Rome, the eternal (part 4).

 

Ruins of Pompei. Photo: Daniel Delgado, 2010.

Among the basic objectives, in the study of the events of the past, is the correct interpretation of the available data. It permits an increase in the probability to get closer to the historical truth. Of course, most of the time is not an easy task. It may happen the same as the Ancient Egypt: plenty of clues, but difficult to understand. Or as the Sumerian, with their history buried under tons of sediments. Perhaps, by chance, as it happened with Pompei. What to say about Troy and its discovery, by someone who believed in Homer´s legends? But it is also possible to face hard to solve riddles...

View of the Roman Forum. Photo: Marcel Roblin, 2017.
Lic. CC BY-SA 4.0

And, about Rome? Might it be enough with the abundance of archaeological data and the old chronicles? Unfortunately, it seems that its early historians were not too impartial. Besides, it is evident that they made use of legends and popular tales, to build a part of history. But, why they did such thing? As a result, till the present, there are only hints and riddles about the birth and the initial development of the city. Could it be possible to get to know the truth about the primitive Rome? How much of that story, may be taken for real? There are many questions, still waiting for an answer.

The Gaul looting of Rome. By Nicolás Chifflart, 1863.
Source: www.latribunedelart.com {{PD-US}}

That fiction and reality mix, could have been a consequence of the Gauls´invasion, by the year 390 bC. Everything seems to indicate, that it was the first time that an external force seized Rome. The city was looted and then burnt. For sure, many papers and registers turned into ashes. With them, probably dissapeared an important part of the written memory, from the first centuries of the city. So, could all those semi-legendary narrations about its early days, be taken as true history?

Still, a century later, Rome had not only recovered. They also had established its domain, over a wide territory of more than a hundred thousand square kilometers. As the city began to grow in importance, their chroniclers were tempted to fill the voids of their history. They used the traditional tales, that had passed from parents to children, as we said earlier. Was obvius the purpose of ennobling the origin of Rome, and also to stand out the qualities that made a good Roman.

The Senate of Rome. Cicero denounces Catiline, by Cesare Maccari, 1889.
Maccari room, Turin, Italy.

According to them, Rome had a monarchic government along the first and a half century. It was ruled by lifetime monarchs, with limited power. By then, already existed a council of elders, named as the Senate, whose purpose was to give advice to the king. That institution, would become fundamental for the political life of the city.

August orders to close the doors of the Temple of Janus.
By Louis de Boullogne. Source: www.univ-montp3.fr {{PD-US}}

When the first king died, the throne would pass to Numa Pompilius, of Sabine origin. Throughout his long reign, Rome would live a period of calm, that would rarely have again in the future. As a revealing fact, there was a temple consecrated to the god Janus, whose doors stayed opened only in times of war. During the peaceful mandate of Numa, there was no necessity to open them. But along the next seven centuries, were closed just four times, and for very short periods!

Numa Pompilius receives the laws fo Rome, from the nymph Aegeria.
By Felice Giani, 1806. Embassy of Spain Palace. Rome.
Source: http://bcs.fltr.ucl.ac.be

Numa Pompilius died in the year 673 bC. (80 A.U.C.). That way, Tullus Hostilius, from Latin ancestry, would become the third king of Rome. Unlike his predecessor, showed an expansionist and warlike policy. He did not hesitate to restore the fearful royal guard and intentionally tried to worsen the friction with Alba Longa, their main rival at the region of Latio. Rome was turning into an annoying neighbor.

The Tiber, at the bridge and sant' Angelo, Rome. Photo: Lalupa, 2005.

The Tiber stimulated the communications and trading, improving their life-style. At the same time, it led to an increased population growth. But to feed more and more persons, was necessary a larger surface of productive land. The bad news were, that it had to be at their neighbors´ territories expense. It was one of the oldest dispute reasons of mankind, and the story would repeat again... 

The situation caused apprehension and warned most of the nearby towns, specially the Latin and Etruscan. As a result, the Roman of the early times, had to learn to move with care. Above all, they needed to stand together (something their neighbors never learnt). To survive among enemies, was important to leave their own conflicts in second place. Every time Rome forgot those lessons, the consequences were disastrous. And last, but not least, the creation of a professional army became a priority. Indeed, this would constitute an essential part of their history.

Moreover, the Etruscan influence, at the end benefited Rome, despite their apparent rivalry. But they had a permanent interaction, due to their closeness. As a result, there was a "cultural symbiosis" between them. Hence, the still rustic city of Rome obtained a possitive balance... since the Etruscan had a higher civilization stage.

