The Latins ( Latin : Latinus (m.), Latina (f.), Latini (m. pl.)), sometimes known as the Latials or Latians , were an Italic tribe that included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome (see Roman people ). From about 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small region known to the Romans as Old Latium (in Latin Latium vetus ), the area in the Italian Peninsula between the river Tiber and the promontory of Mount Circeo 100 km (62 mi) southeast of Rome. Following the Roman expansion, the Latins spread into the Latium adiectum , inhabited by Osco-Umbrian peoples.
155-804: Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills . The ancient Romans believed it to be the founder and head of the Latin League , before it was destroyed by the Roman Kingdom around the middle of the 7th century BC and its inhabitants were forced to settle in Rome. In legend, Romulus and Remus , founders of Rome, had come from
310-527: A cycle of epic poems , which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid . The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the 13th or 12th century BC . By the mid-19th century AD, both
465-477: A hecatomb , a sacrifice of 100 oxen, if he won Helen, but forgot about it and earned her wrath. Menelaus inherited Tyndareus' throne of Sparta with Helen as his queen when her brothers, Castor and Pollux , became gods, and when Agamemnon married Helen's sister Clytemnestra and took back the throne of Mycenae. Paris, under the guise of a supposed diplomatic mission, went to Sparta to get Helen and bring her back to Troy. Before Helen could look up to see him enter
620-670: A Trojan prince who had been raised in the countryside—chose love, and awarded the apple to Aphrodite. As his reward, Aphrodite caused Helen, the Queen of Sparta, and most beautiful of all women, to fall in love with Paris. The judgement of Paris earned him the ire of both Hera and Athena, and when Helen left her husband, Menelaus, the Spartan king, for Paris of Troy, Menelaus called upon all the kings and princes of Greece to wage war upon Troy. Menelaus' brother Agamemnon , king of Mycenae , led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged
775-406: A better hunter than she. The only way to appease Artemis, he said, was to sacrifice Iphigenia , who was either the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, or of Helen and Theseus entrusted to Clytemnestra when Helen married Menelaus. Agamemnon refused, and the other commanders threatened to make Palamedes commander of the expedition. According to some versions, Agamemnon relented and performed
930-501: A catastrophic burning of Troy VII , and the Late Bronze Age collapse . The events of the Trojan War are found in many works of Greek literature and depicted in numerous works of Greek art . There is no single, authoritative text which tells the entire events of the war. Instead, the story is assembled from a variety of sources, some of which report contradictory versions of the events. The most important literary sources are
1085-660: A cave on the Palatine Hill (the Lupercal ) after they had been thrown into the river Tiber on the orders of their wicked uncle, Amulius . The latter had usurped the throne of Alba from the twins' grandfather, king Numitor , and then confined their mother, Rhea Silvia , to the Vestal convent. They were washed ashore by the river, and after a few days with the wolf, were rescued by shepherds. Mainstream scholarly opinion regards Romulus as an entirely mythical character, and
1240-461: A centre which may well have been Castel Gandolfo, whose significantly larger necropolis suggests a larger town. In the later republican period the territory of Alba (the Ager Albanus ) was settled once again with many residential villas , which are mentioned in ancient literature and of which remains are extant. Since the 16th century, the site has been at various times identified as that of
1395-461: A co-commander, which he was granted. The last commander to arrive was Achilles , who was then 15 years old. Following a sacrifice to Apollo , a snake slithered from the altar to a sparrow's nest in a plane tree nearby. It ate the mother and her nine chicks, then was turned to stone. Calchas interpreted this as a sign that Troy would fall in the tenth year of the war. When the Achaeans left for
1550-607: A daughter of king Priam of Troy ), Ascanius , founded a new city, Alba Longa in the Alban Hills, which replaced Lavinium as capital city. Alba Longa supposedly remained the Latin capital for some 400 years under Aeneas' successors, the Latin kings of Alba , until his descendant (supposedly in direct line after 15 generations) Romulus founded Rome in 753 BC. Under a later king Tullus Hostilius (traditional reign-dates 673–642 BC),
1705-509: A dispute erupted between a group of Romans and Albans, he seized upon the mutual accusations of robbery as a pretext for conflict. Both sides sent emissaries to demand redress. When the Alban delegation arrived in Rome, Tullus purposefully gave them such a warm greeting that they delayed making their demand. The Roman delegates, however, immediately addressed the Albans and were refused. By virtue of
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#17327732810681860-437: A final attempt to preserve their independence. The war ended in 338 BC with a decisive Roman victory. The other Latin states were either annexed or permanently subjugated to Rome. The name Latium has been suggested to derive from the Latin word latus ("wide, broad"), referring, by extension, to the plains of the region (in contrast to the mainly-mountainous Italian Peninsula). If that is true, Latini originally meant "men of
2015-545: A foul smell; on Odysseus's advice, the Atreidae ordered Philoctetes to stay on Lemnos . Medon took control of Philoctetes's men. While landing on Tenedos, Achilles killed king Tenes , son of Apollo, despite a warning by his mother that if he did so he would be killed himself by Apollo. From Tenedos, Agamemnon sent an embassy to the Priam king of Troy composed of Menelaus and Odysseus, asking for Helen's return. The embassy
2170-608: A genetic mixture of Imperial-era inhabitants of the city of Rome and populations from central or northern Italy. In the following Early Medieval period, invasions of barbarians may have brought central and/or northern European ancestry into Rome, resulting in the further loss of genetic link to the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. By the Middle Ages , the people of Rome again genetically resembled central and southern European populations. As regards to
2325-499: A mixture of local Iron Age ancestry and ancestry from an Eastern mediterranean population. Among modern populations, four out of six were closest to Northern and Central Italians , and then Spaniards, while the other two were closest to Southern Italians. Overall, the genetic differentiation between the Latins, Etruscans and the preceding proto-Villanovan population of Italy was found to be insignificant. Examined individuals from
2480-452: A number of dramas that portray episodes from the Trojan War. Among Roman writers the most important is the 1st century BC poet Virgil; in Book 2 of his Aeneid , Aeneas narrates the sack of Troy. Traditionally, the Trojan War arose from a sequence of events beginning with a quarrel between the goddesses Hera , Athena , and Aphrodite . Eris , the goddess of discord, was not invited to
2635-594: A number of extinct volcanoes and 5 lakes, of which the largest are lacus Nemorensis ( Lake Nemi ) and lacus Tusculensis ( Lake Albano ). These hills provided a defensible, well-watered base. Also the hills on the site of Rome, certainly the Palatine and possibly the Capitoline and the Quirinal , hosted permanent settlements at a very early stage. The Latins appear to have become culturally differentiated from
2790-519: A phase of migration and invasion of the lowland areas by Italic mountain tribes in the period after 500 BC. The Latins faced repeated incursions by the Hernici , Aequi and Volsci , whose territories surrounded Latium Vetus on its eastern and southern sides. The new Romano-Latin military alliance proved strong enough to repel the incursions of the Italic mountain tribes in the period 500–400 BC. During
2945-409: A powerful state in the area of the Alban Hills at this time". It is unlikely, in the opinion of classicist Tim Cornell, that there was any urbanised city-state capable of holding hegemony in the region at the time. Nor is there any convincing evidence to connect the modern town of Albano Laziale with the ancient Alba Longa. Much of the prominence of Alba Longa in the ancient world was due to its status as
