King Romulus welcomed bandits, fugitives, and runaway slaves to his new settlement. The town was full of wild young men who fortified their city with walls and built homes for themselves along with temples to the gods. Romulus appointed one hundred of the best men to be senators to help him govern the town, and these with their descendants were known ever after as patricians. But the king had little luck recruiting wives for his new subjects. So Romulus invited several villages of Sabines to a grand festival. The neighboring men came and brought their families. After the food and wine began to flow, the Roman men grabbed all the maidens. Then they drove the rest of the visitors outside the walls.
The Sabine fathers were furious. But the Roman men confessed their love to the Sabine maidens. They promised the women that together they would build a fine city and future for their children. Slowly the hearts of the women warmed to their new husbands.
The fathers were not so forgiving. They attacked the city to recover their daughters. One young woman named Tarpeia agreed to sneak the Sabine advance guard into the citadel on the Capitoline Hill if they would give her what they wore on their left arms, meaning their gold bracelets. Once they safely held the fortress, the Sabines piled their heavy shields—which they also wore on their left arms—on top of Tarpeia and crushed the life from her. The cliff where Tarpeia was killed became known as the Tarpeian Rock and was a place of execution ever after for those who betrayed their country.
The army of Romulus invited the Sabines to battle to settle the affair. Just as the fight was about to begin, the Sabine wives ran between the lines holding their babies in their arms. They cried that they would not be the cause of bloodshed between their fathers and husbands. Brought to their senses by the women, both sides joined together as one people.
The years passed and Romulus brought prosperity to his new city along with peace. The Romans also became known throughout the land as the fiercest of warriors.
One day when Romulus was holding an assembly on the Field of Mars, a great storm arose and turned the sky black. When the sun shone again, Romulus had disappeared. Some say he had been taken up into the heavens to live with the gods. Others claim that jealous senators had murdered him in the darkness, then cut up his body and smuggled the pieces away under their togas. In either case, Romulus was honored afterward as a god and worshipped among the Romans as the founder of their city.
THE HORATII BROTHERS
When Romulus died, Numa Pompilius became the leader of Rome. He was said to have given Rome many of its ancient religious traditions. After Numa, a great warrior king named Tullus Hostilius reigned. His goal was to include Alba Longa in Rome’s growing state. The Albans, however, had no desire to join with their cousins. Both sides knew that a war would leave their towns weak and ripe for conquest by the hostile Etruscans to the north. So it was decided that each city would choose three men to fight to the death. Whichever town had the last man standing would surrender to the other. Both sides swore solemn oaths to the gods that they would honor the outcome of the contest.
Both Rome and Alba Longa had triplet brothers who were practiced warriors. The Horatii brothers of Rome agreed to stand against the Curiatii triplets of Alba Longa. The citizens gathered around the field of combat to see which city would rule. At the signal, shields clashed and swords flew. Two of the Romans soon fell dead. The remaining Horatii was surrounded by the Curiatii brothers, but the Roman warrior began to run. The Curiatii chased him around the field until they became separated from each other. This was just what the Roman soldier wanted. He struck down the first Alban to reach him, then the second, and finally the third, taking them on one at a time.
A tremendous cheer went up from the Roman side. The Albans were disappointed, but they agreed to stand by the outcome of the contest. The only one weeping was a sister of the surviving Horatii brother. She had been engaged to one of the Curiatii triplets. When her brother found out why she was crying, he plunged his sword into her heart. He said that should be the fate of any Roman woman who weeps for the enemy. The young man was put on trial for murder. His father said that his daughter’s killing was just. But since the young man acted without the permission of Rome, the judges declared that he should be forced to march underneath a yoke as a sign of shame.
ONE-EYED HORATIUS
The next king of Rome was Ancus Marcius, who established a port on the sea at Ostia and built many aqueducts, along with a bridge across the Tiber. After his rule, an Etruscan king named Tarquin the Elder seized the throne, and a foreign dynasty ruled the city for the next three generations. The Romans didn’t like being ruled by an Etruscan, but the city prospered and was united against other hostile Etruscan powers across the Tiber.
