An old Roman story says twin baby boys, Romulus and Remus, were left by a river and cared for by a she-wolf. When they grew up, Romulus founded a city on seven hills by the Tiber River and named it after himself: Rome. The Romans dated their city from 753 BC.
Key idea
Over 250 years, Rome took over all of Italy. Then it fought three long wars with Carthage, a trading city in North Africa. In 218 BC the Carthaginian general Hannibal marched an army with war elephants over the snowy Alps into Italy. Rome lost battle after battle but would not give up, and in the end it won.
A story Romans loved: in 458 BC, enemies trapped a Roman army. The Senate sent for Cincinnatus, who was plowing his small farm. He was made dictator, beat the enemy in about two weeks, then gave up his power and went home to his plow. Romans, and later Americans like George Washington, admired him for giving up power.
Worked example: Republic or democracy?
- In a republic, people elect leaders to make decisions for them.
- That was Rome.
Answer: Rome was the republic; Athens was a direct democracy.
Common mistake
Try it at home
- Hold a family election: nominate two "consuls" for a week who decide the games after dinner. Why might Rome have chosen two, and only for a year?
- Find the Latin words on a U.S. coin or dollar bill, such as E pluribus unum, "out of many, one."