3100-638: A pre-IE survival, a Paleo-European language part of an older European linguistic substratum, spoken long before the arrival of proto Indo-European speakers. Some scholars have earlier speculated that Etruscan language could have been introduced by later migrants. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus preserves the tradition that the Tyrrhenoi (Etruscans) originated in Lydia in Anatolia , but Lydians spoke an Indo-European language, completely different from
3255-511: A religious centre, as it hosted the annual Latin Festival on the mons Albanus in honour of Jupiter Latiaris . Archaeological data show the existence of a string of villages in the Iron Age , each with its own necropolis , along the south-western shore of Lake Albano. At the time it was destroyed by Rome, these villages must have still been in a pre-urban phase, beginning to group around
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#17327732810683410-651: A ridge. Dionysius of Halicarnassus repeated the story, but added that Ascanius, following an oracle given to his father, collected other Latin populations as well. Noting that alba means "white" and longa means "long", he translated the name into the Greek language as "long white town". Dionysius placed the town between the Alban Mount and the Alban Lake , thus beginning a long controversy about its location. There is, however, "no archaeological evidence of
3565-687: A vassal state of Rome. Not long afterwards, war did indeed break out with Veii and also with the Fidenates. Mettius and the Albans were ordered to march to battle with Tullus and the Romans, and they met the Etruscans on the far side of the Anio , on the banks of the Tiber . However, when the battle commenced, Mettius led his troops away from the battle, leaving the Romans to fight the Etruscans alone. Rome
3720-541: A woman so that he would not have to go to war, but, according to one story, they blew a horn, and Achilles revealed himself by seizing a spear to fight intruders, rather than fleeing. According to another story, they disguised themselves as merchants bearing trinkets and weaponry, and Achilles was marked out from the other women for admiring weaponry instead of clothes and jewellery. Pausanias said that, according to Homer, Achilles did not hide in Skyros, but rather conquered
3875-425: Is 9% blond or dark blond and 91% dark brown or black. The skin color is intermediate for 82%, intermediate or dark for 9% and dark or very dark for the remaining 9%. By contrast, the following results were obtained for Medieval/Early Modern period: the eye color is blue in 26% of the examined and dark in the remaining 74%. Hair color is 22% blond or dark blond, 11% red and 67% dark brown or black. The skin color
4030-521: Is Rome itself, which was originally a group of separate settlements on the various hills. It appears that they coalesced into a single entity around 625 BC, when the first buildings were established on the site of the later Roman Forum . According to the mainstream Kurgan hypothesis, the earliest Indo-European speakers were a nomadic steppe people, originating in the Eurasian steppes (southern Russia, northern Caucasus and central Asia). Their livelihood
4185-582: Is a historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze Age . Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War are derived from a specific historical conflict usually date it to the 12th or 11th century BC , often preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes , 1194–1184 BC, which roughly correspond to archaeological evidence of
4340-509: Is apparently confirmed by the text of the first recorded Romano-Carthaginian treaty, dated by the ancient Greek historian Polybius to 507 BC, a date accepted by Cornell (although some scholars argue a much later date). The treaty describes the Latin cities of Lavinium and Ardea, among others, as "Roman subjects". Although the text acknowledged that not all the Latin cities were subjects of Rome, it clearly placed them under Rome's hegemony, as it provided that if Carthage captured any Latin city, it
4495-553: Is attributed to the 6th century BC Sicilian poet Stesichorus , while for Homer the Helen in Troy was one and the same. The ship then landed in Sidon . Paris, fearful of getting caught, spent some time there and then sailed to Troy. Paris' abduction of Helen had several precedents. Io was taken from Mycenae, Europa was taken from Phoenicia , Jason took Medea from Colchis , and
4650-490: Is connected with the early Roman traditions, for Silvia the mother of Romulus was a priestess. They were finally established in Rome during the reign of Numa , where they would remain until the institution was disestablished with the rise of Christianity during the late Roman Empire. On the top of the Monte Cavo (Mons Albanus) was a very ancient shrine consecrated to Jupiter Latiaris. Florus (2nd century) states that
4805-417: Is disputed among scholars). Instead of restoring their previous hegemony, the Romans apparently settled for a military alliance on equal terms with the Latins. According to the sources, the foedus Cassianum (Cassian treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the Romans on one side and the other Latin city-states combined. It provided for a perpetual peace between the two parties; a defensive alliance by which
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4960-602: Is further confirmed by the fact that the subsequent Latial culture , Este culture and Villanovan culture , which introduced iron-working to the Italian peninsula , were so closely related to the Central European Urnfield culture ( c. 1300 –750 BC), and Hallstatt culture (which succeeded the Urnfield culture), that it is not possible to tell them apart in their earlier stages. Furthermore,
5115-932: Is given by the Bibliotheca that differs somewhat but agrees in numbers. Some scholars have claimed that Homer's catalogue is an original Bronze Age document, possibly the Achaean commander's order of operations. Others believe it was a fabrication of Homer. The second book of the Iliad also lists the Trojan allies , consisting of the Trojans themselves, led by Hector, and various allies listed as Dardanians led by Aeneas, Zeleians , Adrasteians , Percotians , Pelasgians , Thracians , Ciconian spearmen, Paionian archers, Halizones , Mysians, Phrygians , Maeonians , Miletians , Lycians led by Sarpedon and Carians . Nothing
5270-542: Is implausible, likely anachronistic, and "cannot be historically true in a literal sense". Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of small villages in the area of the Alban hills during the late Bronze and early Iron Ages, but they failed to develop into cities and "are certainly unlikely to have founded Rome". Silver serrate denarius struck by C. Sulpicius C. f. Galba in Rome 106 BC. ref.: Sulpicia 1., Sydenham 572., Craw. 312/1 According to Roman mythology , after
5425-528: Is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature , most notably Homer 's Iliad . The core of the Iliad (Books II – XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus , one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in
5580-571: Is pale for 15%, intermediate for 68%, intermediate or dark for 10% and dark or very dark for the remaining 7%. Trojan War On the Greek side: On the Trojan side: The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the 12th or 13th century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans ( Greeks ) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus , king of Sparta . The war
5735-477: Is said of the Trojan language ; the Carians are specifically said to be barbarian-speaking , and the allied contingents are said to have spoken many languages, requiring orders to be translated by their individual commanders. The Trojans and Achaeans in the Iliad share the same religion, same culture and the enemy heroes speak to each other in the same language, though this could be dramatic effect. Philoctetes
5890-466: Is usually credited as Zeus' daughter, and sometimes Nemesis is credited as her mother. Helen had scores of suitors , and her father was unwilling to choose one for fear the others would retaliate violently. Finally, one of the suitors, Odysseus of Ithaca, proposed a plan to solve the dilemma. In exchange for Tyndareus' support of his own suit towards Penelope , he suggested that Tyndareus require all of Helen's suitors to promise that they would defend
6045-454: The Caucasus , that, like his father Cronus, he would be overthrown by one of his sons. Another prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph Thetis, with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father. For one or both of these reasons, either upon Zeus' orders or because she wished to please Hera, who had raised her, Thetis