The most dangerous king in the region was Lars Porsenna, an Etruscan ruler just to the north. He was determined to conquer Rome and so marched his army to the single wooden bridge spanning the Tiber. The Romans could not hold the bridge against so many soldiers, so they began to tear it down from the Roman side as the Etruscans neared. A guard named Horatius Cocles (“one-eyed”) volunteered to hold off the invaders to give his comrades precious minutes to complete the destruction.
Alone, Horatius fought the Etruscan warriors until the bridge fell apart. Then he dove into the river in full armor and swam to the Roman side. Afterward he was honored as a great hero who had risked everything for the good of Rome.
SCAEVOLA
Lars porsenna was a very persistent king. When the bridge across the Tiber fell, he began a siege of Rome to starve the city into submission. As the weeks passed, the people of Rome grew hungry and desperate. It was then that a young man named Gaius Mucius came to the Senate with a plan. He would disguise himself as an Etruscan and sneak into the tent of Lars Porsenna. When he was close enough, he would kill the king and end the war. It was a suicide mission, but it was worth it if he could free Rome.
The elders agreed. That night the Roman slipped across the river and into the Etruscan camp. He came unnoticed into the tent, but he could not recognize the king. All the Etruscan nobility were dressed in such finery that everyone looked like royalty. He plunged his sword into a man sitting on a regal chair. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the secretary of the king. Mucius was seized and held before the true king, who demanded to know the details of any plot against him. If the Roman didn’t speak, he would be burned alive. Mucius laughed and thrust his right hand into the fire. Mucius did not utter a sound or flinch as the fire burned his flesh.
The Etruscan king was so impressed that he decided to set Mucius free. Afterward he was known as Scaevola, or “lefty.” The young man warned Lars Porsenna that there were three hundred other Romans who had pledged to assassinate the king if he failed. This so troubled Lars Porsenna that he immediately made a truce with the Romans and ended the siege.
CLOELIA
Part of the peace treaty with Lars Porsenna required the Romans to send hostages to live among the Etruscans to guarantee the good will of Rome in the future. If the city did not behave itself, the hostages would die. Among the nobility sent to Lars Porsenna was a maiden named Cloelia. She knew that she and the other girls would be abused by the Etruscan soldiers, so she organized an escape attempt and broke out of the Etruscan camp. After a chase, they made it to the Tiber and swam safely across to Rome. The Etruscan king was impressed by Cloelia, but demanded she be returned immediately or he would consider the treaty broken. As a gesture of kindness, he assured the Senate that he would send her back to Rome unharmed if they recognized his authority in this matter. He simply wanted to be sure that Rome would honor the peace treaty.
The Romans agreed and Cloelia returned to the camp, where she was treated well by the king. He honored Cloelia and said that he would allow her to take half the remaining hostages back to Rome with her. The girl considered which to choose, then decided on the youngest boys among the group. This was because it seemed more proper for a maiden to select boys than men. She led the hostages back to Rome, where a statue was r
aised as a tribute to her courage.
LUCRETIA
The third Etruscan King of Rome was Tarquin the Proud, who started a war against the nearby town of Ardea. The king’s son Sextus Tarquinius fought in the conflict, as did his Roman friend Collatinus. One quiet night Sextus and Collatinus began to argue about which of their wives was the most virtuous. They decided to ride back to Rome and catch the women by surprise to see what they were doing.
They found the wife of Sextus at a grand party drinking wine and celebrating with her friends. The wife of Collatinus, a woman named Lucretia, was busy working wool in her modest home. After they returned to the camp, Sextus was ashamed of his own wife, but fascinated by Lucretia. He decided he must have such a woman.
A few days later Sextus returned to Rome alone. Lucretia welcomed the friend of her husband and had her servants show him to a guest room after dinner. When the house was quiet, Sextus crept into the bedroom of Lucretia and ordered her to be quiet or die. He claimed he was in love with her. Unless she allowed him to share her bed, he would kill not only her but one of her male servants and put his body in her bed. Then he would tell Collatinus that he had caught the pair together and slain them both out of outrage.
