Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

, who flourished during the reign of Emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical

Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek language, Greek dialect of the regions of ancient Greece, ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of classical Athens, Athens. Often called Classical Greek, it was the prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige diale ...

in its prime. He is known for his work ''Rhōmaikē Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities), which describes the history of Rome from its beginnings until the outbreak of the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

in 264 BC. Out of twenty books, only the first nine have survived. Dionysius' opinion of the necessity of a promotion of

paideia ''Paideia'' ( /paɪˈdeɪə/; also spelled ''paedeia''; ) referred to the rearing and education of the ideal member of the ancient Greek polis or state. These educational ideals later spread to the Greco-Roman world at large, and were called ''h ...

within education, from true knowledge of classical sources, endured for centuries in a form integral to the identity of the Greek elite.

Life

He was a Halicarnassian. At some time after the end of the civil wars he moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and spent twenty-two years studying

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and literature and preparing materials for his history. During this period, he gave lessons in

, and enjoyed the society of many distinguished men. The date of his death is unknown. In the 19th century, it was commonly supposed that he was the ancestor of Aelius Dionysius of Halicarnassus.

Works

Roman Antiquities

His major work, entitled ''Roman Antiquities'' (, ''Rhōmaikē Archaiologia''), frequently abbreviated ''Ant. Rom.'' (), narrates the history of Rome from the mythical period to the beginning of the

in twenty books, of which the first nine remain extant while the remaining books only exist as fragments, in the excerpts of the Roman emperor

Constantine Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...

and an epitome discovered by

Angelo Mai Angelo Mai (''Latin'' Angelus Maius; 7 March 17828 September 1854) was an Italian Cardinal and philologist. He won a European reputation for publishing for the first time a series of previously unknown ancient texts. These he was able to discov ...

in a

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

manuscript. Dionysius is the first major historian of early Roman history whose work is now extant. Several other ancient historians who wrote of this period, almost certainly used Dionysius as a source for their material. The works of

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

and

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

all describe similar people and events of Early Rome as Dionysius. In the preamble to Book I, Dionysius states that the Greek people lack basic information on Roman history, a deficiency he hopes to fix with the present work. :;Book I (1300?)–753 BC: Mythic early history of Italy and its people. Book I also narrates the history of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

and his progeny as well as Dionysius' telling of the Romulus and Remus myth, ending with the death of Remus. :;Book II 753–673 BC: The Roman monarchy's first two Kings,

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

and

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the Roman mythology, legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political ins ...

. Romulus formulates customs and laws for Rome. Sabine war- as in subsequent parts of the history, this early conflict is described as involving numerous categories of officer, thousands of infantry, and cavalry combatants. This is highly unlikely, but is a common anachronism found in ancient historians. :;Book III 673–575 BC: Kings

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (; r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who, according to the Roman historian Livy, b ...

through

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (), or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military ...

. :;Book IV 575–509 BC: Last of the Roman kings and end of the monarchy with overthrow of

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', wikisource:From_the_ ...

. :;Book V 509-497 BC: Start of

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

and Consular years. :;Book VI 496–493 BC: Includes the first instance of Plebeian secession. :;Book VII 492–490 BC: This book describes at length the background leading to the Roman

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

' trial, ending in his exile. Much of the book is a debate between supporters of the oligarchy and the plebeians. :;Book VIII 489–482 BC: Coriolanus, now exiled, allies with Rome's current primary enemy, the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

ans. Coriolanus leads the Volscian army on a successful campaign against Roman allies and finally is near to capturing Rome itself. Coriolanus' mother intercedes for the Roman state and manages to end the military campaign. Coriolanus then is treacherously murdered by the Volscians. The remaining part of the book covers the military campaigns to recover land from the Volscians. :;Book IX 481–462 BC: Various military campaigns of mixed fortune in foreign matters. Domestically the plebeians and patricians argue and the

conflict of the orders The Conflict of the Orders or the Struggle of the Orders was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebeians sought political ...

continues. The number of

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

s is raised from 5 to 10. Book IX ends with the first two years of the decemvirate and the creation of the first Roman Law Tables. :;Book X 461–449 BC: The decemvirate continued. ::;''Note'': The last ten books are fragmentary, based on excerpts from medieval Byzantine history compilations. Book XI is mostly extant at around 50 pages (Aeterna Press, 2015 edition), while the remaining books, have only 12–14 pages per book. :;Book XI 449–443 BC: ''fragments'' :;Book XII 442–396 BC: ''fragments'' :;Book XIII 394–390 BC: ''fragments'' :;Book XIV 390 BC:

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

sack of Rome. :;Book XV:

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanians, Lucania ...