6200-805: The Italic branch of Indo-European. Speakers of Italic languages are assumed to have migrated into the Italian Peninsula during the late Bronze Age (1200–900 BC). The material culture of the Latins, known as the Latial culture , was a distinctive subset of the proto-Villanovan culture that appeared in parts of the Italian peninsula in the first half of the 12th century BC. The Latins maintained close culturo-religious relations until they were definitively united politically under Rome in 338 BC, and for centuries beyond. These included common festivals and religious sanctuaries. The rise of Rome as by far
6355-594: The Julii , Servilii , Quinctii , Geganii , Curiatii and Cloelii . Tullus built a new senate house, the Curia Hostilia , to house the enlarged Roman senate . He also recruited ten new turmae of equites from amongst the Albans, and new legions. The Alban immigrants lived on the Caelian Hill in Rome. The temple of Vesta which stood at the foot of the Palatine hill outside Rome presumably predated
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6510-635: The Latial culture . The most distinctive feature of Latial culture were cinerary urns in the shape of miniature tuguria ("huts"). In Phase I of the Latium culture ( c. 1000 –900 BC) these hut-urns only appear in some burials, but they become standard in Phase II cremation burials (900–770 BC). They represent the typical single-roomed hovels of contemporary peasants, which were made from simple, readily available materials: wattle-and-daub walls and straw roofs supported by wooden posts. The huts remained
6665-648: The Latin language (specifically Old Latin ), a member of the western branch of the Italic languages , in turn a branch of the Indo-European (IE) family of languages in Europe The oldest extant inscription in the Latin language is believed to be engraved on the Lapis Niger ("Black Stone") discovered in 1899 in the Roman Forum , dating from around 600 BC: in the mid- Roman kingdom , according to
6820-596: The Peloponnese , the Dodecanese islands, Crete, and Ithaca, comprising 1186 pentekonters , ships with 50 rowers. Thucydides says that according to tradition there were about 1200 ships, and that the Boeotian ships had 120 men, while Philoctetes ' ships only had the fifty rowers, these probably being maximum and minimum. These numbers would mean a total force of 70,000 to 130,000 men. Another catalogue of ships
6975-544: The Styx , the river that runs to the underworld , making him invulnerable wherever he was touched by the water. Because she had held him by the heel, it was not entirely immersed during the bathing and thus the heel remained mortal and vulnerable to injury (hence the expression " Achilles' heel " for an isolated weakness). He grew up to be the greatest of all mortal warriors. After Calchas' prophecy, Thetis hid Achilles in Skyros at
7130-519: The fall of Troy in 1184 BC, Aeneas led a group of surviving Trojans through the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily , Carthage , and eventually the Italian Peninsula . On landing in Italy he was welcomed by Latinus , king of the early Latins . Soon, Aeneas married king Latinus' daughter, Lavinia , and founded the city of Lavinium in her name. Latinus later fell in war, making Aeneas king of
7285-596: The proto-Villanovan culture , the South-German Urnfield culture of Bavaria - Upper Austria and Middle-Danube Urnfield culture . According to David W. Anthony proto-Latins originated in today's eastern Hungary , kurganized around 3100 BC by the Yamna culture , while Kristian Kristiansen associated the proto-Villanovans with the Velatice-Baierdorf culture of Moravia and Austria. This
7440-519: The "Sanctuary of the 13 altars" discovered in the 1960s at Lavinium was the site of the Penates cult. Since each of the altars differ in style and date, it has been suggested that each was erected by a separate Latin city-state. Under the ever-growing influence of the Italiote Greeks , the Romans acquired their own national origin myth sometime during the early Republican era (500–300 BC). It
7595-574: The 14 Alban kings an average reign of 30 years' duration, an implausibly high figure. The false nature of the Aeneas-Romulus link is also demonstrated by the fact that, in some early versions of the tradition, Romulus is denoted as Aeneas' grandson, despite being chronologically separated from Aeneas by some 450 years. Romulus himself was the subject of the famous legend of the suckling she-wolf ( lupa ) that kept Romulus and his twin Remus alive in
7750-484: The Alban's first refusal, Tullus was justified in declaring war. Livy describes the war as being akin to a civil war because the Romans were said to be descended from the Albans. The king of the Albans, Cluilius, marched with his army into Roman territory, established a camp, and dug a huge trench around Rome, which became known as the Cluilian trench . However, Cluilius died in the camp of unspecified causes, whereupon
7905-453: The Albans appointed Mettius Fufetius as dictator to lead the army in his place. Tullus emerged from Rome with his army, passed the Alban camp at night and marched into Alban territory. Mettius followed, camped near the Roman army, and then sent a representative to invite Tullus to confer before any engagement. Tullus accepted the invitation. However, both sides were drawn up for battle while
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#17327732810688060-586: The Convent of St. Paul at Palazzola near Albano , Coste Caselle near Marino , and Castel Gandolfo . The last named of these places in fact occupies the site of the Villa of Domitian which, according to Juvenal , was situated on the arx of Alba. The Roman tradition held that Alba Longa was an urbanised city-state which founded a number of Latin colonies which it then organised into a Latin League . This narrative
8215-707: The Etruscan language. Despite, a possible support for an eastern origin for Etruscan may be provided by two inscriptions in a language closely related to Etruscan found on the island of Lemnos in the northern Aegean Sea (see Lemnian language ), even though some scholars believe that the Lemnian language might have arrived in the Aegean Sea during the Late Bronze Age, when Mycenaean rulers recruited groups of mercenaries from Sicily, Sardinia and various parts of
8370-448: The Etruscans and have supported a deep, local origin. A 2019 Stanford genetic study, which has analyzed the autosomal DNA of Iron Age samples from the areas around Rome, has concluded that Etruscans were similar to the Latins from Latium vetus . According to British archeologist Phil Perkins, "there are indications that the evidence of DNA can support the theory that Etruscan people are autochthonous in central Italy". The tribe spoke
8525-425: The Greek cities of southern Italy, especially Taras (mod. Taranto ) in the period ending 275 BC. The figure of Aeneas as portrayed in the Iliad lent itself to his adoption as the Roman "Abraham": a mighty warrior of (minor) royal blood who personally slew 28 Achaeans in the war, he was twice saved from certain death by the gods, implying that he had a great destiny to fulfil. A passage in Homer's Iliad contains
8680-422: The Italian peninsula. Other scholars, however, argue that the presence of a language similar to Etruscan in Lemnos was due to Etruscan commercial adventurers arrived from the west shortly before 700 BC. The archaeological evidence available from Iron Age Etruria shows no sign of any invasion, migration, or arrival of small immigrant-elites from the Eastern Mediterranean who may have imposed their language. Between
8835-418: The Latins and his son Ascanius (also called Iulus) his successor. A few years later, Aeneas was killed in battle, like Latinus, and Ascanius became king of the Latins . Ascanius is said to have built Alba Longa as his capital on the slope of Mount Alba, resettling six hundred families there as a colony of Lavinium in 1151 BC, only thirty years after Lavinium itself was founded. His descendants then ruled
8990-446: The Latins for another five hundred years. According to Festus , these kings were considered the source of the red or Tyrian purple calceus mulleus later worn by the Roman patricians . Alba Longa was reportedly the leading city of the roughly thirty cities, its colonies, that it led in the Latin League . The league's conferences were held by the Ferentine spring , in the scenic part of the valley between Albano and Marino , until
