1.1 What was the Roman Republic?
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will understand how Rome transitioned from monarchy to republic, the role of founding myths in Republican identity, and the theoretical foundations of shared governance embodied in SPQR.
From Troy to Republic: Rome's Legendary Journey
Explore how mythical origins shaped Republican identity and values for centuries
Explore Rome's Mythical Origins
Click on any event in the timeline above to learn about Rome's legendary transition from the fall of Troy to the establishment of the Republic. This mythical narrative shaped Roman identity and Republican values for centuries.
Key themes to explore: Divine ancestry, heroic leadership, destined greatness, resistance to tyranny
Aeneas: The Trojan Hero (c. 1180 BC)
Aeneas, son of the goddess Venus and the mortal Anchises, flees the burning city of Troy carrying his father and leading his son Ascanius. This divine ancestry would later legitimise Roman claims to greatness.
Aeneas's journey represents the pietas (duty) that would become central to Roman values—duty to gods, family, and destined mission.
Ascanius and Alba Longa (c. 1152 BC)
Ascanius (also called Iulus) founds Alba Longa, the mother city of Rome. This establishes the Julian line that would later be claimed by Julius Caesar and Augustus.
For over 400 years, Aeneas's descendants rule Alba Longa as kings, establishing the precedent for legitimate royal authority that would influence Roman political thought.
Historical significance: This genealogy provided Romans with both Trojan nobility and Italian roots, justifying their rule over both Greeks and Italians.
Amulius and the Birth of the Twins (c. 800-753 BC)
Amulius usurps the throne of Alba Longa from his brother Numitor. To prevent rivals, he forces Numitor's daughter Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin.
However, the god Mars fathers twins on her: Romulus and Remus. When discovered, Amulius orders the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survive—saved by divine intervention and raised by a wolf.
Key themes: Tyrannical rule breeds resistance; divine protection ensures Rome's destiny; humble origins can lead to greatness.
Romulus Founds Rome (753 BC)
After discovering their royal heritage, Romulus and Remus decide to found a city. When they quarrel over its location and leadership, Romulus kills Remus and becomes Rome's first king.
Romulus establishes Rome's first institutions: the Senate (from senex, meaning elder), the citizen assemblies, and the ritual boundaries (pomerium) that would define Roman sacred and civic space.
The Roman Monarchy (753-509 BC)
Rome is ruled by seven kings, from Romulus to Tarquinius Superbus. Each contributes to Rome's development:
- Numa Pompilius: Establishes religious law and calendar
- Servius Tullius: Creates the census and constitutional reforms
- Tarquinius Superbus: The proud tyrant whose overthrow leads to the Republic
The monarchy provides stability and growth, but its final phase demonstrates the dangers of unchecked power that the Republic will attempt to prevent.
The Foundation of the Republic (509 BC)
The monarchy ends with the revolt led by Lucius Junius Brutus after Lucretia's rape and suicide. The Romans swear never again to tolerate a king.
The res publica ("public thing") is established with shared leadership, checks and balances, and the principle that power belongs to the people and Senate together—SPQR.
Republican innovations: Annual magistrates, collegiality, right of appeal, tribunes of the plebs.
Explore Rome's Divine Lineage
Click on any figure in the family tree to learn about their role in Rome's foundation myth. This genealogy connected Rome to both divine power and heroic tradition.
Key significance: Divine ancestry legitimised Roman power whilst heroic examples provided moral guidance for Republican leaders.
Divine Parents: Venus and Mars
Venus, goddess of love and beauty, was the divine mother of Aeneas. Mars, god of war, fathered Romulus and Remus on Rhea Silvia.
Political significance: This dual divine parentage gave Romans both military prowess (Mars) and diplomatic charm (Venus). Later, Julius Caesar claimed descent from Venus through the Julian line, whilst all Romans shared Mars as their patron deity.
Religious importance: Divine ancestry explained Roman success as divinely ordained and provided protection in times of crisis.
Aeneas: The Pious Hero
Aeneas embodied the Roman virtue of pietas through his devotion to gods, family, and mission. His journey from Troy to Italy provided Romans with a noble origin story.