. :;Book XVI–XVII:

Third Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanians, Lucania ...

. :;Book XIX: The beginnings of conflicts between Rome and the warlord

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

. Threatened by Roman expansion into southern Italy, the city of Tarentum asks Pyrrhus to protect them. :;Book XX: Roman-

Pyrrhic war The Pyrrhic War ( ; 280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A ...

, with Pyrrhus's second invasion of Italy. Because his prime objective was to reconcile the Greeks to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

rule, Dionysius focused on the good qualities of their conquerors, and also argued that – based on sources ancient in his own time – the Romans were genuine descendants of the older Greeks. According to him, history is philosophy teaching by examples, and this idea he has carried out from the point of view of a Greek rhetorician. But he carefully consulted the best authorities, and his work and that of

are the only connected and detailed extant accounts of early Roman history.

Other works

Dionysius was also the author of several rhetorical treatises, in which he shows that he had thoroughly studied the best Attic models: :''The Art of Rhetoric'' (: a collection of essays on the theory of rhetoric, incomplete, and certainly not all his work; :''The Arrangement of Words'' (, ): on the combination of words according to the different styles of oratory; : ''On Imitation'' (): on the best models in the different kinds of literature and the way in which they are to be imitated—a fragmentary work; :''Commentaries on the Attic Orators'' (: which covers

Lysias Lysias (; ; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a Logographer (legal), logographer (speech writer) in ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrac ...

Isaeus Isaeus ( ''Isaios''; fl. early 4th century BC) was one of the ten Attic orators according to the Alexandrian canon. He was a student of Isocrates in Athens, and later taught Demosthenes while working as a ''metic'' logographer (speechwriter) for ...

Isocrates Isocrates (; ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education through his teaching and writte ...

, and by way of supplement,

Dinarchus Dinarchus or Dinarch (; Corinth, c. 361 – c. 291 BC) was a logographer (speechwriter) in Ancient Greece. He was the last of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of ...

; :''On the Admirable Style of

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

'' () :''On the Character of Thucydides'' () The last two treatises are supplemented by letters to Gn. Pompeius and Ammaeus (two, one of which is about Thucydides).

Dionysian ''imitatio''

''Dionysian imitatio'' is the literary method of imitation as formulated by Dionysius, who conceived it as the

al practice of emulating, adapting, reworking, and enriching a source text by an earlier author.Ruthven (1979) pp. 103–104Jansen (2008) It shows marked similarities with

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

's view of imitation, and both may derive from a common source. Dionysius' concept marked a significant departure from the concept of ''

mimesis Mimesis (; , ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including '' imitatio'', imitation, similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, the act of ...

'' formulated by

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

in the 4th century BC, which was only concerned with "imitation of nature" and not "imitation of other authors." Latin orators and rhetoricians adopted Dionysius' method of ''imitatio'' and discarded Aristotle's ''mimesis''.

History in the Roman Antiquities, and the Foundation Myth

Dionysius carried out extensive research for his Roman history, selecting among authorities, and preserving (for example) details of the Servian Census. His first two books present a unified account of the supposed Greek origin for Rome, merging a variety of sources into a firm narrative: his success, however, was at the expense of concealing the primitive Roman actuality (as revealed by archaeology). Along with

, Dionysius is thus one of the primary sources for the accounts of the Roman foundation myth, and that of

Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...

, and was relied on in the later publications of

, for example. He writes extensively on the myth, sometimes attributing direct quotations to its figures. The myth spans the first 2 volumes of his ''Roman Antiquities'', beginning with Book I chapter 73 and concluding in Book II chapter 56.