9145-411: The Latins occupied Latium Vetus not earlier than around 1000 BC. Initially, the Latin immigrants into Latium were probably concentrated in the low hills that extend from the central Apennine range into the coastal plain (much of which was then marshy and malarial, and thus uninhabitable). A notable area of early settlement were the Alban Hills , a plateau about 20 km (13 mi) SE of Rome containing
9300-403: The Latins to maintain a consistent thirty townships, thirty being of great importance among the Latin kingdoms as twelve was to the Ionians (or 4 divided into 3 parts each). Accordingly, the Latin kingdom of Latinus , and the Rutulian kingdom of Turnus must have had thirty cities each with Laurentum as the Latin capital prior to the arrival of Aeneas. Roman tradition held that Rome itself
9455-566: The Light " takes place in Alba Longa at the crucial time of Rome's founding. Alba Longa is described as seen by Flavia Herosilla, a well-educated woman who lived in Imperial Rome and was hurled a thousand years back in time, and who is concerned to ensure that Rome will be founded on schedule – for which purpose she successfully instigates a bloody regime change in Alba Longa. 41°44′49″N 12°39′01″E / 41.74691°N 12.65026°E / 41.74691; 12.65026 Latins (Italic tribe) Their language, Latin , belonged to
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#17327732810689610-439: The Proud bound the Latin city-states into a military alliance under Roman leadership. Reportedly, Tarquin also annexed Pometia (later Satricum ) and Gabii ; established control over Tusculum by a marriage alliance with its leader, Octavus Mamilius; and established Roman colonies at Signia and Circeii . He was engaged in besieging Ardea when the revolt against his monarchy broke out. Rome's political control over Latium Vetus
9765-437: The Romans called Penates . Roman mythology claims that the Penates were Trojan gods first introduced to Italy by Aeneas. Among these household gods must have been Vesta who has been referred to as Vesta Iliaca (Vesta of Troy), with her sacred hearth being named Iliaci foci (Trojan hearth). The priestesses of Vesta, known as Vestal Virgins , administered her temple and watched the eternal fire. Their existence in Alba Longa
9920-407: The Romans razed Alba Longa to the ground and resettled its inhabitants on the mons Caelius ( Caelian Hill ) in Rome. There is controversy about how and when Aeneas and his Trojans were adopted as ethnic ancestors by the Romans. One theory is that the Romans appropriated the legend from the Etruscans, who in turn acquired themselves the legend from the Greeks. There is evidence that the Aeneas legend
10075-524: The Romulus legend of the suckling she-wolf is a genuine indigenous Latin myth. The traditional number of Latin communities for the purposes of the joint religious festivals is given as 30 in the sources. The same number is reported, probably erroneously, as the membership of the Romano-Latin military alliance, labelled the " Latin League " by modern scholars. But it appears that c. 500 BC there were just 15 independent Latin city-states in Latium Vetus, including Rome itself (the other 15 were annexed by
10230-421: The Tiber. Initially, King Latinus attempted to drive them out, but he was defeated in battle. Later, he accepted Aeneas as an ally and eventually allowed him to marry his daughter, Lavinia. Aeneas supposedly founded the city of Lavinium (Pratica di Mare, Pomezia ), named after his wife, on the coast not far from Laurentum. It became the Latin capital after Latinus' death. Aeneas' son (by his previous Trojan wife,
10385-474: The Trojan princess Hesione had been taken by Heracles, who gave her to Telamon of Salamis . According to Herodotus , Paris was emboldened by these examples to steal himself a wife from Greece, and expected no retribution, since there had been none in the other cases. According to Homer, Menelaus and his ally, Odysseus, travelled to Troy, where they unsuccessfully sought to recover Helen by diplomatic means. Menelaus then asked Agamemnon to help him enforce
10540-434: The Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to Italy . The following summary of the Trojan War follows the order of events as given in Proclus' summary, along with the Iliad , Odyssey , and Aeneid , supplemented with details drawn from other authors. According to Greek mythology, Zeus had become king of the gods by overthrowing his father Cronus ; Cronus in turn had overthrown his father Uranus . Zeus
10695-562: The Volsci. Finally, in 341 BC, all the Latin city-states combined in what proved to be a final effort to regain/preserve their independence. The so-called Latin War ended in 338 with a decisive Roman victory, following which Rome annexed most of Latium Vetus . A few of the larger Latin states, such as Praeneste and Tibur, were allowed to retain a degree of political autonomy, but only in a subordinate status as Roman socii ("allies"), tied to Rome by treaties of military alliance. A genetic study published in Science in November 2019 examined
10850-556: The city for ten years because of Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax , and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse . The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans, except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, Aphrodite's son and one of
11005-410: The city of Rome during the time of the Roman Empire (27 BCE – 300 CE) bore far less genetic resemblance to Rome's founding populations, and were instead shifted towards the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East . The Imperial population of Rome was found to have been extremely diverse, with barely any of the examined individuals being of primarily local, central Italian ancestry. It was suggested that
11160-470: The city, which at the time of its founding only occupied the top of the hill: the hearth of Vesta would not ordinarily be built outside a city's walls. Worship of Vesta in Italy began in Lavinium , the mother-city of Alba Longa. From Lavinium worship of Vesta was transferred to Alba Longa. Upon entering higher office, Roman magistrates would go to Lavinium to offer sacrifice to Vesta and the household gods
11315-501: The consul Gaius Flaminius , who, in his eagerness to join his army at its assembly-point of Arretium , failed to attend the Latin Festival. Latin cultural-religious events were also held at other common cult-centres e.g. the major common shrine to Diana at Aricia . This may be the sacred grove to Diana which a fragment of Cato's Origines recorded dedicated, probably c. 500 BC , by various Latin communities under
11470-896: The contemporary Canegrate culture of Northern Italy represented a typical western example of the western Hallstatt culture, whose diffusion most probably took place in a Celtic -speaking context. Similarly, several authors have suggested that the Beaker culture of Central and Western Europe was a candidate for an early Indo-European culture , and more specifically, for an ancestral European branch of Indo-European dialects, termed "North-west Indo-European", ancestral to Celtic, Italic, Germanic and Balto-Slavic branches. All these groups were descended from Proto-Indo-European speakers from Yamna-culture, whose migrations in Central Europe probably split off Pre-Italic, Pre-Celtic and Pre-Germanic from Proto-Indo-European. Leaving archaeology aside,
11625-513: The court of King Lycomedes , where he was disguised as a girl. At a crucial point in the war, she assists her son by providing weapons divinely forged by Hephaestus (see below ). The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, one of the daughters of Tyndareus , King of Sparta. Her mother was Leda , who had been either raped or seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan. Accounts differ over which of Leda's four children, two pairs of twins, were fathered by Zeus and which by Tyndareus. However, Helen
11780-479: The data on the pigmentation of eyes, hair and skin, the following results were obtained from the study on ancient DNA of the 11 individuals of the Iron Age/Republican period, coming from Latium and Abruzzo, and the 27 individuals of Medieval/Early Modern period, coming from Latium. For Iron Age/Republic period, the eye color is blue in 27% of the examined and dark in the remaining 73%. Hair color
11935-403: The downfall of Troy. After bathing in the spring of Ida, the goddesses appeared to him naked, either for the sake of winning or at Paris' request. Paris was unable to decide among them, so the goddesses resorted to bribes. Athena offered Paris wisdom, skill in battle, and the abilities of the greatest warriors; Hera offered him political power and control of all of Asia ; and Aphrodite offered him