Family connections: Son of Venus and Anchises, father of Ascanius, ancestor of the Julian line. His marriage to Lavinia linked Trojan nobility with Italian royalty.
Legacy: Aeneas established the moral framework for Roman leadership—duty before personal desire, collective mission before individual glory.
Ascanius/Iulus: Founder of the Royal Line
Ascanius, also called Iulus, founded Alba Longa and established the royal dynasty that would eventually produce Rome's founders. His alternative name Iulus provided the Julian family with their mythical ancestry.
Historical importance: Alba Longa served as the mother city of Rome, providing legitimacy for Roman rule over other Latin cities. The city's destruction by Rome in the 7th century BC symbolically transferred authority from the old royal line to the new Republic.
Political exploitation: Centuries later, Caesar and Augustus claimed descent from Iulus to justify their extraordinary positions and divine honours.
Kings of Alba Longa: Four Centuries of Rule
For over 400 years, Aeneas's descendants ruled Alba Longa as kings, maintaining the traditions of leadership and governance that would influence Roman political culture.
Significance of royal continuity: This long period of stable monarchy provided a model for legitimate authority based on ancestral virtue rather than mere conquest. It established precedents for:
- Hereditary leadership based on merit and divine favour
- Responsibility to maintain religious traditions
- Protection of subject peoples and allied cities
- Expansion through alliance rather than simple conquest
Transition to tyranny: The final generations saw this noble tradition corrupted by ambition and family conflict, setting the stage for Amulius's usurpation.
Numitor and Amulius: Legitimate Authority vs. Tyranny
Numitor represented legitimate royal authority, whilst his brother Amulius embodied the corruption of power through ambition and violence.
The usurpation: Amulius's seizure of power from his elder brother violated both divine law and family obligation. His attempt to eliminate potential rivals through forcing Rhea Silvia into religious celibacy showed the lengths tyrants would go to preserve power.
Republican lessons: This story taught Romans that:
- Illegitimate power always seeks to destroy legitimate succession
- Tyranny corrupts family bonds and religious obligations
- Divine justice will ultimately restore rightful authority
- Resistance to usurpation is both justified and necessary
Romulus and Remus: Foundation Through Conflict
Romulus and Remus represented both the restoration of legitimate authority and the tragic necessity of choosing between competing claims to leadership.
Divine protection: Their survival despite Amulius's attempts to kill them demonstrated that divine will could overcome human tyranny. The wolf that suckled them became a symbol of Roman resilience and divine favour.
The fraternal conflict: Romulus's killing of Remus established a troubling precedent—that Rome's greatness might require terrible choices and the sacrifice of personal bonds for political necessity.
Republican relevance: This myth warned that even justified authority could become corrupted by ambition, foreshadowing the conflicts that would eventually destroy the Republic itself.
SPQR: The Heart of Republican Government
Click on any letter above to explore what SPQR meant in practice. This phrase appeared on standards, buildings, and official documents, representing the ideal of shared governance between elite and citizens.
Key principle: Authority came from the collective institutions of Senate and People, not from any individual ruler.
Senatus: The Senate's Role in SPQR
The Senate represented accumulated wisdom and experience. Composed of former magistrates, it provided continuity in an otherwise annual system of government.
Powers and influence:
- Control of public finances and treasury
- Management of foreign policy and diplomacy
- Assignment of provincial commands
- Religious oversight and interpretation of omens
- Emergency powers through senatus consultum ultimum
Limitations: Despite its prestige, the Senate technically held only advisory power. Its influence depended on voluntary respect for tradition and auctoritas.
Populus: The Roman People's Authority
The populus included all Roman citizens, though political participation was structured to favour wealth and property. Different assemblies gave citizens various ways to exercise sovereignty.
Popular sovereignty in practice:
- Election of all magistrates through popular vote
- Passage of laws through assembly approval
- Judicial decisions in major criminal cases
- Ratification of treaties and declarations of war
- Appeal against magisterial decisions
Structural limitations: Whilst all citizens could vote, the system favoured:
- Wealthy citizens who controlled more voting units
- Rural landowners over urban workers
- Those who could attend assemblies in person
- Clients following their patrons' preferences
Revolutionary potential: Despite these limitations, popularis politicians could mobilise genuine popular support to challenge senatorial authority.