Lucretia knew she was trapped. She did as Sextus asked, then cried bitter tears. The next day she sent a message to her father and her husband asking that they come to her home immediately. Both arrived along with her husband’s Roman friend Lucius Junius Brutus. She told them what had happened the previous night and said she was sick in her heart with guilt for bringing shame on her family. All the men told her that she was not to blame, but she would hear none of it. From beneath her robes she drew a sword and plunged it into her breast, falling dead to the floor.
As her husband and father held her body in their arms, Brutus picked up the bloody sword and swore an oath by it that the Tarquin family would be swept away. Soon Brutus led a rebellion against the Tarquins and drove them from the city. Rome put aside rule by kings and became a republic governed by the people.
The long age of monarchy stretching back to Aeneas and the Trojan War, to the Greek tradition and the earliest tales, had come to an end. The classical world now entered the age of history. But the ancient myths that shaped their lives—and still shape ours—were never forgotten.
Greek and
Roman Gods
GREEK NAME
ROMAN NAME
Zeus*
Jupiter, Jove
Hera*
Juno
Demeter*
Ceres
Poseidon*
Neptune
Hestia*
Vesta
Artemis*
Diana
Aphrodite*
Venus
Ares*
Mars
Hermes*
Mercury
Hephaestus*
Vulcan
Apollo*
Apollo
Athena*
Minerva
Hades
Pluto, Dis
Dionysus
Liber
Eros
Cupid
Pan
Faunus
Heracles
Hercules
* Denotes the twelve
Olympian gods
Directory of Gods,
Goddesses, Monsters,
and Mortals
Achilles (a-KIL-eez): Son of Peleus and the goddess Thetis, the greatest Greek warrior at Troy.
Acrisius (a-KRIS-i-us): Father of Danae, grandfather of Perseus, accidentally killed by a discus thrown by Perseus.
Acropolis (a-KROP-o-lis): The highest part of any city, but most commonly referring to the famous Acropolis of Athens, home to the sacred Parthenon temple of Athena.
Adonis (a-DON-is): Son of a union between Myrrha and her father, Cinyras. He was an extraordinarily handsome lad, beloved by both Aphrodite and Persephone. He was killed by a wild boar and the anemone flower sprang from his blood.
Adrastus (a-DRAS-tus): King of Argos and leader of the seven generals who fought against Thebes on the side of Polynices, son of Oedipus.
Aeacus (EE-a-kus): Son of Zeus and Aegina, he ruled over the island of Aegina. Zeus transformed ants into humans to be his subjects.
Aeetes (ee-EE-teez): Son of the god Helios, king of Colchis, and father of Medea. He had the Golden Fleece prior to Jason.
Aegeus (EE-je-us): King of Athens and father of Theseus, he aided Medea after she murdered her children and fled Corinth.
Aegina (EE-ji-na): Mother of Aeacus by Zeus and namesake of a small island near Athens.
Aegisthus (ee-JIS-thus): Son of Thyestes and his daughter Pelopia, he served as regent of Mycenae while Agamemnon fought at Troy. He helped Clytemnestra murder Agamemnon when he returned and was slain by Agamemnon’s son Orestes.
Aeneas (ee-NEE-us): Son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite/Venus, he led the surviving Trojans to found a kingdom in Italy that would give birth to the Romans.
Aeolus (ee-O-lus): King of Thessaly who is sometimes identified with the ruler of the winds who tried to help Odysseus return home.
Aethra (EE-thra): Mother of Theseus, she became a slave to Helen.
Agamemnon (a-ga-MEM-non): Son of Atreus and brother to Menelaus, he was king of Mycenae and led the Greek expedition to Troy. He was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra on his return home.
Agave (a-GA-ve): Daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes, and Harmonia, she was punished with madness by Dionysus and murdered her own son Pentheus.
Ajax (A-jaks): (1) Son of Telemon, a Greek warrior of immense strength in the Trojan War, he killed himself after losing the armor of Achilles to Odysseus; (2) Son of Oileus, also a gifted soldier at Troy, known as Little Ajax.
Alcinous (al-SIN-o-us): Phaeacean king, husband of Arete, and father of Nausicaa, he welcomed both Jason and Odysseus to his idyllic island kingdom on their travels.