12090-422: The earliest phase of Latial culture also occur at Rome at the same time ( c. 1000 BC ), so archaeology cannot be used to support the tradition that Rome was founded by people from Alba Longa. If Alba Longa did not exist, then nor did the "Alban kings", whose genealogy was almost certainly fabricated to "prove" Romulus' descent from Aeneas. The genealogy's dubious nature is shown by the fact that it ascribes
12245-715: The end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, Etruria shows above all contacts with Central Europe and the Urnfield culture , as there is great consensus that the subsequent orientalizing period was an artistic-cultural phenomenon not exclusively Etruscan, also spread to other areas of Italy and the Greek world, and that can be better explained by trade and exchange rather than by migrations. Genetic studies on samples of Etruscan individuals, both on mitochondrial and autosomal DNA, are also against an eastern origin of
12400-424: The fairest"). The apple was claimed by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. They quarrelled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favouring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. Eventually, Zeus ordered Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris, a prince of Troy, who, unaware of his ancestry, was being raised as a shepherd on Mount Ida , because of a prophecy that he would be
12555-455: The former as they expanded, especially Rome). The size of the city-state territories in c. 500 BC were estimated by Beloch (1926): The table above shows the tiny size of Latium Vetus - only about two-thirds the size of the English county of Kent . Rome was by far the largest state, controlling some 35% of the total land area. The next four largest states ranged from just under half
12710-536: The geographical distribution of the ancient languages of the peninsula may plausibly be explained by the immigration of successive waves of peoples with different languages, according to Cornell. On this model, it appears likely that the "West Italic" group (including the Latins) were the first wave, followed, and largely displaced by, the East Italic (Osco-Umbrian) group. This is deduced from the marginal locations of
12865-443: The historical era, scholars have reconstructed elements of proto-Indo-European culture. Relics of such elements have been discerned in Roman and Latin customs. Examples include: Despite their frequent internecine wars, the Latin city-states maintained close culturo-religious relations throughout their history. Their most important common tribal event was the four-day Latiar or Feriae Latinae ("Latin Festival"), held each winter on
13020-507: The inscription contains the word recei , the word for "king" in the dative singular in archaic Latin - regi in classical Latin, or to the rex sacrorum , rather than the political king of Rome. There is no archaeological evidence at present that Old Latium hosted permanent settlements during the Bronze Age . Some very small amounts of Apennine culture pottery shards have been found in Latium, most likely belonging to transient pastoralists engaged in transhumance . It thus appears that
13175-591: The interior of Asia Minor. Reinforcements continued to come until the very end. The Achaeans controlled only the entrance to the Dardanelles, and Troy and her allies controlled the shortest point at Abydos and Sestos and communicated with allies in Europe. Achilles and Ajax were the most active of the Achaeans, leading separate armies to raid lands of Trojan allies. According to Homer, Achilles conquered 11 cities and 12 islands. According to Apollodorus, he raided
13330-516: The island, as part of the Trojan War. The Achaean forces first gathered at Aulis . All the suitors sent their forces except King Cinyras of Cyprus. Though he sent breastplates to Agamemnon and promised to send 50 ships, he sent only one real ship, led by the son of Mygdalion, and 49 ships made of clay. Idomeneus was willing to lead the Cretan contingent in Mycenae's war against Troy, but only as
13485-453: The lead in organising an anti-Roman alliance. One ancient source names Egerius Baebius, the leader of Tusculum, as the "Latin dictator" (i.e. commander-in-chief of the Latin forces). It appears that Baebius dedicated a sacred grove to Diana at lucus Ferentinae (a wood near Aricia) in c. 500 BC in the presence of representatives of Latin states, including Tusculum, Aricia, Lanuvium, Lavinium, Cora, Tibur, Pometia and Ardea. This event
13640-407: The leaders met between the two forces. At the conference, Mettius proposed that the dispute be resolved by some means other than mass bloodshed, citing the concern that the nearby Etruscans would fall upon the two Latin states if these were weakened by war and unable to defend themselves. It was agreed that a set of triplets from each side, three brothers Horatii and three Curiatii, would battle for
13795-538: The leadership of the dictator of Tusculum , Egerius Baebius. Cornell argues that the temple of Diana reportedly founded by the Roman king Servius Tullius on the Aventine hill at Rome was also a common Latin shrine, as it was built outside the pomerium or City boundary. There was also an important Latin cult-centre at Lavinium . Lavinium hosted the cult of the Penates , or Latin ancestor-gods. Cornell suggests that
13950-412: The legend fictitious. On this view, Romulus was a name fabricated to provide Rome with an eponymous founding hero, a common feature of classical foundation-myths; it is possible that Romulus was named after Rome instead of vice versa . The name contains the Latin diminutive -ulus , so it means simply "Roman" or "little Roman". It has been suggested that the name "Roma" was of Etruscan origin , or that it
14105-430: The love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite, and, after several adventures, returned to Troy, where he was recognised by his royal family. Peleus and Thetis bore a son, whom they named Achilles. It was foretold that he would either die of old age after an uneventful life, or die young in a battlefield and gain immortality through poetry. Furthermore, when Achilles
14260-579: The main form of Latin housing until about 650 BC. The most famous exemplar was the Casa Romuli ("Hut of Romulus ") on the southern slope of the Palatine Hill, supposedly built by the legendary founder of Rome with his own hands and which reportedly survived until the time of emperor Augustus (ruled 30 BC - AD 14). Around 650 BC began a period of urbanisation, with the establishment of political city-states in Latium. The most notable example
14415-399: The main narrative, and therefore as likely to be "early and integral". Eight years after the storm had scattered them, the fleet of more than a thousand ships was gathered again. When they had all reached Aulis, the winds ceased. The prophet Calchas stated that the goddess Artemis was punishing Agamemnon for killing either a sacred deer or a deer in a sacred grove, and boasting that he was
14570-651: The mainstream view that Etruscan was not Indo-European: he argues that Etruscan was closely related to the Indo-European Hittite and Lydian languages. Georgiev's thesis hasn't received support from other scholars. Excavations at Troy have yielded a single written document, a letter in Luwian . But as Luwian (which certainly is closely related to Hittite) was used as a kind of diplomatic lingua franca in Anatolia, it cannot be argued conclusively that Luwian
14725-412: The marriage of Helen, regardless of whom he chose. The suitors duly swore the required oath on the severed pieces of a horse, although not without a certain amount of grumbling. Tyndareus chose Menelaus. Menelaus was a political choice on her father's part. He had wealth and power. He had humbly not petitioned for her himself, but instead sent his brother Agamemnon on his behalf. He had promised Aphrodite
14880-416: The middle of the fourth century. The sacrifices of the league were offered on the Alban mountain from which all the country of Latium might be seen. The colonies of Alba Longa were distinct from the Alban townships which must have consisted of Albani plebs , as the genuine Albans were the populus . Among the Alban colonies some become part of the plebs: others become Latin cities. The others were ceded to
15035-475: The most populous and powerful Latin state from c. 600 BC led to volatile relations with the other Latin states, which numbered about 14 in 500 BC. In the period of the Tarquin monarchy ( c. 550–500 BC), Rome apparently acquired political hegemony over the other states. After the fall of the Roman monarchy around 500 BC, there appears to have been a century of military alliance between Rome and
