According to legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus. Romulus killed Remus and became Rome's first king, establishing the city's first government. Rome grew from a small settlement populated by outcasts and criminals to a major city due to its advantageous location on the Tiber River and by adopting aspects of culture and religion from neighboring Greeks and Etruscans. The Roman Republic was established in 509 BC after the last Etruscan king was overthrown. The Republic was governed by elected consuls and an advisory Senate dominated by patrician families, though political reforms over time increased power for plebeian commoners.

1. ROME!

2. The Founding
• Romulus and Remus: According to legend, two brothers argued over
who would get to rule this new city.
 Descendants of Aeneas, hero of the Aeneid, who escapes from Troy and
settles in Italy
 Raised by a wolf, then cared for by a shepherd.
 Romulus killed Remus, Rome becomes Rome.
• Romulus installs senators and patricians as the first form of government.
• Initial population – outcasts! Fugitive slaves, criminals, exiles, and
prostitutes.
 No way to start a new generation.
 Romulus devises a plan to kidnap nearby women. First war breaks out –
Rome victorious.

3. Abduction of the Sabine Women by Jacques Louis-David

4. Growth of Rome
• Romulus supposedly founded Rome in 753 B.C.—Romans told time ab urbe condita
(A.U.C.: From the Founding of the City)
• In reality, the city probably gradually emerged out of a collection of villages much
earlier
• Advantageous location on Tiber River– close to many different trading partners.
• The Romans were only one of many Latin settlements—shared language and culture
• Borrowed literature and religion from the nearby Greeks.
• Borrowed trading practices and art from the Etruscans.
 Rome was ruled by Etruscan kings for a time
• Grows from a small town to a big city between the 800 and 600 BC
 Bad parts of the city grow, too; crime, corruption, and gangs begin to ransack the city.

6. Etruscan Tomb Art

8. Roman Republic
• According to legend, the Romans, led by Brutus, kicked out the last
Etruscan ruler—no more kings!
• Roman Republic founded in 509 BC
• No formal, written constitution – based off of precedent set by
predecessors.
• Republic developed two factions: Patricians and Plebeians.
 Patricians: small group of aristocratic families
 Plebeians: Everybody else (the commoners!)
 As Rome grew, some plebeians became wealthy. Some talented, worthy
plebeians eventually gained political power (the “New Men”) Some of these
wealthy plebeians appealed to the common people for power.

9. Structure of the Republic
Legislative Assemblies
• Gathering of Roman citizens with limited powers over
other citizens.
Senate of the Republic
• Most power out of the branches of Roman government.
Co-consuls
• Two consuls – one responsible for foreign affairs, the
other for domestic. Two consuls means checks and
balances. One year terms.

11. Offices
• Consuls—military and political power for a limited term (elected by
assembly, but voting system favored nobles)
 Eventually, one consul always had to be a plebeian
• Senators—Advised the consuls—their advice (resolutions) came to have
the force of law
 Mostly from patrician families and in the Senate for life—especially influential
in foreign affairs
• Priests—mostly chosen from among respected aristocrats; an honor for
service in war and politics
 Could prevent laws from being passed by saying that the omens were bad!
• Tribunes—supposed to represent the interests of the plebeians—10
elected by the assemblies of the commoners

12. Priests Reading the Omens

13. Cicero Denounces Catiline, Cesare Maccari

14. The Twelve Tables
• Initially, patricians dominated the Roman Republic
 Held 90% of the consulships in the 400s
• The plebeians struggled for more power, led by the newly wealthy “new
men”
 Used the power of numbers—would withdraw from the city and meet in their
own assemblies (like a modern strike)
• Eventually, the patricians recognized that they would have to make
reforms to satisfy the plebeians
 Political changes—tribunes, 1 consul always had to be plebeian
 The laws of Rome were formally written out in the Twelve Tables
• Why would the plebeians want the laws literally “written in stone”?