Posted on 06/13/2007 6:21:26 AM PDT by BGHater
The story of Romulus and Remus is almost as old as Rome. The orphan twins were suckled by a she-wolf in a cave on the banks of the Tiber. Romulus grew up to found Rome in 753 B. C.
Historians have long since dismissed the story as a charming legend. The 19th-century historian Theodor Mommsen said: “The founding of the city in the strict sense, such as the legend assumes, is of course to be reckoned out of the question: Rome was not built in a day.”
Yet the legend is as imperishable as Mommsen’s skeptical verdict, and it has been invigorated by recent archaeological finds.
This year, Italian archaeologists reported discovering the long-lost cave under the Palatine Hill that ancient Romans held sacred as the place where the twins were nursed. The grown brothers fought over leadership of the new city, the story goes, and Romulus killed Remus and became the first king.
The cave was no surprise to Andrea Carandini, a historian and an archaeologist at the University of Rome, who has said, “The tale of the birth of Rome is part myth and part historical truth.” He had already found remains of an ancient wall and ditch and also ruins of a palace that he said was built in the eighth century B.C.
“When I excavated the Romulean-age wall on the Palatine, I realized that I was looking at the very origins of Rome as a city-state,” Dr. Carandini said in a long interview in the July-August issue of the magazine Archaeology.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Rome
Yes...but....were they raised by wolves? Now, that would be cooooll....
"Rome wasn't sacked in a day."
We could have built it in a day but the unions would have raised hell.
That would explain their table manners.
Really? I impressed that the Romans said anything derogatory about prostitutes....
On a more serious note, if this trend keeps up, next thing you know, someone will excavate Troy...oh, wait...
We shouldn’t necessarily look to the academics for truth on these things. They are often wrong.
Your tagline fits the story quite well, by the way.
Their table manners are explained by their standard S.P.Q.R.
(Senatus Populus Que Romanus) or as commonly known in Italy
Sono Porci Questi Romani (These romans are pigs).
Late in the story it mentions “..the presence of certain physical remains” shouldn’t be interpreted as giving credence to the story.
How could you write this story and not describe the physical remains found if they are at issue?
I wouldn’t expect the mummified body of Romulus, but maybe a rat-chewed original version of the Uncle Remus tales?
“Please don’t throw me in that stinkin’ Tiber.”
Ping
Is this cave supposed to be the “cave of the Lupercal”, where the Lupercalia festival began in the roman Republic? If so, any remains would likely be from much later than the time of Romulus and Remus.
bump
Huh. All they had to do was Google me. Talk about hiding in plain sight!
Good to see you again. Hope you're well.
Just wouldn't sound right.
My ex-wife was from Michigan and always swore that she was raised by wolverines.
when talking to Caesar, made that famous quote:
"Is that a scroll in your toga or are you just glad to see me"
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