The Roman Origin Myth

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

Please note that while certain dates and general historical context reflect scholarly consensus, the narrative content of this post is drawn from mythological traditions rather than historical records unless stated otherwise.

Pronunciation Guide Aeneas — uh-NEE-us Priam — PRY-um Agamemnon — ag-uh-MEM-non Mount Ida — mount EYE-duh Polydorus — pol-ee-DORE-us Strophades — STROH-fuh-deez Buthrotum — byoo-THROH-tum Cumaean Sibyl — kyoo-MEE-un SIB-il Cyclopes — SYE-kloh-peez Anchises — an-KY-seez Carthage — KAR-thij Elysium — ih-LIZ-ee-um Latium — LAH-tee-um Latinus — lah-TEE-nus Lavinia — luh-VIN-ee-uh Rutulian — roo-TOO-lee-un Turnus — TUR-nus Alecto — uh-LEK-toh Pallanteum — pal-LAN-tee-um Evander — ee-VAN-der Arcadia — ar-KAY-dee-uh Pallas — PAL-us Ascanius — as-KAY-nee-us Alba Longa — AL-buh LONG-guh Numitor — NOO-mi-tor Amulius — uh-MYOO-lee-us Rhea Silvia — REE-uh SIL-vee-uh Romulus — ROM-yuh-lus Remus — REE-mus Tiber — TYE-ber Palatine — PAL-uh-tyne Faustulus — FOW-styoo-lus Aventine — AV-en-tyne Pietas — PYE-eh-tass Augustus — aw-GUS-tus Augustan — aw-GUS-tun

The city of Rome was founded in 753 BCE, but its origins were steeped in legend and heroic journeys. Their myths gave shape to one of the world’s greatest civilisations: they imbued their empire with a sense of divine destiny, or as they themselves said, imperium sine fine, an empire without end.

The story began with the Trojan War, one of the most important conflicts in Greek mythology. Troy, ruled by King Priam, was besieged by a Greek army led by King Agamemnon. The war blazed on for 10 years. Then, finally, the Greeks managed to breach Troy’s walls through the infamous ruse of the wooden horse.

Among the Trojan defenders was Aeneas, a noble prince and the son of Venus (the goddess of love, beauty, and desire). When Troy fell, Aeneas was one of the few Trojans who survived. Urged on by the ghost of the Trojan hero, Hector, Aeneas fled the burning city with his family and a small band of survivors. After escaping Troy, Aeneas regrouped with other survivors and made for a harbour at the foot of Mount Ida. The Trojans prepared multiple ships and set out on a dangerous journey to secure a new future for themselves.

Sailing far across the Mediterranean Sea, Aeneas and the Trojans searched for a new home. First, they tried to settle on the island of Thrace. They soon discovered, however, that the island was cursed. During the war, a Thracian king brutally murdered Prince Polydorus of Troy for gold. Aeneas found Polydorus’s remains and gave him a proper burial. Then, the Trojans set sail once more. They journeyed to the island of Delos, where Apollo instructed Aeneas to seek out their new homeland in Italy. The Trojans, though, mistakenly settled in Crete, but were soon forced back to sea by a rampant plague. Next, they went to Strophades, where they encountered the Harpies. They attacked and cursed the Trojans. After escaping from the Harpies, the Trojans went to Buthrotum, a city made to resemble the once-great Troy. There, the prophet told Aeneas of his destined route to Italy. He also warned him that he must seek out the Cumaean Sibyl (the most famous of all the prophetic women in the ancient world) upon his arrival in Italy. When the Trojans left the shores of Buthrotum, they soon found themselves in a vicious storm. Forced to seek refuge on the island of Sicily, they encountered the man-eating Cyclopes. They managed to escape, but before they could leave the island, Aeneas’s father, Anchises, tragically died of old age. Once they were finally back at sea, they found themselves caught in another storm. This time, it was sent by Juno (the goddess of marriage, women, and family) to direct the Trojan fleet away from Italy and towards Carthage. Long before the Trojan War, at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Juno believed she had been humiliated by Paris of Troy. Because of this, she had a deep hatred for the Trojan people and did not want them to succeed in their journey.

Queen Dido of Carthage welcomed Aeneas with open arms. But Venus, Aeneas’s mother, fearing that Dido might eventually harm her son, decided to send her other son, Cupid (the god of love and desire), to make her fall in love with Aeneas. Later, while on a royal hunt, Juno once again sent a storm, which forced Aeneas and Dido to take shelter in a cave. There, they consummated their relationship. Dido believed that this moment made the two husband and wife, but Aeneas didn’t. When they returned to Carthage, Dido abandoned her queenly duties and came to see herself as Aeneas’s wife. In a vision, Aeneas was reminded by Jupiter (the king of the Gods) of his divine destiny to found a new Trojan home. Resolute, Aeneas prepared to leave Carthage and continue his journey. But when Dido heard about this, she was devastated. She pleaded with him to stay. And even though he told her he didn’t wish to leave her, but he was compelled by his sacred duty, she cursed his bloodline and committed suicide.