Alcmene (alk-MEN-e): Mother of Hercules.
Alcyone (al-SEE-o-ne): (1) Daughter of Aeolus, she married Ceyx and was transformed into a kingfisher (halcyon) after he drowned.
Alecto (a-LEK-to): A divine Fury. By the will of Juno, she stirred up the native Italians against Aeneas and his Trojans.
Alpheus (al-FEE-us): Son of Ocean and Tethys, a river and a god of the Peloponnesus, who pursued the nymph Arethusa to Sicily.
Amazons (A-ma-zons): Women warriors who lived on the eastern edge of the Greek world.
Amphion (am-FI-on): Son of Zeus and Antiope, he and his brother Zethus avenged their mother’s ill treatment at the hands of Lycus and Dirce to become corulers of Thebes.
Amphitrite (am-FI-tre-te): Sea goddess pursued by Poseidon, she bore him three sons.
Amphitryon (am-FI-tree-on): Grandson of Perseus and father to Hercules’s half brother, Iphicles.
Amulius (a-MU-li-us): Great-uncle of Romulus and Remus, he drove his brother Numitor from the throne of Alba Longa and abandoned the twins on the banks of the Tiber River.
Anchises (an-KI-seez): Father of Aeneas.
Andromache (an-DRO-ma-kee): Wife of the Trojan hero Hector.
Andromeda (an-DRO-me-da): Daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, she was rescued from a sea monster by Perseus.
Antaeus (an-TEE-us): Son of Earth and Poseidon, he was an African giant who was defeated by Hercules.
Antigone (an-TI-go-ne): Daughter of Oedipus who cared for her father in exile, then defied her uncle, King Creon of Thebes, by giving her brother Polynices a proper burial.
Antiope (an-TI-o-pe): Mother by Zeus to twin sons Amphion and Zethus.
Aphrodite (af-ro-DI-te) (Roman Venus): Goddess of love and the daughter of Sky.
Apollo (a-POL-lo): Son of Zeus and Leto, brother of Artemis, he was god of music, medicine, archery, and prophecy.
Arachne (a-RAK-ne): Young woman of Lydia who challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was turned into a spider.
Ares (AR-eez) (Roman Mars): Son of Zeus and Hera, the god of war.
Arete (a-R
E-te): Phaeacian queen and wife of Alcinous, she kindly received both Jason and Odysseus on their travels.
Arethusa (a-re-THU-sa): Nymph who was chased across the sea by the river god Alpheus.
Argonauts (AR-go-nots): Sailors who joined Jason on the Argo to search for the Golden Fleece.
Argos (AR-gos): Aged and faithful dog of Odysseus that died when he heard his master’s voice on his return.
Argus (AR-gus): Guardian of Io with a hundred eyes, he was killed by Hermes.
Ariadne (ar-i-AD-ne): Daughter of King Minos, she helped Theseus defeat her father and escape the maze of the Minotaur.
Arion (a-RI-on): Divine horse, born from Demeter and fathered by Poseidon.
Artemis (ART-e-mis) (Roman Diana): Daughter of Zeus and Leto, sister of Apollo, virgin goddess of the hunt.
Ascanius (as-KAN-i-us) (see Iulus [U-lus])
Asclepius (as-KLEP-i-us): Son of Apollo, god of healing, he was killed by Zeus when he dared to raise mortals from the dead.
Asopus (a-SO-pus): River god and father of the nymph Aegina.
Atalanta (a-ta-LAN-ta): Virgin hunter who raced hopeful suitors in a contest for her hand, then killed them if she defeated them.
Athena (a-THEE-na) (Roman Minerva): Daughter of Metis who was swallowed by Zeus. Athena sprung from the forehead of her father. She was the virgin goddess of war and crafts, as well as patron of the city of Athens.
Atlas (AT-las): Titan who held the heavens on his shoulders until, in some stories, he was turned to stony Mount Atlas by Perseus, who held Medusa’s severed head before him.
Atreus (A-tre-us): Son of Pelops and Hippodamia, brother of Thyestes, and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, he served the sons of Thyestes to their father at a banquet and took over the rule of Mycenae.
Heroes of Olympus Page 23