Aeneas and the twins: the development of the Roman foundation legend

Abstract

It is often observed that the familiar story of the origins of Rome appears to combine two distinct and incompatible legends: that of Aeneas, and that of Romulus and Remus. The first of these was in origin a development of a Greek story, with its roots in the epic tradition. Aeneas, the son of Venus and Anchises, escaped from Troy with his family and friends and after a series of adventures arrived in Italy where he founded Rome. The other story, that of Romulus and Remus, was localised in Latium. Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of the god Mars and Rea Silvia, daughter of a king of Alba Longa. On the orders of their grandfather they were cast into the Tiber. The river happened to be in flood, and when the waters receded the boat containing the infants was left high and dry at the foot of the Palatine, under a fig tree later known as the ficus Ruminalis. There they were suckled by a she-wolf, whose den was the near-by cave of the Lupercal. Rescued by shepherds, the boys grew up and after the death of Remus in suspicious circumstances Romulus founded a city on the Palatine, where his original dwelling, the casa Romuli, was preserved in later times.

Signs as borders and borders as signs

“…So do we, with the myth of Romulus and Remus. Several versions of the myth exist (Cornell, 1975), yet the majority share the basic elements. Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of the god Mars and the vestal Rea Silvia.…”

Troyanos, Pastores Y Nobles. Apuntes Sobre La Roma Primitiva

“…Además de la historiografía que consagró el modelo de una Roma de orígenes preclaros y heroicos, hubo otras versiones que, aunque no tuvieron la fortuna 24 Livio II.1.4. En esta línea, Bickermann (1952), Cornell (1975);Plut. Rom.…”

Az archaikus Itália fikciója : Az Augustus-kori mitológia rétegei

“…16 CORNELL 1975, 12, hivatkozásokkal, többek közt ALFÖLDI Andrásra (2009 -és ismét egy kis szkepszissel. 17 BREMMER -HORSFALL 1987, 19, hivatkozásokkal. Arra a régi kérdésre, hogy az Aeneas-történet vajon "etruszk közvetítéssel", "latin közvetítéssel", vagy "közvetlenül a görögöktől" került Rómába, nem tudok válaszolni, de azt hiszem, itt nem is igazán relevánsak a kulturális lánc egyes szemeire rekonstruálható etnikai identitások (ha léteztek egyáltalán) -itt most éppen az az érdekesebb, amiben ezek a közösségek nem különböztek egymástól.…”