Livy's History Of Rome

Livy gives an account of the Romans origins. This story is accepted as a mixture of myth, and Livy “will neither confirm nor deny the historicity of what he’s saying.” Which means that the only way to truly know if this story is to look at the archeological evidence. First let’s recall Livy’s History of Rome and then go over if the archeological evidence supports this fact.
Livy gives an excellent account of what the Romans themselves believed their past to be. He begins by explaining how the Romans are said to have come from the Trojans escaping Troy. The Trojans are said to be “led by the fates to a greater destiny” showing how the romans saw their destiny as the will of the Gods. The Trojans, led by Aeneas came to Italy and quickly made …show more content…
Livy adds how the Romans received many items from the Etruscans, such as the toga preatexta, curule chair, and senators. Rome became equal to any in war , but there were no women to sustain its greatness. Romulus tried to persuade its neighbors to become allies and give marriages. Rome took this rejection badly, which resulted in the Rape of the Sabines. This is an incident where Rome invited is neighbors, including the Sabines, to games outside the city of Rome. A sign was given and the Roman men all stole brides for themselves and others. The Sabines go to war with Rome, but the war ends due to the women pleading for their husbands and fathers to stop this quarrel. Romulus is said to have one day gone up into the clouds and become a god. It is also believed that the senators tore him to pieces, but Livy states that due to admiration and fear, that version is not as …show more content…
or possibly not. Wiseman says that everything we think we know about Roman origins is more of a hypothesis. While Caradini may claim that the “rex” inscription is from Romulus’s tomb, there is no actual prof, it is all speculation. When a cave was found under the Palatine hill, filled with mosaics, could be seen as the Lupercale, or the cave which the she-wolf took Romulus and Remus. All this shows is that this is the cave the first-century Romans celebrated as the legend. We have no proof of the true origins of the Romans. Even the famous bronze wolf statue is found to be medieval. What is clear is that the Romans themselves believed in the story. While there may well have been a man named Romulus who founded the city, there is no way of truly knowing. The city was in fact founded and its archaeology supports that the Roman date of 753B.C. may be somewhat