15190-644: The nature of the Tarquinian hegemony over the Latins is unknown, it is impossible to tell how the terms of the Cassian treaty differed from those imposed by the Tarquins. But it is likely that Tarquin rule was more onerous, involving the payment of tribute, while the Republican terms simply involved a military alliance. The impetus to form such an alliance was probably provided by the acute insecurity caused by
15345-479: The oath of Helen's suitors, which was to defend her marriage, regardless of which suitor was chosen. Agamemnon agreed, and sent emissaries to all the Achaean kings and princes to call them to observe their oath and retrieve Helen. Since Menelaus's wedding, Odysseus had married Penelope and fathered a son, Telemachus . In order to avoid the war, he feigned madness and sowed his fields with salt. Palamedes outwitted him by placing Telemachus, then an infant, in front of
15500-620: The observed genetic shift in the city's founding populations was a result of heavy migration of merchants and slaves from the populous urban centres of the Middle East and Greece. During late antiquity, after the Imperial era, Rome's population was drastically reduced as a result of political instability, epidemics and economic changes. In this period, more local or central Italian ancestry is evident in Rome; its inhabitants started to again approximate present-day Italians, and can be modeled as
15655-413: The origin of the legend, it is clear that the Latins had no historical connection with Aeneas and none of their cities were founded by Trojan refugees. Furthermore, Cornell regards the city of Alba Longa itself as probably mythical. Early Latial-culture remains have been discovered on the shore of the Alban lake, but they indicate a series of small villages, not an urbanised city-state. In any case, traces of
15810-515: The other Latin states to confront the threat posed to all Latium by raiding by the surrounding Italic mountain tribes, especially the Volsci and Aequi . This system progressively broke down after roughly 390 BC, when Rome's aggressive expansionism led to conflict with other Latin states, both individually and collectively. In 341–338 BC, the Latin states jointly fought the Latin War against Rome in
15965-515: The palace, she was shot with an arrow from Eros , otherwise known as Cupid , and fell in love with Paris when she saw him, as promised by Aphrodite. Menelaus had left for Crete to bury his uncle, Crateus. According to one account, Hera, still jealous over the judgement of Paris, sent a storm. The storm caused the lovers to land in Egypt, where the gods replaced Helen with a likeness of her made of clouds, Nephele . The myth of Helen being switched
16120-438: The parties pledged mutual assistance in case of attack; a promise not to aid or allow passage to each other's enemies; the equal division of spoils of war (half to Rome, half to the other Latins) and provisions to regulate trade between the parties. In addition the treaty probably provided for overall command of the allies' joint forces to alternate between a Roman and a commander from one of the other Latin city-states each year. As
16275-612: The plain". The Latins belonged to a group of Indo-European -speaking (IE) tribes, conventionally known as the Italic tribes , that populated central and southern Italy during the Italian Iron Age , which began around 900 BC. The most widely accepted theory suggests that Latins and other proto-Italic tribes first entered Italy in the late Bronze Age proto-Villanovan culture, then part of the central European Urnfield culture system. In particular various authors, such as Marija Gimbutas , had noted important similarities between
16430-526: The plough's path. Odysseus turned aside, unwilling to kill his son, so revealing his sanity and forcing him to join the war. According to Homer, however, Odysseus supported the military adventure from the beginning, and travelled the region with Pylos ' king, Nestor , to recruit forces. At Skyros, Achilles had an affair with the king's daughter Deidamia , resulting in a child, Neoptolemus . Odysseus, Telamonian Ajax, and Achilles' tutor Phoenix went to retrieve Achilles. Achilles' mother disguised him as
16585-593: The poems were written down in the 7th and 6th century BC , after the composition of the Homeric poems, though it is widely believed that they were based on earlier traditions. Both the Homeric epics and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral tradition . Even after the composition of the Iliad , Odyssey , and the Cyclic Epics, the myths of the Trojan War were passed on orally in many genres of poetry and through non-poetic storytelling. Events and details of
16740-456: The prophecy that Aeneas and his descendants would one day rule the Trojans. Since the Trojans had been expelled from their own city, it was speculated that Aeneas and other Trojan survivors must have migrated elsewhere. The legend is given its most vivid and detailed treatment in the Roman poet Virgil 's epic, the Aeneid (published around AD 20). According to this, the Latin tribe's first king
16895-783: The relative chronology between the Italic IE languages and the non-IE languages of the peninsula, notably the Etruscan , which is considered related to the Raetic spoken in the Alps . Other examples of non-IE languages in Iron Age Italy are the Camunic language , spoken in the Alps, and the unattested ancient Ligurian and Paleo-Sardinian languages . Most scholars consider that Etruscan is
17050-451: The remains of six Latin males buried near Rome between 900 BC and 200 BC. They carried the paternal haplogroups R-M269 , T-L208 , R-P311 , R-PF7589 and R-P312 (two samples), and the maternal haplogroups H1aj1a , T2c1f , H2a , U4a1a , H11a and H10 . These examined individuals were distinguished from preceding populations of Italy by the presence of 30% steppe ancestry . Two out of six individuals from Latin burials were found have
17205-642: The royal dynasty of Alba Longa, which in Virgil 's Aeneid had been the bloodline of Aeneas , a son of Venus . According to Livy , Roman patrician families such as the Julii , Servilii , Quinctii , Geganii , Curiatii and Cloelii originated in Alba Longa. Livy said of Alba Longa that it was founded by Ascanius to relieve crowding at Lavinium . He placed it at the foot of the Alban Mount and said that it took its name from being extended along
17360-438: The sacred mons Albanus ( Monte Cavo , Alban Hills, SE of Rome), an extinct volcano. The climax of the festival was a number of sacrifices to Jupiter Latiaris ("Jupiter of Latium"); the sacrificed meat was shared by the representatives of the Latin communities. These elaborate rituals, as did all Roman religious ceremonies, had to be performed with absolute precision and, if any procedural mistakes were made, had to be repeated from
17515-482: The sacrifice, but others claim that he sacrificed a deer in her place, or that at the last moment, Artemis took pity on the girl, and took her to be a maiden in one of her temples, substituting a lamb. Hesiod says that Iphigenia became the goddess Hecate . The Achaean forces are described in detail in the Catalogue of Ships , in the second book of the Iliad . They consisted of 28 contingents from mainland Greece,
17670-561: The site was selected by Ascanius , who, having founded Alba, invited all the Latins to celebrate sacrifices there to Jupiter , a custom which eventually led to the annual celebration there of the Feriae Latinae , at which all the cities that belonged to the Latin Confederation would gather under the aegis of Alba, sacrificing a white bull, the flesh of which was distributed among all the participants. After Alba Longa
17825-406: The size of Rome down to a fifth of the size; the remaining ten ranged from a tenth of the size down to less than a twentieth. From an early stage, the external relations of the Latin city-states were dominated by their largest and most powerful member, Rome. The vast amount of archaeological evidence uncovered since the 1970s has conclusively discredited A. Alföldi's once-fashionable theory that Rome
17980-629: The start. The Latin Festival continued to be held long after all Latium Vetus was integrated into the Roman Republic after 338 BC (from then on, the Roman consuls presided over them) and into the Roman imperial era . The historian Livy , writing around AD 20, ascribed Rome's disastrous defeat by the Carthaginian general Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene in 217 BC to the impiety of
18135-441: The story that are only found in later authors may have been passed on through oral tradition and could be as old as the Homeric poems. Visual art, such as vase painting , was another medium in which myths of the Trojan War circulated. In later ages playwrights , historians , and other intellectuals would create works inspired by the Trojan War. The three great tragedians of Athens , Aeschylus , Sophocles and Euripides , wrote