Romulus and Remus

Origins and survival in the wild

Dionysius claims that the twins, Romulus and Remus, were born to a vestal named Ilia Silvia (sometimes called Rea), descended from

of Troy and the daughter of King Latinus of the Original Latin tribes, thus linking Rome to Trojans and Latins both. Dionysius lays out the different accounts of her pregnancy and the twins' conception, but declines to choose one over the others. Citing

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the country, ...

, Cincius, Porcius Cato, and

Piso Piso may refer to: * Lake Piso, Liberia * Philippine peso (), the currency of the Philippines *Piso, Kentucky Piso is an unincorporated community located in Pike County, Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, ...

, Dionysius recounts the most common tale, whereby the twins are to be tossed into the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

; are left at the site of the

ficus Ruminalis The ''Ficus Ruminalis'' was a wild fig tree that had religious and mythological significance in ancient Rome. It stood near the small cave known as the Lupercal at the foot of the Palatine Hill and was the spot where according to tradition the f ...

; and rescued by a she-wolf who

nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

them in front of her lair (the ''

Lupercal The Lupercal (from Latin ''wikt:lupa, lupa'' "female wolf") was a cave at the southwest foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome, located somewhere between the temple of Temple of Cybele (Palatine), Magna Mater and the Sant'Anastasia al Palatino. In t ...

'') before being adopted by

Faustulus In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infant Romulus (the future founder of the city of Rome) and his twin brother Remus along the banks of the Tiber River as they were being suckled by the she-wolf, Lupa. According to l ...

. Dionysius relates an alternate, "non-fantastical" version of Romulus and Remus' birth, survival and youth. In this version,

Numitor In Roman mythology, King Numitor () of Alba Longa was the maternal grandfather of Rome's founder and first king, Romulus, and his twin brother Romulus and Remus, Remus. He was the son of Procas, descendant of Aeneas the Troy, Trojan, and father o ...

managed to switch the twins at birth with two other infants. The twins were delivered by their grandfather to Faustulus to be fostered by him and his wife, Laurentia, a former

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

. According to Plutarch, ''lupa'' (Latin for "wolf") was a common term for members of her profession and this gave rise to the she-wolf legend.

Falling out and Foundation of Rome

The twins receive a proper

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

in the city of

Gabii Gabii was an ancient city of Latium, located due east of Rome along the Via Praenestina, which was in early times known as the ''Via Gabina''. It was on the south-eastern perimeter of an extinct volcanic crater lake, approximately circular i ...

, before eventually winning control of the area around where Rome would be founded. Dispute over the particular hill upon which Rome should be built, the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the ...

or the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills. I ...

for its strategic advantages saw the brothers fall out and Remus killed. When the time came to actually construct the city of Rome, the two brothers disputed over the particular hill upon which Rome should be built, Romulus favoring the

and Remus favoring what later came to be known as Remoria (possibly the

). Eventually, the two deferred their decision to the gods at the advice of their grandfather. Using the birds as omens, the two brothers decided "he to whom the more favourable birds first appeared should rule the colony and be its leader." Since Remus saw nine vultures first, he claimed that the gods chose him and Romulus claimed that since he saw a greater (the "more favorable") number of vultures, the gods chose him. Unable to reach a conclusion, the two brothers and their followers fought, ultimately resulting in the death of Remus. After his brother's death, a saddened Romulus buried Remus at the site of Remoria, giving the location its namesake. Before the actual construction of the city began,

made sacrifices and received good omens, and he then ordered the populace to ritually atone for their guilt. The city's fortifications were first and then housing for the populace. He assembled the people and gave them the choice as to what type of government they wanted - monarchy, democracy, or oligarchy - for its constitution. After his address, which extolled bravery in war abroad and moderation at home, and in which Romulus denied any need to remain in power, the people decided to remain a kingdom and asked him to remain its king. Before accepting he looked for a sign of the approval of the gods. He prayed and witnessed an auspicious lightning bolt, after which he declared that no king shall take the throne without receiving approval from the gods.

