The Tale of Aeneas

• The history of peoples and cultures has generally been passed down orally through generations before being written down.
• In Rome's history, myth and the supernatural are intertwined with both human and historical events.

The tale of Aeneas

• Aeneas, son of Anchises and Venus, left Troy when it fell to Greek forces after a prolonged war.
• Abandoning Troy after the loss of his wife, Aeneas, carrying his son Ascanius and his father, sought a location to create a new homeland under Venus' guidance.
• After traveling the Mediterranean, Aeneas reached Hesperia where he was accepted by King Latinus in the Lazio area.
• King Latinus was advised by a divine oracle that his daughter Lavinia should marry a foreigner.
• Lavinia and Aeneas eventually married.
• Turnus, Lavinia's former suitor, was insulted by the marriage and attacked Aeneas, but Aeneas was victorious after intense fighting.
• Aeneas founded Lavinium in memory of his wife following the battle and the calm that followed.
• Aeneas was succeeded by his son Ascanius, who later founded Alba Longa and started a long-lasting dynasty.
• Procas, a king of the dynasty, had Numitor and Amulius.
• They fought out of jealousy.
• Numitor, the rightful king given his age, was overthrown by his brother.
• Amulius murdered Numitor's sons and made Rhea Silvia, Numitor's daughter, a vestal priestess to end his line.
• Mars, the god of war, fell in love with Rhea Silvia and had twins Romulus and Remus.
• Amulius imprisoned Rhea Silvia and threw the newborns into the Tiber River.
• A she-wolf found and nursed them.
• Faustulus, a shepherd, rescued the children, brought them home, and charged his wife Laurencia with their care.
• When Romulus and Remus turned eighteen, Faustulus told them of their origin.
• The brothers avenged their family, ousted Amulius, and gave the throne back to Numitor.
• Romulus and Remus chose to create a new city near the Tiber River where the she-wolf had rescued them, but power struggles arose again.
• To determine who would rule, they consulted divine omens by watching birds.
• Remus watched Aventine Hill and saw six vultures and simultaneously, Romulus saw twelve from Palatine Hill.
• Romulus, appointed by the gods, used a plow to establish the city's boundaries around Palatine Hill and threatened death to anyone crossing the sacred border.
• Remus mocked and trespassed.
• Romulus killed him in fury and became the sole ruler of Rome.

Roman Deities Depicted

• Penates protected the home and city.
• Lares, from Etruscan, Latin, and Sabine roots, represent the spirits of ancestors.
• Manes are spirits associated with the dead.
• Geniuses were protective gods of weddings and unions

Deities Related to Nature and Rural Life

• Saturn is connected with the Greek god Cronus, the protector of harvests.
• Flora is the goddess of vegetation
• Silvanus is associated with forests and untilled lands.
• Faunus is associated with the fertility of fields and livestock.
• Pallas is an ancient Roman goddess protecting shepherds and herds, linked with Palatine Hill where Rome was located.
• Terminus is the god of borders, marked with stone or wooden landmarks adorned during festivals.

Geographic Setting

• The Mediterranean Sea borders three European peninsulas, including the Italian Peninsula.
• The Italian Peninsula contains three notable plains: the Po River valley (Galia Cisalpina), Lazio, and Campania.

Cultural & Ethnic Landscape

• Before Roman expansion, the peninsula housed diverse groups, including the Ligurians and Veneti (north), Etruscans, Italic peoples, Greeks, and Gauls.
• The Latin people settled in the plains of Lazio.
• Early Latin villages formed the Septimontium confederation, situated on the seven named hills, including Palatine Hill.
• Rome originated from these hills around 753 BC, near the Tiber River's mouth, inhabited by farmers and shepherds who built a powerful empire.

Historical Periods

• Monarchy (753-509 BC): Legends mix with history, including seven kings, social organization focused on the gens
• Republic (509-27 BC): Marked by the expulsion of the last Etruscan king and governance by citizens.
• Empire (27 BC-476 AD): Split into the High and Low Empire phases.
• Julius Caesar accumulated power during the Republic's end.

Julius Caesar

• Born in 100 BC and assassinated in 44 BC, was a politician, military leader, and writer.
• Held positions like Quaestor, Aedile, Pontifex Maximus, Praetor, and Consul.
• Wrote about the Gallic Wars.
• Wrote about the Civil War.

Caesar's Legacy

• He reorganized the Roman calendar, implementing a 365-day year divided into 12 months, used until the Gregorian calendar replaced it in the 17th century.
• He implemented a colonization policy.
• Caesar's name evolved into titles for Roman emperors
• "Kaiser" in German and "Tzar" in Russian.

Hispania

• The Romans arrived in the Peninsula due to struggles with the Carthaginians.
• The Scipio brothers landed in Emporion in 218 BC, fighting the Carthaginians and indigenous peoples
• They secured crucial Carthaginian territories by 206 BC.
• Despite repeated rebellions, the Romans progressively colonized the rest of the Peninsula.
• Romanization was achieved in 19 BC.

Romance Languages

• Romance languages evolved from Latin, evident in the different forms of words like "populu" in Latin.
• Romance languages include languages like Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian.

Linguistic Terms

• Latin words evolve into modern languages through transformation
• Cultismos were incorporated into our language when it was already formed.
• Patrimonial words complete the linguistic evolution.

Latin Roots Dictionary

• Equu (caballo)
• Fumu (humo)
• Ludo (juego)
• Humu (tierra)
• Auru (oro
• Digitu (dedo)

Phonetic Evolution of Latin in Castellano

• Latin words ending in -am, -um, -em function as direct objects known as the Accusative case.
• In all cases the final "m" disappears where: rosam becomes rosa, florem becomes flore, manum becomes manu.

Founding of Rome

• The site was protected from pirates and had a navigable river branch.
• Marshlands surrounding the hills led to malaria.
• The Palatine Hill was settled with the intention of populating the other six hills.
• Early Romans captured Sabine women, leading to conflict.
• Battle was averted, and Romulus and the Sabine king Titus Tatius decided to rule jointly and made Romulus the leader.

Toponyms and gentiles

Fluviu Iberu = Río Miño Fluviu Sicori = Río Tajo Fluviu Miniu = Río Segre Fluviu Tagu = Río Ebro Fluviu Duriu = Río Duero

Place Names

Huelva = Onuba Alicante = Lucentu Palencia = Osca Sagunto = Ilici Ávila = Zaragoza Calatayud = Lugo Tarrasa = Oviedo Alcalá de Henares = Tarragona