- Unit 3. Rome, the Global Empire
- Getting Started
  - What Are We Learning?
  - Observe and Think
  - Map Your Mind
- Rome, the Global Empire
  - The History of Ancient Rome
    - A Little City Become Empire
    - The Legendary Origins
    - The Monarchy (753-509 BC)
    - The Republic (509-27 BC)
      - The Fight for Political Rights
      - Major Conquests during the Republic
      - The Crisis of the Republic
    - The Roman Empire (27-476 AD)
      - The Crisis of the Third Century
      - The Recovery of the 4th Century
      - The Fall of the Roman Empire
  - The Roman Society
    - Women in Rome
    - Slaves
  - The Roman Economy
  - The Roman Law
  - The Roman Army
- Self-Evaluation Quiz
- Complementary Activities
  - The Greek and Latin Roots of English
  - One Myth, One Song
  - Games, Comics and Stuff
- References

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# The Legendary Origins

As you know, Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, sons of Mars, the god of war, and a woman called Rhea Silvia. As soon as they were born, an evil great-uncle took them from their mother and attempted to drown them in the Tiber River. A she-wolf rescued them though, and cared for them until a shepherd found them. When the two boys had grown up, they were told of their true origins.

## Activity

Look for further and more precise information about this legend and its conclusion. Then write your own version of that and turn it into a comic strip. Each frame should contain a drawing as well as some text. You can use several tools you can find here.

Curiously enough, the point is that although the Romulus and Remus legend is based on mythology, some archaeological evidence seems to support parts of the legend as we can see in this video about the discovery of Romulus' cave.

Think about it

This image has been taken from the Lavazza Calendar 2009, where the great photographer Annie Leibovitz interprets Italian style in seven photographs featuring some of the icons that best represent Italian culture.

Do you like it? Do you think this is a good icon of Italy?

You can contrast your opinions with those of the expert.
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