The Romans

An Introduction

Abigail Graham, Antony Kamm

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781351005562
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: History of Architecture

The Romans: An Introduction is a concise, readable and comprehensive survey of the Roman world, which explores 1, 200 years of political, military and cultural history alongside religion, social pressures, literature, art and architecture.

This new edition includes updated and revised materials designed to develop analytical skills in literaryand material evidence, evoking themes that resonate in both ancient and modern societies: fake news, class struggles, urbanization, concepts of race and gender, imperialism, constitutional power and religious intolerance. The fourth edition incorporates a number of new features and evolving fields:

• A new chapter on provinces, provincial administration and acculturation in the Roman Empire.

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• An extended chapter on Christianity and Rome's legacy with new case studies in the reception of Roman culture.

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• An extended chapter on Roman society and daily life, including recent scholarship on gender and race in the ancient world.

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• Integrated use of text and material evidence which is designed to develop analytical skills in critical source assessment.

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• The book's successful Open Access website updated to include new case studies on emerging topics such as performance politics, religious syncretism, media sensationalism and cultural heritage.

Thoroughly updated and redeveloped, this new edition of The Romans will continue to serve as the definitive introduction to the life, history and culture of the Roman world, from its foundation to its significance to later civilizations.

1 The Origins of Rome

Some of the evidence (authors, events, historical figures and materials) discussed in this work are subjects of case studies on an accompanying webpage for this book. Look out for the companion website symbol.

Rome, the city that would become the centre of a vast empire, was not built in a day. It took the better part of a millennium for Rome to reach its apex and then, hundreds of years after that, to devolve and deteriorate into a series of smaller empires. The period of time between the foundation of the city in 753 bc and the ultimate destruction of her empire (for the purposes of this work, the removal of the last Western Emperor Romulus Augustulus) in ad 476 spans nearly 1250 years. To put this era in perspective, roughly the same amount of time elapsed between the actual fall of the Roman Empire and the publication of the modern era’s first comprehensive history of Roman civilization, Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published the same year as the American Declaration of Independence was signed (1776). That the Romans continue to play a crucial role as a benchmark for the successes and failures of modern society, both in Gibbon’s time and today, demonstrates the power and influence that the legacy of Rome continues to hold in Western society.

In the past, Romans have been viewed as merely imitators of the Greek culture, which reached its zenith between the start of the 5th century bc (the beginnings of “democracy” and the Persian Wars) and the death of Alexander in 323 bc. However, this type of comparison often falls apart upon closer inspection. To examine how Rome adapted aspects of Greek culture, from its mythical foundation in the Trojan Wars to its laws, public buildings and foreign policy, is to see how Rome acted as an innovator. From the very beginning, Romans sought to define themselves as distinct from those who had come before. Many modern concepts of Roman culture or Latin language have been taken from the late Republic/early Imperial period (1st century bc–2nd century ad), more than 700 years after the founding of the city. Early Roman Italy was, like colonial America, defined primarily as a “melting pot” of different cultures and languages that made up its people (such as Etruscan, Oscan, Latin and Greek). The extent to which any of these early settlers would have seen themselves as “Roman” is dubious.

The Roman era is generally divided into three parts based on the type of government. The Regal period extends from claims of a mythical foundation on April 21, 753 bc to the expulsion of the last Etruscan king by Lucius Junius Brutus in 510 bc. The Republic lasted from 509 until 27 bc, the date Octavian assumed his title Augustus as well as numerous constitutional powers, making him effectively the first Emperor. Augustus did not formally spell the end of the Republic; in fact, he claimed to have “restored” it. However, when his extraordinary powers were passed on to his successor, Tiberius, in ad 14, Imperial rule appears firmly established. This system of government lasted until 476, when Romulus Augustus, the last Western Emperor, was deposed by Odacer, a German mercenary who did not take the title of emperor but preferred to rule as a king. This decision is often seen by scholars as a testament to the impotency that the term “emperor” had acquired. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire, based at Constantinople (Byzantium), carried on as an independent political entity into the Middle Ages, until the city fell to the Turks of the Ottoman empire in 1453. While this organization is a useful way to approach Roman history, a number of the dates provided, e.g. the foundation on April 21, 753 bc, should probably be regarded with a degree of skepticism. Traditional ruling dates for Rome’s early kings are suspiciously long and the transition from monarchy to a Republic is likely to have taken longer than a year (not necessarily) in 509 bc. As observed in modern history, fundamental political, military and social changes often require a significant period of adjustment.

