Remus : a Roman myth / T.P. Wiseman.

Author/creator Wiseman, T. P.
Format Book
Publication InfoCambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Descriptionxv, 243 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
Supplemental ContentTable of contents
Supplemental ContentPublisher description
Subjects

Contents 1. A too familiar story -- 2. Multiform and manifold -- 3. When and where -- 4. What the Greeks said -- 5. Italian evidence -- 6. The Lupercalia -- 7. The arguments -- 8. The life and death of Remus -- 9. The uses of a myth -- 10. The other Rome -- Appendix: Versions of the foundation of Rome.
Abstract Romulus founded Rome - but why does the myth give him a twin brother Remus, who is killed at the moment of the foundation? This mysterious legend has been oddly neglected. Roman historians ignore it as irrelevant to real history; students of myth concentrate on the more glamorous mythology of Greece, and treat Roman stories as of little interest. In this book, Professor Wiseman provides, for the first time, a detailed analysis of all the variants of the story, and a historical explanation for its origin and development. His conclusions offer important new insights, both into the history and ideology of pre-imperial Rome and into the methods and motives of myth-creation in a non-literate society. In the richly unfamiliar Rome of Pan, Hermes and Circe the witch-goddess, where a general grows miraculous horns and prophets demand human sacrifice, Remus stands for the unequal struggle of the many against the powerful few.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (p. 220-235) and index.
LCCN 94042523
ISBN0521419816
ISBN9780521419819
ISBN0521483662 (pbk.)
ISBN9780521483667 (pbk.)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks BL805 .W57 1995 ✔ Available Place Hold