A Breakdown of Roman History

Monarchy (753 – 509 BC)

Republic (509 BC – 52 BC?)

Empire (27 BC – 476 AD)

Rome at the Time of Constantine (306-337 AD)

The Legend of the Founding of Rome

According to legend, the ancestor of the Romans was Aeneas, a Trojan.

Aeneas fled Troy during the closing hours of the Trojan War and sailed to Italy, where he was destined to be the founding father of a race of people who in the future would rule the world.

This legend is the basis of the Roman epic the Aeneid, written by Vergil.

Romulus and Remus

Rhea Silvia was a descendant of Aeneas, and a Vestal Virgin

Her sons were Romulus and Remus, who established the city of Rome

Romulus killed Remus and built a city on the banks of the Tiber River, naming the city Roma after himself.

The Monarchy (753-509 BC)

The Romans were ruled by a group of people called the “Etruscans.”

Very little is known about these people because we have never deciphered their language.

They gave to the Romans the rounded arch technology, the toga, chariot racing, engineering skills, and art styles.

The Republic (509-52? BC)

The Romans overthrew their Etruscan rulers in 509 BC.

They established a Republic, with two rulers, called co-consuls.

Beneath the two co-rulers was the Roman Senate, made up of patricians (upper class) and plebeians (lower class).

The Republican period of Rome was dominated by a class struggle between the patricians and plebeians.

The Culture of Republican Rome

With no one person having total power in Rome, great orators such as Cicero could make a name for themselves by speaking out against the politics of their day without fear of reprisal.

Sculpture, such as the bust of Cicero shown to the right, showed great realism. While the Greeks were content to idealize their images, the Romans often preferred depictions in stone and bronze that emphasized the reality of the person being portrayed.

The End of the Republic and the Death of Julius Caesar

In 52 BC, the Senate grudgingly gave Julius Caesar dictatorial powers, which basically brought the Republic to an end.

On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate.

Octavian, and Marc Antony, joined forces to conquer their common enemies.

Marc Antony joined forces with Cleopatra of Egypt.

Octavian turned on Marc Antony, and in the famous naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC he defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra.

They both committed suicide a year later.

Augustus Caesar (63 BC – 14 AD) and the Roman Empire

Octavian took the title “Augustus Caesar” in 27 BC.

He restored peace and order in Rome (pax romana), and this peace lasted for 200 years.

During his reign, Augustus glorified and beautified Rome with many public buildings, amphitheaters, roads, bridges, and aqueducts, and he greatly expanded the Empire.

Nero, and others, began to govern poorly or to lose the use of power to control. Rome stayed stong but drifted from the unity.

Virgil’s Aeneid

Virgil was commissioned by Augustus to write an epic that would rival the great Greek epics of Homer, and that would glorify Rome’s past and link it to Rome’s future. That epic was the Aeneid.

The Culture of Imperial Rome

Because the emperors were very powerful and ruthless when it came to critics, no longer could orators speak out against Rome’s rulers, as Cicero had.

Authors, artists, and architects were employed by the emperors to create literature and monuments that

would serve Rome in some way.

Statues like the one to the right, Augustus of Prima Porta, were idealized and served propagandistic purposes. Notice the cupid figure near Augustus’ right foot. Cupid was the child of Venus, who was also the mother of Aeneas. Augustus was seen as a direct descendent of Aeneas, so the cupid figure is a symbol of the continuity of Rome.

Visual Art of the Imperial Period

Later Rulers

In 313 Constantine allowed freedom of religion and in 318 he converted to Christianity. Subsequent emperors were either Christian, pagan or non-committal.

The Empire ended in 476 AD when barbarians sent the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, into exile.