Foundation legends and their sources

There are two key events in the mythological foundation of Rome: the arrival of the Trojan hero Aeneas in Italy (ca. 1200 bc ±50 years, depending on which date one accepts for the Trojan Wars) and the founding of the city by Romulus (April 21, 753 bc). The gap of 500 years between these events is largely undocumented. Although Virgil and others have sought evidence of a Greek foundation, the only surviving evidence, five “wretched shards” of Mycenean pottery found in Latium, do not make for a compelling argument. Archaeological studies have revealed hilltop settlements on the Capitoline, Palatine and Quirinal hills as well as burials in the Forum and the Esquiline hill from the 10th century bc. While the approximate date of the city’s foundation is well documented as the starting point of Livy’s history Ab Urbe Condita (“On the Founding of the City”), our evidence for this period is limited. A dirt wall, a monumental gate and a series of huts and pens for livestock on the Palatine support the concept of defined agrarian based settlements, but not necessarily a thriving metropolis. Rather than accepting legends of Rome’s mythological foundation and the early history as fact, it is more useful to consider how later authors (largely in the 1st centuries bc/ad) chose to represent their early city and its culture. For sure, many of the accounts are more retrospective fantasy than truth, but what they reveal about the values of their late Republican/early Imperial authors makes them interesting in their own right. To understand the function and meaning of these mythological events, we must first consider the sources from which they came.

Accounts of these foundation myths, which represent some of the earliest works in Latin literature, date only to the early 3rd century bc: 500 years after the founding of the city or accounts of the Trojan War by Homer, and nearly a millennium after the supposed “arrival of Aeneas” in Italy. It was not until the 3rd century bc, after competing Italian cultures (e.g. Etruscan, Samnite) had been defeated, that Latin began to emerge as the lingua franca of Italy. The defeat of foes within Italy is also contemporary with an increasingly outward approach of Roman foreign policy; Rome began accumulating a global empire extending its reach into modern Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Early authors such as Fabius Pictor (mid–late 3rd century bc), who began his history with Aeneas’ arrival in Latium, wrote in Greek and relied upon earlier Greek sources. For the majority of Latin historical accounts, we must turn again to the foundation myths recorded in the 1st century bc; between five and eleven centuries after the events in question.

Understanding Roman history is not a quest for truth but rather an attempt to understand the limitations of the sources at our disposal; sorting claim from reality and “fake news” from what can be supported with the surviving physical evidence. Modern science and archaeology can corroborate some aspects of the settlements with cremation burial urns in the Forum Necropolis (10th–9th centuries bc) followed by inhumation and the eventual closure of the burial site as the city was developed in the 6th century bc. Alluvial soil analysis and post holes (empty caverns where wood used to be) also support these dates, but other “early” evidence has been questioned, with numerous fakes and forgeries exposed in the process. Sources on Rome’s early history are especially dangerous, not only in their significant historical removal from events but also where they were used to corroborate a series of mythological stories and events. If you are looking for Romulus’ final resting place, you will probably find it, regardless of whether or not it existed. Despite dubious sources and scant evidence, the fanciful accounts of Rome’s foundation make for a thrilling adventure; and this virtue was not lost upon Roman writers.

Although Titus Livius (Livy) (59 bc–ad 17) and Virgil (70–19 bc) are often classed as a historian and poet (respectively), these distinctions are not always so clearly drawn in the ancient world (for further details on both authors cf. Chapter 8). The Roman world was much more interdisciplinary in terms of politics and arts; in addition to writing an epic poem (the Aeneid), Virgil also wrote a treatise on farming. Livy, a scholar from Patatvium (Padua), devoted his life to research, which was more extensive than many of his predecessors (who tended to be retired politicians in Rome looking for a hobby). Both men sought to impress a powerful figure (Augustus) and rather than composing an accurate account from past to the present, they wrote with a sense of predestination, tracing Rome’s recent triumphs to the past. Tying in with Augustus’ new moral legislation on “traditional” family values, these stories sought to illustrate quintessentially “Roman” values in her prestigious ancestors. The resulting works are fantastic mythical tales that abound with moral messages and allusions to Rome’s imminent glory. Whether or not the Roman audience believed or accepted these accounts as fact is worth considering, perhaps along the line of modern approaches to mythical figures such as King Arthur and the knights of the round table, the railwayman John Henry or the woodsman Paul Bunyan. Do we need our myths to have a basis in truth? It is a question worth considering.