Back at sea, Aeneas was once again caught up in a violent storm sent by Juno. The Trojans were driven back to Sicily, where Aeneas decided to hold funeral games to mark the anniversary of his father’s passing. Juno, still determined to deter the Trojans, sent Iris (the messenger of the gods) to Sicily. Iris reminded the Trojan women of all they had suffered. She told them that the only way to end their hardships was to remain in Sicily. Iris incites the women to set the Trojan boats ablaze. Aeneas, watching his boats burn, prayed to Jupiter, who quenched the fires with a torrential rainstorm. Then Aeneas had a vision in which his father instructed him to journey into the underworld.

To do this, though, he would first need to go to Cumae and seek the guidance of the Cumean Sibyl (just as the prophet at Buthrotum prophesied earlier in Aeneas’s journey). The Sibyl instructed Aeneas on how to get into the underworld. Once he finally reached the underworld, he met the spirit of his former lover Dido in the Fields of Mourning. He tried to speak to her, to beg for her forgiveness, but Dido turned away and remained silent. Aeneas was then led to the fields of Elysium, where he met the spirit of his father. Aeneas is once more shown a vision of Rome’s great destiny.

Upon returning to the living world, Aeneas went to Latium. King Latinus, guided by divine prophecy, welcomed the Trojans. The prophecy instructed Latinus to persuade his daughter, Lavinia, to marry one of the Trojans rather than the Rutulian prince, Turnus. Turnus was favoured by Juno, though, and his rejection by King Latinus only embittered the Goddess further. She summoned the fury, Alecto (a female spirit of vengeance), to provoke Turnus into going to war with the Trojans.

Seeking allies for the upcoming war, Aeneas went to Pallanteum. There, he met King Evander of Arcadia, who agreed to provide the Trojans with troops led by his son, Pallas. The Goddess Venus, hoping to aid Aeneas, convinced her husband, Vulcan (the Roman god of fire and metalworking), to forge divine armour for Aeneas.

The ensuing war is long and violent. Turnus besieged the Trojan camp, but in the nick of time, Aeneas, aided by his new allies, returned to lead the Trojans into battle. After much bloodshed and many deaths, it was decreed by the Gods that the conflict would end in single combat between Aeneas and Turnus.

Aeneas dominated the fight. He pinned down Turnus with a vicious spear thrust to the thigh. But before delivering the fatal blow, Aeneas hesitated. He considered showing Turnus mercy. Then, he saw the bloodied belt of his friend, Pallas, on Turnus’s shoulder. He had taken the belt as a trophy when he slew Pallas. Fury seized Aeneas: vengeance now guided his hand.

In killing Turnus, he had secured the Trojans’ place in Latium and fulfilled his fated role as one of the progenitors of the Roman people. He married Lavinia and joined together the Trojan and Italian bloodlines.

Aeneas and Lavinia eventually had a son called Ascanius. Rather than remaining in Aeneas’s settlement, however, Ascanius ventured inland to establish a new city. Along the Alban Hills, he founded the city of Alba Longa (roughly translated as ‘Long White City’ in ancient Greek). In the years that followed, Alba Longa flourished and became the capital of the whole of Latium.

Generations later, Alba Longa was ruled by King Numitor, a descendant of Aeneas. His younger brother, Amulius, grew thirsty for power. He deposed his brother and expelled him from the royal palace. To secure his stolen throne, Amulius forced Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, into the priesthood of Vesta, thereby forbidding her from ever bearing children. Mars (the god of war) intervened, however. He impregnated Rhea Silvia. And after nine months, she gave birth to twin sons: Romulus and Remus.

There was a prophecy that claimed Romulus and Remus would one day restore Numitor’s line. Fearing that this may one day come to pass, Amulius ordered the twins to be drowned in the Tiber. The river did not claim the infants, though. Their cradle drifted on the waters and eventually came to rest at the foot of the Palatine Hill. There, a she-wolf found the twins. She nursed them back to health. Then, they were discovered by a shepherd named Faustulus. He took the twins and, with his wife, raised them as his own.

As they grew, Romulus and Remus displayed exceptional strength and leadership, far beyond that of an ordinary shepherd. They soon discovered their royal heritage. The twins gathered together an army and set out to storm the palace of Alba Longa. They killed Amulius, establishing Numitor once more as the city’s king.

With their grandfather restored as king, the twins set out to found a city of their own near where the she-wolf had rescued them all those years ago. But the twins soon began to argue over which hill to found their new city atop. Romulus wanted to found the city on the Palatine Hill, whereas Remus preferred the Aventine Hill. The bitter argument ended in Remus mocking his brother. Romulus, like Aeneas before him, was overcome with vengeance and killed Remus. This left Romulus free to found his new city: Rome.

The story of Rome’s founding shaped the Roman identity for centuries. Aeneas represented pietas, the Roman ideal that duty toward gods, family, and nation far outweighed anything else. Romulus embodied martial strength, determination, and justice. The Romans saw themselves as heirs to a destiny written by the gods.

In the Augustan era, these myths took on new political significance. Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, claimed descent from Aeneas through the Julian line. This wove the imperial family directly into Rome’s sacred lineage. The Roman myths thus became akin to propaganda, legitimising power through ancestry.

Sources Aeneid [Aeneas’s journey] Ab Urbe Condita [the founding of Rome] Fasti [Romulus & Remus myth]