Mary Beard narrates chronically the complete history of the Roman Empire. Beginning with the myth of Romulus and Remus, which introduces themes of violence and expansion, she follows with Rome’s rise from a small town to a military powerhouse through its unique ability to incorporate conquered peoples. The series then explores the internal transformations of the empire, detailing how Greek culture reshaped Rome and how the ambition of powerful individuals like Julius Caesar and Augustus replaced the Republic with one-man rule. The third episode examines the practicalities of empire, highlighting how Roman roads and commerce connected vast territories, but also relied on brutal systems of slavery and resource exploitation. Finally, the narrative addresses the complex question of the empire’s decline, pointing to internal chaos, external pressures from “barbarian” tribes, and the rise of a new monotheistic religion, Christianity. To conclude, she argues that the empire didn’t simply fall but rather transformed, with its cultural and political legacy enduring in new forms, most notably in the form of the Christian faith.
📺 Do you love uncovering the past, exploring historic sites, and venturing to distant lands? Join History Hit today and stream hundreds of exclusive documentaries, with new releases every week. Plus, enjoy ad-free access to our podcast network for even more history every week: https://historyhit.com/subscribe
Subscribe to Parable for more Religious History documentaries!
This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries, please contact us at: [email protected]
#Parable #ReligiousHistoryDocumentary
![Russia – Power, Culture, Mystery – [Hindi] – Infinity Stream](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zgm56qw4AB0/maxresdefault.jpg "Russia – Power, Culture, Mystery – [Hindi] – Infinity Stream")
One of the best I've seen.
Your effort really shows.
This was exactly what I was looking for.
Rome could have been called Reme 🤨
🇮🇹☺Rome's nature was to welcome and integrate foreigners and outcasts from its very beginnings. Its enemies saw it as a place populated by outcasts, but for the City, the mixture of blood was a source of pride and a key to its success.
Originally, Romulus and Remus were one person, but they became two because two stories of different origins were fused. For the natives, the eponymous hero who founded the city of Rome was Romulus, -ulus being the equivalent of romanus, meaning Roman.
At the time, however, the Greeks inhabited the peninsula and had influence over the nascent Roman community. Independently of the natives, they had given Rome an eponymous hero, linked to Aeneas or Ulysses, called in their own way Romos. Of course, other Greek legends existed: Evander and Faunus, Latinus and the Trojan Romé. But it was Romulus and Romos who merged; the latter became Remus, and it was thought they were twins. Dual power was a hallmark of the Roman state.
In good human tradition, Romulus and Remus were abandoned on the river and then returned to conquer power. A story that links them to other famous leaders of antiquity such as Sargon of Akkad and Moses.
The most widespread myth tells that the twins, after being abandoned on the Tiber, were found by a she-wolf who nursed them, saving them. The two children were then taken in by the shepherd Faustulus and his wife Acca Larentia. But the "she-wolf," in some versions of the legend, never existed. The term was, in fact, Acca Larentia's own nickname. The woman, as in Etruscan tradition, was a prostitute and was therefore called Faula, literally "she-wolf." But not only that. This figure could be the memory of an ancestral cult. The wolf is a totem, that is, an animal with symbolic meanings. It represents fertility and the strength of the warrior. Other Italic populations had the wolf as a totem, such as the Hirpini, a Samnite tribe, and the Falisci. The latter performed purification rites very similar to the Lupercalia, a typical Roman festival.
– The Lupercalia was a festival in honor of an ancient god associated with Mars and took place near the Lupercal, the cave where Romulus and Remus were supposedly found. The festival was divided into two phases. The first included the sacrifice of goats and a dog and offerings of flatbreads. In the second phase, two young men were struck on the forehead with a knife stained with the blood of the sacrificial victims. After wearing the skins of the sacrificed animals on their naked bodies, the boys then ran around the Palatine Hill and struck the women seeking fertility. This festival, which combined initiatory and purifying elements, was abolished by Pope Gelasius I in 495 AD and, according to some, was replaced by the cult of Saint Valentine; at the time, it was not yet a celebration of lovers.-
Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by outcasts and migrants. The first of the Seven Kings, Romulus, was an illegitimate son on the run; the second was an enemy refugee; the third was the son of a slave (or a defeated foreign soldier of fortune, depending on tradition). Romulus himself created a refuge in Rome for refugees and fugitives. Livy described it in his Ab Urbe Condita: "He offered as asylum the place which now, to anyone climbing it [toward the Capitoline Hill], appears surrounded by a hedge between two woods. A crowd of people of every sort took refuge there from the neighboring peoples, eager for novelty, without any distinction between free and slave, and that was the first nucleus of incipient greatness."
Six centuries later, King Philip V of Macedon reminded the Greeks that the practice of freeing and granting citizenship even to slaves and their children had contributed to Rome's greatness. This generosity was also cited by Emperor Claudius in a famous speech reported in Tacitus' Annals. He recognized Rome's great strength in the integration of foreigners and successfully fought for the Senate to admit the Gauls into its ranks, as he said in his famous speech of 48 AD:
"To what other reason could the ruin of the Spartans and Athenians be attributed, if not to the fact that, however much they prevailed in arms, they regarded the vanquished as foreigners? Romulus, our founder, was wise enough to consider many peoples first foreigners and immediately afterward fellow citizens. Unlike the Spartans and Athenians, foreigners among us obtained the kingdom. O conscript fathers, all things that are thought to be very ancient were once new. Even this resolution of ours, to admit the Gauls among the senators, will grow old, and what we justify today with ancient examples will one day be cited among the examples."
Really well presented.
Great choice of topic.
A true documentary with all of the sights, sounds, and locations accompanied by detailed events. Bravo! 👏 ✌️
I appreciate how clear this was.
Amazing Mary beard .Can listen to her all night on the history of the romans.