Myth and History II

The sack of Rome by the Gauls was an event of cardinal importance in the Romans ‘ perspective on history. It orientated their relationship with their past, both chronologically and emotionally. For Polybius, it was the starting point for the Romans ‘ rise to world dominance: because, as he says, from that time on they had won a continuous succession of victories over their enemies in the Italian peninsula and the Mediterranean.1 For Livy the recovery of Rome from the disaster of the sack was like the rebirth of the city, a refoundation to a greater future of conquest and glory, and as a date it was, like the city ‘s first foundation, a milestone from which later years could be reckoned.2 In Livy the sack represents the return of Rome to its starting point, to the beginning of the city itself, from which the Romans set out once more to conquer, with the determination never to suffer the same fate again. The sack was, in a sense, the start of modern Roman history for the authors of the late Republic, for thereafter their sources were obviously fuller and more reliable.

Ancient history · CONQUEST · Glory · Greeks · Mythology · Pottery · Sack · Byzantine Studies and History · Classics · Engineering · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History