Institutions

Dionysus then provided a detailed account of the 'Romulus' constitution, most probably based on the work of Terentius Varro.T P Wiseman, ''Remembering the Roman Republic'' (2011) p. xviii Romulus supposedly divides Rome into 3

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, each with a

in charge. Each tribe was divided into 10

Curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

, and each of those into smaller units. He divided the kingdom's land holdings between them, and Dionysus alone among our authorities insists that this was done in equal lots. The Patrician class was separated from the

Pleb In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the grou ...

eian class; while each curiae was responsible for providing soldiers in the event of war. Bernard van Orley - Romulus Gives Laws to the Roman People - WGA16696

Bernard van Orley - Romulus Gives Laws to the Roman People - WGA16696

A system of

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

(''clientela''), a

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(attributed by Dionysius to Greek influence) and a personal bodyguard of 300 of the strongest and fittest among the nobles were also established: the latter, the ''celeres'', were so-named either for their quickness, or, according to

Valerius Antias Valerius Antias ( century BC) was an ancient Roman annalist whom Livy mentions as a source. No complete works of his survive but from the sixty-five fragments said to be his in the works of other authors it has been deduced that he wrote a chron ...

, for their commander. A

separation of power The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state power (usually law-making, adjudication, and execution) and requires these operations of government to be conceptually and institutionally distinguishable ...

and measures to increase manpower were also instituted, as were Rome's religious customs and practices, and a variety of legal measures praised by Dionysius. Again, Dionysius thoroughly describes the laws of other nations before contrasting the approach of Romulus and lauding his work. The Roman law governing marriage is, according to his ''Antiquities'', an elegant yet simple improvement over that of other nations, most of which he harshly derides. By declaring that wives would share equally in the possessions and conduct of their husband, Romulus promoted virtue in the former and deterred mistreatment by the latter. Wives could inherit upon their husband's death. A wife's adultery was a serious crime, however, drunkenness could be a mitigating factor in determining the appropriate punishment. Because of Romulus' laws, Dionysius claims that not a single Roman couple divorced over the following five centuries. Romulus' laws governing parental rights, in particular, those that allow fathers to maintain power over their adult children were also considered an improvement over those of others; while Dionysius further approved of how, under the laws of Romulus, native-born free Romans were limited to two forms of employment: farming and the army. All other occupations were filled by slaves or non-Roman labor. Romulus used the trappings of his office to encourage compliance with the law. His court was imposing and filled with loyal soldiers and he was always accompanied by the 12 lictors appointed to be his attendants.

The Rape of the Sabine Women and death of Romulus

Following his institutional account, Dionysus described the famous abducting of the Sabine women and suggesting thereby that the abduction was a pretext for alliance with the

Sabines The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

. Romulus wished to cement relations with neighboring cities through intermarriage, but none of them found the fledgling city of Rome worthy of their daughters. To overcome this, Romulus arranged a festival in honor of Neptune (the

Consualia The Consualia or ''Consuales Ludi'' was the name of two ancient Roman festivals in honor of Consus, a tutelary deity of the harvest and stored grain. ''Consuales Ludi'' harvest festivals were held on August 21,Plutarch. "Life if Romulus", in '' ...

) and invited the surrounding cities to attend. At the end of the festival, Romulus and the young men seized all the virgins at the festival and planned to marry them according to their customs. In his narrative, however, the cities of Caecina,

Crustumerium Crustumerium (or Crustumium) was an ancient town of Latium, on the edge of the Sabine territory, near the headwaters of the Allia, not far from the Tiber. In the legends concerning Rome's early history, the Crustumini were amongst the peoples wh ...

, and

Antemnae Antemnae was a town and Roman colony of ancient Latium in Italy. It was situated two miles north of ancient Rome on a hill (now Monte Antenne) commanding the confluence of the Aniene and the Tiber. It lay west of the later Via Salaria and now ...

petition for Tatius, king of the

to lead them to war; and it is only after the famous intervention of the Sabine women that the nations agreed to become a single kingdom under the joint rule of Romulus and Tatius, both declared ''

Quirites Quirites is the name of Roman citizens in their peacetime functions. Its use excluded military statute. During the mutiny of his legions in 47 BC, Julius Caesar expressed the dismissal of his army by addressing them as Quirites, implying his soldi ...

