Content Warning: Discussion of colonization, war, dictatorship, and monarchy. Brief mention of SA and slavery.

In this episode, I tell the myth: "Romulus and Remus", a story of origin for Ancient Rome. The tale details the strange birth of the two brothers, their subsequent upbringing, and finally their acquisition of power. Likely a pseudohistory, the story is one of our only sources for an explanation of how Roma came to be in the region that was historically known as Latium (and inhabited by Latians, or Latins). I am telling an abbreviated form of the myth which either comes from Livy or Virgil, though the reference to Aeneas at the start of the tale suggests that this is Virgil's account of Rome's origin. The story itself is older than any written account. Our earliest recording comes from Dionysius in 200 BCE, though most scholars date the origin of the oral tale to approximately 500 BCE. The myth is also closely tied to Parilia, a Roman festival celebrating the return of Spring and the founding of Rome.

We'll discuss the history of Roman monarchy, struggles with archaeological work in Rome, the representation of indigenous peoples by an external colonizer, and the implications of Romulus' rule on the subsequent history of Rome. We'll also make sense of the "true monarch" trope and its use by dictators today.

You can find all of my work through the following links:

https://linktr.ee/echocain

www.echocain.com