Les 3 GRANDS MYTHES sur la fondation de Rome - Mythologie romaine

Rhea Silvia was the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba-la-Longa, when her father was destituted by Amulius, the Ursupator. Rhea was forced to serve among the Vestals, so as not to perpetuate the lineage of her father. But Rhea Silva was seduced by Mars, the Roman god of war. She gave birth to twins Romulus and Remus, but the children Nacir condemned to death. Amulius ordered that the two children be thrown into the Tiber. Rhea Silva was imprisoned, and the children were put in a basket and thrown into the river. The children were transported by water to a certain death, but this was not the will of the gods. Fate wanted the basket to dry on the banks of the river, where a wolf was desalting. Contrary to expectations, the wolf did not devour the babies. She took them to the banks of the river, near the hills of the Capitol and Palatin. In his cave, the wolf fed the two boys. Thanks to the wolf's milk, one of the most important cities in the world arose. Pastor Faustulus found the children under a fig tree. On the branch of the tree was a pike, a sacred bird for the Latins. The shepherd rescued the children and raised them with his wife. The brothers grew up and became strong and daring young men. They were hunters and stole the travelers who crossed their lands. One of these raids did not end well for Remus, who was captured and taken to Albe-la-Longue. Romulus wanted to save his brother, but before that, his adoptive father revealed the truth to him about his noble ancestry. Learning that his little children were still alive, Numitor subdued Romulus' attack, giving him warriors to help him in battle. Romulus led the attack on Albe-la-Longue. During the battle, Amulius, the heir to the throne, was killed and Remus was saved. Romulus and Remus returned to Albe-la-Longue to their grandfather, but discovered that their fate was not in the city. They gathered a few men to found a new one near the place where the wolf saved them. Romulus and Remus were in disagreement about the place where the city was to be founded. Romulus wanted to choose the name of Rome and founded it near Palatin. Remus wanted to name the city Remora and founded it on the hill of the Aventine. The brothers began to build their respective establishments. But when Romulus began to set the sacred limits of his territory, the dispute between the brothers reached a critical level. Remus was again in disagreement with his brother. In an act of provocation, Remus crossed the borders of Rome. Romulus attacked his brother in a fit of rage. Even if Rome was founded in a fraternal tragedy, it developed and prospered over time. Romulus reigned over the city for 38 years. At the end of his life, Romulus was taken by the gods and divinized. The founder of Rome was idolized as the warrior god Quirinius. Over the following centuries, Rome became the most important city in the ancient world. A great empire emerged from the city founded by Romulus. The Roman people has a legendary origin forged in iron and blood. The foundation of the city was marked by the fratricide of Remus, killed by Romulus, the founding father of Rome. At the beginning of his reign, Romulus created the first Roman legion. Courageous men, taken to defend the city and shed their blood for the glory of Rome. Among the richest and most respectable elders, he gave birth to a class of leaders known as patricians, lords of political and religious power. The assembly of these noble patricians became the Roman Senate. But despite this early development, Rome was faced with a serious problem, the lack of women in the city. Without a mother to give birth to true Romans, the city could never prosper. Roman emissaries tried to negotiate marriages with the neighboring kingdoms of Rome. But the monarchs were wary of the Romans and did not want to give them their daughters. Romulus, dissatisfied with this situation, designed a plan to achieve his goal. The Romans invited the Sabines neighbors to the great game organized in honor of the gods at the Feast of the Moissons. The Sabbas were an Italian tribe living in the hills adjacent to Rome, known for their ferocious warriors and beautiful women. During the festivities, Romulus made a sign to his men. Suddenly, they seized the Sabines and took them to their house. The Sabbas were outraged by such an act, but they were not ready to fight. They vowed, however, to take revenge. The war between the two peoples was declared. The conflict was long and brutal. The Sabine and Roman armies clashed several times. Led by King Titus Tatus, the Sabbas tried to invade Rome but failed to pierce the defenses of the city. Rome was besieged from all sides. During this time, the captured Sabines began to form ties with their Roman allies and had already given birth to several children. But there was a betrayal. Tarpeia, daughter of the chief of the Capitoline Guard, opened the doors to his enemies in exchange for precious gold bracelets. The Sabbas took advantage of this to invade Rome. But they felt such contempt for the priestess that they threw the bracelets against her and crushed her with shields for her unworthy behavior. A new battle began between the Romans and the Sabbas. It was difficult to predict the winner, but it was very likely that the cost would be so high that the result would be a victory at the Pyrrhus. It was then that the brave Sabines, with their Roman children in their arms, interposed themselves between the two armies and begged for the end of the battles between the two peoples. They begged the Romans not to kill their great-grandparents and the Sabbas not to kill the fathers of their grandchildren. They preferred to die at that time rather than become widows and orphans. After the intervention of the Sabines, peace between the Romans and the Sabbas was sealed. Romans and Sabbas no longer formed a single people. King Sabin Titus Statius then reigned alongside Romulus on the city, whose splendor was to one day eclipse all the others. After the death of Romulus, the founder of the city of Rome, Numa Pompilius took power. Numa was elected unanimously because he was the most virtuous man among the Latins. Numa Pompilius did not disappoint the people and reigned over Rome for 43 years. His reign was marked by peace and prosperity. But Numa Pompilius was succeeded by Tullus Hostilius, a military leader who thought that the period of peace promoted by Numa had softened the people and that the warriors were becoming weaker and weaker. Tullus began to sow discord among the neighbors of the Romans, causing small conflicts, but his quarrels did not seem to satisfy him. Tullus Hostilius therefore decided to make war on a more important neighbor, the city of Alba Longa. The Albans feared nothing and led their men to the battlefield. But Metius Fufetius realized that a bath of blood would only weaken the two peoples, making them vulnerable to the Etruscans. He therefore proposed that three champions of each camp fight for the honor of their respective people. The Romans accepted. The three Roman champions formed the Horace, one of the most popular Roman families. The brothers Publius, Servilius and Marcus swore in front of their father that they would fight in the name of the Roman state, for the honor of the people and for their families, against the Curiatii, an important Sabine family to which the Horace were bound by marriage. One of the wives of the Roman brothers belonged to the Curiatii family and their sister Camilla was engaged to one of the champions of Alba, whom she was madly in love with. The women watched the Horace brothers leave and were sure that whatever the outcome of the confrontation, they would lose the one they loved. The three brothers Horatii and the three brothers Curiatii fought courageously and mercilessly for their opponents. Two brothers Horatii fell in front of their enemies, not without having wounded them in advance. Publius Horatius had to face three enemies alone. Publius was an experienced and cunning fighter. He decided to retire while facing his opponents, fighting them individually, without being encircled. Horatius succeeded the impossible. He killed the three Curiatii, bringing glory and honor to his homeland and his family. Seeing his brother return with his enemy dead on his shoulders, Camilla fell on her back and cried the death of her lover. Publius took his sword and killed his sister, saying that this was the fate of any Roman woman who wept for her enemy. Publius was judged for the murder of his sister, but acquitted by the jury, who considered Camilla a traitor for having wept the death of the enemy and not that of the honorable brothers who had sacrificed themselves for the glory of Rome.