18290-597: The succeeding century, after Rome had recovered from the catastrophic Gallic invasion of 390 BC, the Romans began a phase of expansionism. In addition to the establishment of a series of Latin colonies on territories annexed from the mountain tribes, Rome annexed a number of neighbouring Latin city-states in steady succession. The increasing threat posed by Roman encroachment led the more powerful Latin states, such as Praeneste , to attempt to defend their independence and territorial integrity by challenging Rome, often in alliance with their erstwhile enemies, mountain-tribes such as
18445-633: The surrounding Osco-Umbrian Italic tribes from c. 1000 BC onwards. From this time, the Latins exhibit the features of the Iron Age Latial culture found in Etruria and the Po valley. In contrast, the Osco-Umbrian tribes do not exhibit the same features of the Latins, who thus shared the broadly same material culture as the Etruscans. The variant of Villanovan found in Latium is dubbed
18600-580: The surviving West Italic niches. Besides Latin, putative members of the West Italic group are Faliscan (now regarded as merely a Latin dialect), and perhaps Siculian , spoken in eastern Sicily . The West Italic languages were thus spoken in limited and isolated areas, whereas the "East Italic" group comprised the Oscan and Umbrian dialects spoken over much of central and southern Italy. The chronology of Indo-European immigration remains elusive, as does
18755-414: The theory that Romulus was a historical figure who indeed founded the city in c. 753 BC , as related by the ancient chroniclers, by ploughing a symbolic sacred furrow to define the city's boundary. But Carandini's views have received scant support among fellow scholars. In contrast to the legend of Aeneas, which was clearly imported into the Latin world from an extraneous culture, it appears that
18910-413: The time of the revolution, was probably distorted for propaganda reasons by later Roman chroniclers. Livy claims that Porsenna aimed to restore Tarquin to his throne, but failed to take Rome after a siege. Tacitus suggests that Porsenna's army succeeded in occupying the city. The fact that there is no evidence of Tarquin's restoration during this occupation has led some scholars to suggest that it Porsenna
19065-460: The traditional Roman chronology, but more likely close to its inception. Written in a primitive form of Archaic Latin , it indicates that the Romans remained Latin-speakers in the period when some historians have suggested that Rome had become "Etruscanised" in both language and culture. It also lends support to the existence of the Kings of Rome in this era, whom some historians regarded as mythical:
19220-480: The two epic poems traditionally credited to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey , composed sometime between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. Each poem narrates only a part of the war. The Iliad covers a short period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey concerns Odysseus's return to his home island of Ithaca following the sack of Troy and contains several flashbacks to particular episodes in
19375-530: The victory of the two states. Livy refers to conflict amongst his own sources as to which set of brothers represented which state, but prefers the view that the Horatii were the Romans, and the Curiatii Albans. Vows were entered into in a most solemn form by each of the Romans and the Albans as to this agreement by which the future of each state would be bound by the outcome of the fight. Marcus Valerius
19530-490: The war and the city were widely seen as non-historical, but in 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert , who convinced Schliemann that Troy was at what is now Hisarlık in modern-day Turkey . On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars. The historicity of the Trojan War remains an open question. Many scholars believe that there
19685-476: The war is the least developed among surviving sources, which prefer to talk about events in the last year of the war. After the initial landing the army was gathered in its entirety again only in the tenth year. Thucydides deduces that this was due to lack of money. They raided the Trojan allies and spent time farming the Thracian peninsula. Troy was never completely besieged, thus it maintained communications with
19840-477: The war, they did not know the way, and accidentally landed in Mysia , ruled by King Telephus , son of Heracles, who had led a contingent of Arcadians to settle there. In the battle, Achilles wounded Telephus, who had killed Thersander . Because the wound would not heal, Telephus asked an oracle, "What will happen to the wound?" The oracle responded, "he that wounded shall heal". The Achaean fleet then set sail and
19995-641: The war. Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic Cycle , also known as the Cyclic Epics: the Cypria , Aethiopis , Little Iliad , Iliou Persis , Nostoi , and Telegony . Though these poems survive only in fragments, their content is known from a summary included in Proclus ' Chrestomathy . The authorship of the Cyclic Epics is uncertain. It is generally thought that
20150-408: The wedding of Peleus and Thetis , and so arrived bearing a gift: a golden apple , inscribed "for the fairest". Each of the goddesses claimed to be the "fairest", and the rightful owner of the apple. They submitted the judgment to a shepherd they encountered tending his flock. Each of the goddesses promised the young man a boon in return for his favour: power, wisdom, or love. The youth—in fact Paris,
20305-451: The wound must be able to heal it. Pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound, and Telephus was healed. Telephus then showed the Achaeans the route to Troy. Some scholars have regarded the expedition against Telephus and its resolution as a derivative reworking of elements from the main story of the Trojan War, but it has also been seen as fitting the story-pattern of the "preliminary adventure" that anticipates events and themes from
20460-452: Was Latinus , who gave his name to the tribe and founded the first capital of the Latins, Laurentum , whose exact location is uncertain. The Trojan hero Aeneas and his men fled by sea after the capture and sack of their city, Troy , by the Greeks in 1184 BC, according to one ancient calculation. After many adventures, Aeneas and his Trojan army landed on the coast of Latium near the mouth of
20615-464: Was Heracles' friend, and because he lit Heracles's funeral pyre when no one else would, he received Heracles' bow and arrows. He sailed with seven ships full of men to the Trojan War, where he was planning on fighting for the Achaeans. They stopped either at Chryse Island for supplies, or in Tenedos , along with the rest of the fleet. Then Philoctetes was bitten by a snake. The wound festered and had
20770-535: Was an insignificant settlement until about 500 BC, and thus that the Republic was not established before about 450, and possibly as late as 400 BC. There is now no doubt that Rome was a unified city (as opposed to a group of separate hilltop settlements) by c. 625 BC and had become the second-largest city in Italy (after Tarentum , 510 hectares) by around 550 BC, when it had an area of about 285 hectares (1.1 sq mile) and an estimated population of 35,000. Rome
20925-425: Was appointed Fetial , and Spurius Fusius Pater Patratus , for the purposes of binding Rome by the treaty. The combat commenced. Two of the Romans were the first to fall. Then the remaining Roman, Publius Horatius, slew the three Albans, and thus won victory for Rome. Afterwards, Tullus ordered Mettius to return with his army to Alba, but to be prepared in the event of war with Veii . The Albans became, in substance,
21080-599: Was based on horses and herding. In the historical era, the same socio-cultural lifestyle was maintained, in the same regions, by peoples descended from the Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIEs) known to the Greco-Romans as Scythians , Sarmatians and Alans , whose languages belonged to the Iranian branch of IE. On the basis of common steppe-nomadic features in the cultures of the various Indo-European peoples in
21235-423: Was betrothed to an elderly human king, Peleus, son of Aeacus . All of the gods were invited to Peleus and Thetis' wedding and brought many gifts, except Eris (the goddess of discord), who was stopped at the door by Hermes , on Zeus' order. Insulted, she threw from the door a gift of her own: a golden apple ( Ancient Greek : το μήλον της έριδος ) on which was inscribed the word καλλίστῃ Kallistē ("To
