The Roman Fascination

I have chosen to write on the fascination of Rome, and what I find most interesting about their rise to power. According to myth, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus who was twin brothers said to descend from the Trojan prince Aeneas. The brothers were believed to be half divine because, legend stated that their ancestor Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war.

Ever since I was young I have always been fascinated with the Roman Empire. The stories and legends have fascinated me. Stories such as told by the historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, of a group of Trojans who went to sea and found the city of Troy. The original city of Troy was destroyed by the Trojan War. When they discovered the land a women names Roma suggested they burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. They eventually named the city after her.

The historical and factual events of the Roman empire have always been half hazard and hard to depict reality from fantasy, however, just one look at the gorgeous city, the coliseum, plaza and the Vatican gets my heart and mind racing. Even though Rome persecuted Christians in the beginning, the emperor Constantine made Christianity the national religion in 312, because his mother had a dream that if he bore a cross on his shields he would be victorious in battle.

Everyone could learn a great deal from the ancient Romans, and I know that the stories of the Roman Gods, are fake, it is still an interesting read and study.