''. After the death of Tatius, however, Romulus became more dictatorial, until he met his end, either through actions divine or earthly. One tale tells of a "darkness" that took Romulus from his war camp to his father in heaven.Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'' Book II, Chapter 56 Another source claims that Romulus was killed by his Roman countrymen after releasing hostages, showing favoritism, and excessive cruelty in his punishments.

Impact

It is widely accepted that

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

' ''

Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...

'' was influenced by Dionysius' ''Roman Antiquities''. In recent years, this view has been contested by several scholars.

Editions

* Collected Works edited by

Friedrich Sylburg Friedrich Sylburg (1536 – 17 February 1596) was a German classical scholar. The son of a farmer, he was born at Wetter near Marburg. He studied at Marburg, Jena, Geneva, and, lastly, Paris, where his teacher was Henry Estienne (Stephanus), to ...

(1536–1596) (parallel Greek and Latin) (Frankfurt 1586)
available at Google Books
* Complete edition by

Johann Jakob Reiske Johann Jakob Reiske (Latin: ''Johannes Jacobus Reiskius''; 25 December 1716 – 14 August 1774) was a German scholar and physician. He was a pioneer in the fields of Arabic and Byzantine philology as well as Islamic numismatics. Biography Reiske ...

(1774–1777) * ''Archaeologia'' by A. Kiessling (1860-1870)
vol. 1vol. 2vol. 3vol. 4
and V. Prou (1886) and C. Jacoby (1885–1925)
vol. 1vol. 2vol. 3vol. 4supplementum
*
Opuscula
' by

Hermann Usener Hermann Karl Usener (23 October 1834 – 21 October 1905) was a German scholar in the fields of philology and comparative religion. Life Hermann Usener was born at Weilburg and educated at its Gymnasium. From 1853 he studied at Heidelberg ...

and

Ludwig Radermacher Ludwig Radermacher (31 October 1867 – 28 June 1952) was a German-Austrian classical philologist born in Siegburg. In 1891 he earned his doctorate at the University of Bonn, where he was a student of Hermann Usener (1834–1905). Following gradu ...

(1899-1929) in the

Teubner The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, or ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana'', also known as Teubner editions of Greek and Latin texts, comprise one of the most thorough modern collections published of ancient (and some medieva ...

series (vol. 1 contains ''Commentaries on the Attic Orators'', ''Letter to Ammaeus'', ''On the Admirable Style of Demosthenes'', ''On the Character of Thucydides'', ''Letter to Ammaeus about Thucydides'', vol. 2 contains ''The Arrangement of Words'', ''On Imitation'', ''Letter to Gn. Pompeius'', ''The Art of Rhetoric'', ''Fragments'') * ''Roman Antiquities'' by V. Fromentin and J. H. Sautel (1998–), and ''Opuscula rhetorica'' by Aujac (1978–), in the

Collection Budé The ''Collection Budé'', or the ''Collection des Universités de France'', is an editorial collection comprising the Greek and Latin classics up to the middle of the 6th century (before Emperor Justinian). It is published by Les Belles Lettre ...

* English translation by Edward Spelman (1758)
available at Google Books
* Trans. Earnest Cary,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

: ** ''Roman Antiquities, I'', 1937. ** ''Roman Antiquities, II'', 1939. ** ''Roman Antiquities, III'', 1940. ** ''Roman Antiquities, IV'', 1943. ** ''Roman Antiquities, V'', 1945. ** ''Roman Antiquities, VI'', 1947. ** ''Roman Antiquities, VII'', 1950. * Trans. Stephen Usher, ''Critical Essays, I'', Harvard University Press, 1974, * Trans. Stephen Usher, ''Critical Essays, II'', Harvard University Press, 1985,

References

External links

English translation of the Antiquities
(at LacusCurtius)
1586 Edition with the original Greek from the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dionysius Of Halicarnassus Ancient Greek educators Greek-language historians from the Roman Empire Ancient Greeks in Rome Ancient Halicarnassians 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century BC Greek writers 1st-century BC historians Ancient Roman antiquarians Atticists (rhetoricians) Rhetoric theorists Historians from Roman Anatolia Year of death unknown 60s BC births 0s BC deaths Greek Latinists