Aeneas arrives in Italy: Virgil and the Trojan wars (ca. 1250 bc)

It is not surprising that Rome sought to trace her history through the same events that defined the Greek world: the Trojan Wars. The narrative and imagery from the Trojan Wars were recognized throughout the Mediterranean and some of the finest surviving Greek vases depicting these events have been found in Etruria (Tuscany) in 6th century tombs. Integrating themselves within this epic tradition need not be taken as lack of originality on the part of the Romans, but should probably be viewed as a canny political move, which placed Rome within an internationally recognizable historical context and a pre-existing framework of epic tradition. In selecting the Trojan underdog Aeneas as their mythical founder, Romans deliberately set themselves apart from Greek heroes such as Achilles and Odysseus, as well as the tendency of Greek literature to recall a lost “Golden Age” of wealth, palaces and glory. The most iconic image of Aeneas, attested on Greek vases as early as the 6th century bc, depicts the hero in full battle regalia carrying his father on his back from the ruins of Troy (sometimes accompanied by his son Ascanius, and his divine mother Venus) (Figure 1.1). This scene, the most common in Roman depictions of Aeneas, was represented on the coins of Caesar or on popular commodity objects such as oil lamps which, like the literature that describes them, date from the 1st century bc– 2nd century ad. In the quintessential role of paterfamilias “head of the family”, Aeneas leaves Troy with nothing but his family (and his armour). He wanders through the Mediterranean, not coincidentally, encountering the lands and foes that will eventually become part of Rome’s vast empire.

Figure 1.1 A black figure oinochoe (a wine jug; very popular in Greece), by the Louvre Painter dating from 520-510 bc (Louvre Vase 118). This vase depicts a fully armoured Aeneas carrying his father on his back, with one arm, while in the other he holds his shield (further identifying him as a “protector”). Greek vases, popular objects in Etruscan tombs, illustrate the prominence of trade links between Etruscans and their Greek neighbors. Source: Photo © RMN- Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/Hervé Lewandowki

After a series of delays, adversities and divine interventions, Aeneas reaches Italy and meets king Latinus of Latium, who promises his daughter Lavinia in marriage. Sadly, our hero’s hardships are not at an end, as a rival leader Turnus of Rutuli challenges Aeneas. Reluctant to go to war, Aeneas seeks help from King Evander (a Greek exile from Arcadia), on a mission that will lead him to the nascent city of Rome (Aeneid 8.29–36). A sense of destiny and divine approval is conveyed by the river god “old Tiber”, who addresses Aeneas in his sleep (Aeneid 8.35–49).

Night . . . Aeneas lay on the riverbank under the cold stars, heartsick and restless with plans for the impending war. At last he fell asleep. In a dream he saw the god of the place [Old Tiber] rising from among the poplar trees . . . “Son of Venus” he said in a soothing voice, “You have brought Troy here, safe from her enemies and here you will rebuild her to stand forever. On the soil of Italy, in the Land of Latium, we have been waiting for you. This is to be your home and here your household gods will find protection. Look at me: you must not be frightened by any threats of violence… To prove to you that this is no false dream, I promise that soon among the oak trees on the bank, you will find a great white sow; she will be lying on the ground suckling her piglets – 30 of them . . . This will be the site of Alba Longa, the famous city which Ascanius will found, 30 years from now.”

Trans G.B. Cobbold (2005) Aeneid 8, p. 202

When he awakes, Aeneas ventures through the outskirts of Rome discovering the prophetic white piglets and entering the city at the Forum Boarium (Map 1 no. 2) where he dines on beef (a reference to the original function of this forum as a cattle market), noting various features such as a crevice in the Aventine, supposedly torn by an angry Hercules. The aim of this journey seems to be an exploration of the humble nature of Rome’s origins: “What Roman power has now raised to the heights of the sky, in those days was poor land ruled by Evander” (Aeneid 8.100). Aeneas’ path through the landscape of the future city of Rome takes him on a journey through time and space: past the Porta Carmentalis, where a temple of Apollo will be built (and later restored by Augustus), past the sacred Asylum grove and the cave of Pan Lycaeus “the wolf god” (both references to Romulus’ foundation), past the Capitoline hill “now all gold but in those days was bristling with rough scrub” (Aeneid 8.348–350). The tour proceeds through the Roman forum (Map 5), which is filled with grazing cattle, ending at Evander’s humble hut on the Palatine hill: “Talking this way they were coming up to Evander’s humble home . . . ‘Come into my poor home and do not judge it too harshly’” (ll. 360–7). Virgil is laying...