21390-591: Was centred on the figure of Aeneas , a supposed Trojan survivor of the destruction of Troy by the Achaean Greeks , as related in the poet Homer 's epic the Iliad (composed c. 800 BC ). The legend provided the Romans with a heroic "Homeric" pedigree, as well as a (spurious) ethnic distinctiveness from the other Latins. It also provided a rationale (as poetic revenge for the destruction of Troy) for Rome's hostilities against, and eventual subjugation of,
21545-547: Was derived from the Latin word ruma ("teat"), presumably because the shape of the Palatine Hill and/or Capitoline Hill resembled a woman's breasts. If the city was named after Romulus, it is plausible that he was historical. Nevertheless, Cornell argues that "Romulus probably never existed... His biography is a complex mixture of legend and folk-tale, interspersed with antiquarian speculation and political propaganda". In contrast, Andrea Carandini , an archaeologist who has spent most of his career excavating central Rome, advanced
21700-487: Was destroyed and her leadership role was assumed by Rome, tradition records the building of a full-scale temple to Jupiter Latiaris on the Alban Mount in the reign of Tarquinius Superbus ; of which only a few courses of perimeter wall remain today, now removed off site. There are, however, substantial remains of the paved road that connected it to the Via Appia near Aricia . Much of the science fiction story " To Bring
21855-399: Was first to leap off his ship, he was not the first to land on Trojan soil. Hector killed Protesilaus in single combat, though the Trojans conceded the beach. In the second wave of attacks, Achilles killed Cycnus , son of Poseidon . The Trojans then fled to the safety of the walls of their city. The walls served as sturdy fortifications for defence against the Greeks. The build of the walls
22010-466: Was founded as a colony of Alba Longa, by Romulus and Remus, two of the city's princes, who had been banished at birth in a dynastic struggle. The ancient Romans dated this event to the middle of the eighth century BC. In the seventh century BC, the Roman king Tullus Hostilius succeeded Numa Pompilius . During his reign, Rome's attitude toward its neighbours no longer reflected Numa's peaceful nature. Now it reflected Tullus's own predilection for war. When
22165-653: Was meditating marvelous deeds, even to mingle storm and tempest over the boundless earth, and already he was hastening to make an utter end of the race of mortal men, declaring that he would destroy the lives of the demi-gods, that the children of the gods should not mate with wretched mortals, seeing their fate with their own eyes; but that the blessed gods henceforth even as aforetime should have their living and their habitations apart from men. But on those who were born of immortals and of mankind verily Zeus laid toil and sorrow upon sorrow. Zeus came to learn from either Themis or Prometheus , after Heracles had released him from
22320-584: Was nine years old, Calchas had prophesied that Troy could not again fall without his help. A number of sources credit Thetis with attempting to make Achilles immortal when he was an infant. Some of these state that she held him over fire every night to burn away his mortal parts and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day, but Peleus discovered her actions and stopped her. According to some versions of this story, Thetis had already killed several sons in this manner, and Peleus' action therefore saved his son's life. Other sources state that Thetis bathed Achilles in
22475-521: Was not faithful to his wife and sister Hera , and had many relationships from which many children were born. Since Zeus believed that there were too many people populating the earth, he envisioned Momus or Themis , who was to use the Trojan War as a means to depopulate the Earth, especially of his demigod descendants. These can be supported by Hesiod's account: Now all the gods were divided through strife; for at that very time Zeus who thunders on high
22630-412: Was obliged to hand it over to Rome's control. Rome's sphere of influence is implied as extending as far as Terracina , 100 km to the south. The fall of the Roman monarchy was probably a more lengthy, violent and international process than the swift, bloodless and internal coup related by tradition. The role of the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna , of Clusium , who led an invasion of Roman territory at
22785-537: Was probably contemporaneous with, and connected with, the launch of the Latin alliance. The Latins could apparently count on the support of the Volsci Italic tribe. In addition, they were joined by the deposed Roman king Tarquin the Proud and his remaining followers. The Romans apparently prevailed, scoring a notable victory over the Latin forces at Lake Regillus sometime in the period 499-493 BC (the exact year
22940-576: Was refused. Philoctetes stayed on Lemnos for ten years, which was a deserted island according to Sophocles' tragedy Philoctetes , but according to earlier tradition was populated by Minyans . Calchas had prophesied that the first Achaean to walk on land after stepping off a ship would be the first to die. Thus even the leading Greeks hesitated to land. Finally, Protesilaus , leader of the Phylaceans , landed first. Odysseus had tricked him, in throwing his own shield down to land on, so that while he
23095-464: Was scattered by a storm. Achilles landed in Skyros and married Deidamia. A new gathering was set again in Aulis. Telephus went to Aulis , and either pretended to be a beggar, asking Agamemnon to help heal his wound, or kidnapped Orestes and held him for ransom, demanding the wound be healed. Achilles refused, claiming to have no medical knowledge. Odysseus reasoned that the spear that had inflicted
23250-569: Was so impressive that legend held that they had been built by Poseidon and Apollo during a year of forced service to Trojan King Laomedon . Protesilaus had killed many Trojans but was killed by Hector in most versions of the story, though others list Aeneas, Achates , or Ephorbus as his slayer. The Achaeans buried him as a god on the Thracian peninsula, across the Troäd. After Protesilaus' death, his brother, Podarces , took command of his troops. The Achaeans besieged Troy for nine years. This part of
23405-592: Was the everyday language of Troy. Cornell points out that the Romans may have acquired the legend directly from the Italiote Greeks. The earliest Greek literary reference to Rome as a foundation of Aeneas dates to c. 400 BC . There is also much archaeological evidence of contacts between the cities of archaic Latium and the Greek world e.g. the archaic sanctuary of the Penates at Lavinium, which shows "heavy Greek influence in architectural design and religious ideology", according to Cornell. But whatever
23560-474: Was the real agent of the Tarquin's downfall, and that he aimed to replace him as king of Rome. Any danger of an Etruscan takeover of Rome was removed by Porsenna's defeat at Aricia in 504 BC. There followed a war between Rome and the other Latin city-states, which probably took advantage of the political turmoil in Rome to attempt to regain/preserve their independence. It appears that Tusculum and Aricia took
23715-433: Was thus about half the size of contemporary Athens (585 hectares, including Piraeus ) and far larger than any other Latin city. The size of Rome at this time lends credence to the Roman tradition, dismissed by Alföldi, that in the late regal period (550–500 BC), traditionally the rule of the Tarquin dynasty, Rome established its political hegemony over the other city-states of Old Latium. According to Livy, king Tarquin
23870-413: Was victorious against the Etruscans. After the battle, Tullus executed Mettius for his perfidy. Then, on Tullus' orders, the Roman soldiers demolished the 400-year-old city of Alba Longa, leaving only the temples standing, and the entire population of Alba Longa was transported to Rome, thereby doubling the number of Roman citizens. Tullus enlisted the leading families of Alba amongst the patricians , namely
24025-529: Was well known among the Etruscans by 500 BC: excavations at the ancient Etruscan city of Veii discovered a series of statuettes portraying Aeneas fleeing Troy carrying his father on his back, as in the legend. Indeed, the Bulgarian linguist Vladimir Georgiev argued that the original Etruscans were in fact descendants of those Trojan refugees and that the Aeneas legend has a historical basis. Georgiev disputes
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