ROME BEFORE ROME

The legends that shaped the mindset of ancient Rome.

“Legends differ from myths,” independent historian Matyszak explains, “in that they focus on human beings in a historical setting…generally accepted as being real.” Which is not to say that abandoned infants Romulus and Remus were actually suckled by a she-wolf before they grew up to found Rome; the author notes that luparia, or “she-wolves’ den,” was the name for a Roman brothel in the time of Livy, the historian who floated the prostitute wet-nurse theory. This scurrilous-details-and-all anecdote is typical of Matyszak’s lively approach in his enjoyable retellings of the stories Romans took as their ancient history. They span nearly 1,000 years, from Aeneas fleeing the fall of Troy and settling in Italy, through the rape and suicide of an honorable Roman matron, which ended the monarchy and launched the Roman Republic, to the squabbles between plebeians and patricians that led to grudgingly shared political power, a status quo that endured until civil wars ended the republic. In these and many other instances, the author is careful to note varying accounts—indeed, somewhat too careful, as in the confusing multiple versions of, for example, the background and motives of the Vestal Virgin who betrayed Rome to the Sabines. Matyszak’s formidable knowledge of ancient Roman sources is put to better use when he explains the initially enigmatic bribe of “what was on their left arms” that the Sabine warriors promised the vestal: “In a world without banking…most men carried their wealth around with them in the form of gold bracelets”—on the left arm so they didn’t hinder the right arm’s ability to wield a sword. Aside from their sheer entertainment value, Matyszak reminds readers, these legends are important because they shaped Rome’s self-image: The stories told Romans “they were brave, chaste, and honourable, respectful to their gods and beloved by them.”

Well-informed and well-rendered snapshots of the ancient world.