Articles

The rise of Rome and the origins of its history have always excited and fascinated people. Of course, our perception of Roman history differs significantly from the views of the ancient inhabitants of the Eternal City. Nowadays, we make some distinction between its legendary history and actual historical events, which scholars try to reconstruct on the basis of critical analysis of ancient sources. For the Romans, the stories about the origins of their state were not just a collection of legends, but a widely accepted version of actual events. Nevertheless, some of Rome’s founding myths have become a permanent part of the way we think about the city today. The most famous example, of course, is the Roman she-wolf (lupa romana), which remains one of Rome’s symbols to this day, and whose image can be found in many corners of the city.