Rome
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History
Rome is the current capital of Italy, and has been since the many states of Italy were reunified into the country we know today in the late nineteenth century.
Rome was made famous originally for its massive and disciplined army, and many famous emperors such as Nero, Claudius, Augustus and Julius Caeser. At its height Rome controlled modern France, England and Wales, the Iberian peninsula, Italy, Greece and the Balkans, modern Turkey, Armenia, Syria and Palestine, and ruled the entire Mediterranean coast of North Africa.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, Rome became less famous for it's military exploits as for it's ecclesiastical power. It became the centre of the Roman Catholic Church, and the popes ruled from here (barring a move to Avignon in France during the fourteenth century). Throughout the medieval period Rome grew in prominence and power, and by the Renaissance was one of the key players in the Italian peninsula (with the extensive Papal States) and indeed in the world.
With the advent of Protestantism, Rome became less important in later years, and only achieved real prominence again when it was chosen as the capital of Italy during the re-unification of the nineteenth century. Later the centre of power for Facist Italy in the 1930s and 40s, Rome remains a relic of various regimes and institutions, and one of the great cities of the world.
Places and People
Rome has numerous famous landmarks, including those of the Colosseum, the Vatican, and its well-preserved ruins of the ancient Roman forum. The Pope is the most famous resident of the city, living within the walls of the Vatican and appearing to people in St Peters Cathedral. Rome is the site of the Italian parliament, and the president lives in an old palazzo in the Esquiline/Viminal districts, much like 10 Downing Street in London or the White House in Washington DC.
Myths and Legends
Traditionally Rome was said to have been founded by two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf. This is where the Romans were said to gain their extraordinary military prowess. When they were older, the brothers founded a village on the marshy area between the Capitoline and Palatine hills - where the Roman forum is today. Later, they quarrelled and Romulus killed Remus, continuing on to name the new settlement after him.
There is also the myth that Rome was founded by Aeneas, a hero of Troy who fled the city after the events of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. He has his own epic story, the Aeniad in which he flees the sack of Troy and ends up in Latium, the land of the Latins. These were the people that became the Romans.
Roman mythology is largely adopted from the Greek, which they took on when they conquered the country and its islands. A rough guide to the gods is this:
- Jupiter - Chief of the gods, 'The Thunderer'. Equivalent = Zeus
- Juno - Wife of Jupiter and goddess of women and children. Equivalent = Hera
- Neptune - God of storms and seas. Equvalent = Poseidon
- Pluto - God of the underworld. Equivalent = Hades
- Mars - God of war. Equivalent = Ares
- Mercury - Messenger god, son of Jupiter. Equivalent = Hermes
- Diana - Goddess of the hunt and of the moon. Equivalent = Artemis
- Vulcan - God of metalworking, volcanoes and also of the sea. Equivalent = Hephaestus
- Venus - Goddess of love. Equivalent = Aphrodite
- Minerva - Goddess of wisdom and war. Equivalent = Athene
Not all Greek gods were Romanised - many such as Apollo and Hercules retained their Greek names. Greek was the second language for educated Romans, and often Romans of the senatorial rank would study law and philosophy in Greece.
Although mixing in Greek mythology and adopting foreign gods into their pantheon such as Cybelle, Isis and Mithras, the Romans were able to introduce their own gods as well, often using the heroes of Latin myth. Castor and Pollux were two such heroes, whose temple occupied a prime site in the Roman Forum. They also practiced the idea of god-kings - many Roman leaders and emperors were deified after their deaths, such as the Divine Julius, Divine Augustus and the Divine Claudius - all former emperors who had temples and worshippers.
In the Tomb Raider Series
Lara visited Rome in Tomb Raider Chronicles, in which the opening FMV showed Lara stealing an artefact from Pierre Dupont in an Opera in Rome. She then went on to explore Roman city streets, and also Trajan's Markets. Trajan's Markets were built by the Roman emperor Trajan, and their ruins can still be seen today as part of the old Roman Forum.
The ruins bear a remarkable resemblance to their appearance ingame, although the game designers were - at the time - unable to recreate the curved walls of the markets, and settled for straight streets. The final level in this hub showed Lara battling gladiators and lions in the ancient Colosseum, which is remarkably well preserved and can be entered and looked around today.
Lara also visits Rome in Tomb Raider: The Prophecy for Game Boy Advance, although there are no areas here which bear any physical relation to places still existing in Rome.
