THE ORIGINS OF ROME

ROMULUS AND REMUS

• Romulus and Remus were twin brothers. They were abandoned by their parents as babies and put into a basket that was then placed into the River Tiber.
• The basket ran aground and the twins were discovered by a female wolf.
• The wolf nursed the babies for a short time before they were found by a shepherd.
• The shepherd then brought up the twins.

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ANCIENT ROME

• Romulus is given the credit for founding Ancient Rome – so legend has it.
• Children in Roman schools were taught the story and it became almost set in stone.

ROME

• Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy's
• Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain
• much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean .

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Geography of Rome

• Hills and River In reality, Rome was settled by Latins spot that had mild climate, good farmland, strategic location.
• Built city on seven hills that could be defended - farmed at base of the hills; lived on hill tops of cities.
• close to Mediterranean Sea and its trade routes. layed next to Tiber River, which aided trade and
• provided protection Romeʼs location on Italian Peninsula helped its development - peninsula—land surrounded on three
• sides by water Roman ships could sail to other lands surrounding Mediterranean

GEOGRAPHY OF ROME

• helped in conquering new territories, developing trade routes.
• Alps, Apennines mountains protected Rome, but didnʼt isolate it.Italyʼs large plains made farming easier

ROME

• The early people of Rome were from a tribe called Latins. They were from the Plains of Latium.
• The Latins were successful farmers and traders and they became rich and successful.
• Rome from its early days was a rich
• Ancient Rome had a republic government.

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MORE ROME

• The Roman army (exercitus) did not start out as the superlative fighting machine that came to dominate Europe to the Rhine, parts of Asia, and Africa.
• It began like the part-time Greek army, with farmers returning to their fields after a quick summer campaign.
• Then it changed into a professional organization with long terms of service far from home.

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WEIRD FACTS ABOUT ROME

• Gladiator blood was recommended by Roman physicians to aid various ailments, including epilepsy and infertility.
• Purple clothing was a status symbol and reserved only for emperors or senators. To achieve the color, a dye was made from murex seashells. It was treason for anyone other than the emperor to dress completely in purple.
• Emperor Claudius’ third wife, Valeria Messalina, was a nymphomaniac. According to ancient historians, she once competed with a prostitute to see who could have the most sexual partners in a night.

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