Castel Gandolfo and the Alban lake, Italy. It was the location of the city of Alba Longa.
Photo: George McFinnigan, 2005. Downloaded by Gaucho, from Italian Wikipedia.
Lic. Cretive Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

The problem with Alba Longa was in crescendo. By the year 667 bC. the end was imminent. Still, the common sense finally imposed. Both rivals, decided to avoid a hard clash, which could leave them to the mercy of a third party. As in the old times, the conflict would be solved by a hand-to-hand combat between their champions. The events of that day, were one of the favorite stories of the Roman. Three brothers, the Horatii, would fight for Rome, while the Curiatii stood up for Alba Longa. After an intense combat, the balance seemed to tilt in favor of the Alban. But something unexpected was about to happen...

The Horatii´s oath. By Jacques-Louis David, 1784.
Museum of Louvre, Paris, France. Photo: The Yorck Project, 2002.
{{PD-US}}

Two of the Roman defenders were dead. The last standing Horatius had to face alone, such magnificent rivals. However, not everything was lost: his opponents were bleeding, injured, while he was almost unhurt. Then, he understood that if he faced them together, would be almost impossible to win. It was the right moment for a strategy... So he started running across the place, to make believe he was avoiding the combat. His battered foes pursued him, hoping to finish at once an for all. But, as they got near to him, one by one, he managed to face and defeat them. Before the general disbelief, Horatius emerged victorious, so giving the triumph to Rome.

Horatio kills his sister. By Louis-Jean-Francois Lagrenée, ca. 1754.
Fine Arts Museum of Rouen, France. Photo: Philipe Ales.
Lic. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

Nevertheless, this is not the end of the story. Later, the heroe heard the mournful cry of his young sister, who loved one of the dead enemies. Blinded by rage, Horatius killed her, while he said:

So shall perish every Roman woman who mourns a foe! 

As he killed his sister, Horatius was showing that the love for Rome, should be above every other thing. It was quite a citizen virtue lesson! This fanciful story was possibly based on real events. Then, the oral tradition kept it through time, till was compiled and even modified, years later. 

The victory of Tullus Hostilius, over Veyes and Fidenes.
In this battle Alba Longa violated the agreement with Rome.
By Cavalier D'Arpin, 1601.

Finally, Alba Longa was bound to accept their rival´s will. And it stayed the same, until they found a new chance to rise up, when Rome declared war to the Etruscan. But then, Tullus Hostilius lost his patience... This time, Alba Longa, the city founded by the son of Aeneas, was destroyed! However, Rome let its inhabitants to stay at the Caelian Hill. They also received the same rights of any other Roman citizen.

There would come bad times, and the wars would carry on. To make things worst, a terrible epidemic unleashed. It all seemed to affect the king´s behavior, according to the historian Titus Livius. When he fell sick, became a mistic man. He spent most of his time at the altars, making sacrifices to the gods. Unfortunately, his offerings did not seem to please them... A little time later, a ray burnt his palace, killing him and all his family. It rather looked like a punishment sent from heaven!

But it seemed a much more realistic option, that they have been murdered by someone. Maybe a descent from the former monarch, Numa Pompilius, did not find a better way to conquer the throne. So, he and his supporters burst into palace on a stormy night, killed Tulus Hostilius and the royal family, and burnt it all. Later, would be easy to attribute the tragedy to the king of gods´will. It is clear that ruling Rome, was turning into a dangerous occupation.

Ancus Marcius, 4th king of Rome.
Source: Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum.
Published by Guillaume Rouille, 1553.
{{PD-US}}

And that man must have been Ancus Marcius. After all, he was invested as the fourth king of Rome. Everything seems to indicate that the justice prevailed under his reign. He continued with the Roman expansion over the lands of Latio and also undertook many public works. By those times, the explosive growth of the city, attracted new settlers. They occupied another of the seven hills of Rome, the Aventine. They were the workers, the manpower, considered as plebeian, (the common people)...

A view from Rome, from the Aventine Hill. Litograph by Eberhard Emminger, ca.1850
According to the tradition, it was the place chosen by Remus, to found the city.
Source: www.zeller.de {{PD-US}}

Some of his achievements have been questioned later. Particularly, it is a fact that after Ancus Marcius, the city had Etruscan kings. This leads to suspect, that Rome was under foreign control, at least to some extent, during that period. But the mighty and civilized Etruscans had a big weakness! It was the marked lack of unity between their cities. It would open a gap for the final Roman victory. Their fate would be to dissapear from History and to be absorbed by Rome, whose road leaded to rule almost the entire world...

Of course, the historians who wrote about that period, should have made some arrangements, deleting everything that could affect the Roman pride. Ahead of certain embarrasing situations, was better to let the imagination fly and reconstruct the events, with a mix of reality and fantasy. Again, we should remember that "History is always written by the winners..."