22nd Annual Student Research Conference
The Death of Remus: Disillusionment With Brotherhood In Post Civil War Rome
Catherine S. Hayward
Prof. Alex Tetlak and Prof. Martha L. Rose, Faculty Mentors
The confusion and grief of Roman citizens in 30 BCE after suffering civil wars necessitated a unifying touchstone, which was crafted by the writers who revived the myth of Romulus and Remus. This paper aims to describe a single story, using the original Latin, of two Augustan authors: the death of Remus as presented by Livy in Ab Urbe Condita I and Ovid in Fasti. The study breaks up the concept of a single tale and a single view of Augustus. Livy hoped to instill a stoic and patriotic mindset in the population of Rome and continue Italy's domination and expansion throughout the world, while Ovid sought to sympathize with the citizens' distress and inspire a more inward-looking Rome. Augustus is a thinly-disguised Romulus in both cases, but with a markedly different character and agenda in each.
Keywords: Romulus, Rome, Livy, Ovid, Brotherhood
Topic(s):Classics
Latin
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 17-1
Location: OP 2115
Time: 9:45