F. Finally, after fifteen years in Italy, Hannibal is defeated by the great Publius Cornelius Scipio at the Battle of Zama (in Africa). G. Scipio receives the cognomen – Africanus (Scipio Africanus) 201-146 BC The Third Punic War A. Rome becomes a world power B. Rome slowly acquires Spain, Corsica, Sardinia, Greece and Asia Minor. C. The anti-Carthaginian faction of the Senate successfully sends the military to destroy Carthage once and for all. Cato the Elder: Cathago delenda est! 146-63 BC Deadly Struggles within the Republic