Legends are stories that tell stories combining real elements with fantastic and supernatural ones. The Romans used them to educate their people and carve out an identity as an empire. Let’s get to know their most famous legends.
Because they are passed down over successive generations, legends often experience changes and variations in their plot, which can be adjusted depending on the era. One of the reasons why legends penetrate so deeply into people is because they are set in real places, so what is told in them becomes a half-truth that the community integrates as part of its identity.
The defining characteristic of legends is that their characters are always human, even if the story has supernatural or magical connotations. This allows us to differentiate them from myths, which are stories where the characters are not humans, but gods and heroes.
The origins of the legends were, at the time, religious. They were texts that were read in the temples to the faithful, narrating stories that often tried to transmit the moral values of the religion in question. However, with the passage of time, the legends began to spread beyond the religious sphere, since the stories they told made it possible to explain those phenomena that did not have scientific proof or that were simply incomprehensible from reason.
The Romans were great experts in legends, since they used to resort to them to educate the population in the values of the society of the moment, strengthen the feeling of belonging and community and understand the history of their empire. These classic legends offered stories that mixed fantastic mythological elements with other more realistic ones. In fact, many of the legends spread by the Romans have become well known and have endured to this day. If you are curious about it, continue reading, because in this article we are going to learn about the most important Roman legends.
- We recommend you read: “The 10 most popular short legends in the world”
What are the most famous Roman legends?
Next, we are going to know the most important Roman legends. All of them raise questions related to morality, ethics, fairness or justice.
1. The Wolf
This is another of the classic Roman legends. In this case,the story tries to talk about the origins of the empire from a divine and fantastic perspectivetag. Legend tells how Romulus and Remus, the two founders of the empire, were suckled by a she-wolf. Both were hidden on the banks of the Tiber River by a servant who prevented their assassination, being found by the she-wolf due to their cries.
After a while, it would be a shepherd named Faustulus who would raise the two twins with his wife Acca Larentia. One of the readings that can be made of this story is that individual acts can cause great twists in fate. The servant who placed them both in the river could never imagine that with this action he would allow the emergence of one of the most important civilizations in history.
2. The Tiber Island
In the Tiber river there is an islet whose origin has been explained with this curious legendtag. In 509 BC the last king of the Roman Empire, Lucius Tarquinius, was dethroned. His reign was oppressive and this made the citizens, fed up with his despotism, choose to throw his body into the river. It is said that sediment and earth began to accumulate on his body, which led to the formation of this small island.
3. Circe and the Peak King
This legend speaks of Pico, who is the son of Saturn and is married to the nymph Canente, with whom he has his son Fauno. Pico was a diviner who was always accompanied by a woodpecker. Circe, the sorceress of the island of Eea, loved Pico. However, this love was not reciprocated, so she transformed him into a bird. This story, like other legends created by the Romans,talks about how emotions can lead to cruel or inappropriate actions .
4. Hercules and Cacus
This legend is carried out by one of the best known characters in Roman culture: Hercules. This story tells of the confrontation between him and Caco, who is half satyr and half giant. Legend has it that Caco stole some red oxen in the Tiber Valley. However, this is discovered byHercules, who takes revenge on him by dismembering himtag. Many say that this legend marked the veneration of Hercules, since he is presented as strength and the representation of punishment for an immoral act such as stealing.
5. The alley of the Mazzamurelli
Legend has it that in a small street in Trastevere there are spirits called Mazzamurelli. It is said that the purpose of these spirits is to protect the people, being able to convert both archangel and demon qualities to the Romans. In this alley,a haunted house is said to exist , where a man poses as a wizard capable of seeing demons.
6. Exorcism at the tomb of Nero
Emperor Nero was the most tyrannical in the history of Rometag. Therefore, he ended up being forced to leave the city. When he arrived at the town square, Neon was ready to commit suicide with the help of his collaborator Epaphroditus, but he decided to stab him before a soldier arrived. After his death, Neon was buried in that same plaza, eliminating all objects associated with his existence.
The legend says that from this moment the ghost of Nero swarms around the place where he was buried. In addition, the place began to be surrounded by an aura of mystery and came to be considered cursed, so exorcisms were performed on his tomb. Finally, under the influence of Pope Pascual II, the remains were unearthed, burned and thrown into the Tiber, building a chapel in the place of his former tomb.
7. The castle of San Angelo
Legend has it that an angel appeared on the roof of this castle to announce the end of a plague epidemicthat had hit the city of Rome. The Pope at that time, Gregory I, saw the Archangel Saint Michael at the top of the castle, as he was sheathing his sword, which meant that that terrible epidemic had ended. To commemorate that apparition, a statue of the archangel was raised on top of the building.
8. The magic door of the Esquilino neighborhood
The magic door belongs to the Villa Palombara, which is located in the Esquilino neighborhood. Legend has it that the Marquis Palombara was a fan of alchemy, so he would meet with some alchemists in his garden, where he had created a kind of laboratory. The gate, which belonged to this garden, has stood the test of time and is very well preserved. In addition, it is said that one daya man who was looking for the philosopher’s stone in exchange for money in this laboratory left his secret formula engraved on the door frame, but he disappeared and it could never be deciphered.
9. Tacit Mute
Legend has it that there was a nymph called Lara. Having offended Jupiter, he snatched her tonguefrom her and entrusted Mercury to protect and accompany her. However, Mercury used her vulnerability and raped her. As a result of this event, she Lara had two twins, the Lares gods, whose mission was to protect the borders of Rome. Since then, Lara was baptized as Tácita Muda, the goddess of silence.
10. The Dioscuri
The Dioscuri are two twins named Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus. They have incredible fighting skillsand have therefore rescued numerous maidens and avenged many deaths and injustices. Legend has it that the Dioscuri participated in the Battle of Lake Regilo, in which the Romans managed to defeat the Latins. For this reason, a temple was built in Rome in his honor.
Conclusions
In this article we have reviewed the 10 most important Roman legends. Legends are stories that narrate events intermingling real and fantastic elements. They differ from myths in that they generally have human beings as protagonists and not gods. In addition, legends are transmitted from generation to generation and constitute a very important element of the culture of the communities.
Although in the beginning they were a resource limited to the religious sphere, over time they have been highly appreciated in popular culturetag. Specifically, the Romans have been a civilization very prone to the use of legends, since these have served to educate their citizens in the values of the time, as well as to strengthen the feeling of community and belonging to the empire.
Roman legends are characterized by inviting reflection on controversial issues such as justice, ethics, morality, etc. The most revered characters are those who represent morality and victory in unjust situations. What makes legends a type of stories that citizens like is that they allow an explanation to be given to real events for which an explanation is not known.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.