-que: The Partnership of Governance
The simple conjunction "-que" (and) represented one of the most important political principles in Roman history—that legitimate authority required partnership between Senate and People.
Theoretical equality: SPQR suggested that both Senate and People were essential partners in governance, neither sufficient alone. This ideal of shared authority distinguished the Republic from both monarchy and democracy.
Practical tensions: In reality, the partnership was often unequal:
- The Senate usually led, the People usually followed
- Elite manipulation of popular assemblies was common
- Popularis politicians exploited the partnership against senatorial wishes
- Constitutional crises arose when partnership broke down
Legacy: Even when the Republic failed, the ideal of shared governance influenced Roman political thought and later constitutional development.
Romanus: Roman Identity and Citizenship
Romanus defined who belonged to this political partnership. Roman citizenship was both exclusive and expandable, creating a unique form of imperial governance.
Citizenship privileges:
- Right to vote in assemblies
- Right to hold magistracies (if wealthy enough)
- Legal protection and right of appeal
- Marriage rights and property ownership
- Military service obligations and honours
Expansion of citizenship: Unlike other ancient states, Rome gradually extended citizenship to conquered peoples, transforming subjects into partners in the SPQR system.
Republican values: Being Romanus meant embracing certain values:
- Libertas: Freedom from tyrannical domination
- Virtus: Masculine courage and civic excellence
- Pietas: Duty to gods, family, and state
- Gravitas: Serious-minded responsibility
Crisis of identity: By the Late Republic, questions about who was truly Romanus and what Roman values meant became central to political conflict.
From Monarchy to Republic: The Political Transition
The Last King: Tarquinius Superbus
According to Roman historians like Livy, the last Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ("the Proud") embodied everything Romans came to despise about monarchy. He ruled without consulting the Senate, used violence to suppress opposition, and accumulated wealth through exploitation.
The Rape of Lucretia: Catalyst for Revolution
The event that triggered the Republic's foundation was deeply personal yet profoundly political. Sextus Tarquinius, the king's son, raped Lucretia, the wife of Tarquinius Collatinus. Her response—and the response of the Roman nobles—reveals fundamental Republican values.
The Mythical Account
Lucretia, a paragon of Roman virtue (pudicitia), is violated by Sextus Tarquinius. She summons her father and husband, confesses what happened, and takes her own life to preserve her family's honour.
Her suicide galvanises the Roman nobility, led by Lucius Junius Brutus, to swear an oath to expel the Tarquins and never again allow monarchical rule.
Historical Analysis
Modern historians debate whether these events occurred as described, but their symbolic importance is clear. The story establishes key Republican principles:
- Resistance to tyranny as moral duty
- Individual sacrifice for collective good
- Male honour tied to female virtue
- Rejection of arbitrary personal rule
Brutus and the Oath
Lucius Junius Brutus, previously thought a harmless fool, reveals his true nature by pulling the knife from Lucretia's body and swearing the foundational oath of the Republic:
This oath became the founding charter of Republican libertas—freedom from the domination of any single individual.
Monarchical vs. Republican Values
- Personal loyalty: Allegiance to the king as individual
- Hereditary authority: Power passed through bloodlines
- Divine kingship: Royal authority sanctioned by gods
- Absolute power: King's will as supreme law
- Court culture: Competition for royal favour
- Dynastic glory: Achievement measured by royal bloodline
- Subject status: Citizens as king's property
- Institutional loyalty: Allegiance to the state itself
- Meritocratic advancement: Power earned through service
- Collective authority: Power shared among institutions
- Limited terms: Temporary, accountable leadership
- Competitive honour: Achievement through public service
- Civic virtue: Glory through benefiting the community
- Citizen rights: Legal protections and political participation
This transformation from monarchical to republican values shaped Roman political culture for centuries. However, the Late Republic would see ambitious individuals attempting to restore monarchical power whilst claiming to defend republican traditions.
Republican Values and Identity
The Theory of Mixed Government
The Roman Republic attempted to balance different forms of government in what Polybius called a "mixed constitution." This system sought to capture the advantages of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy whilst avoiding their respective dangers:
- Monarchical element: Consuls provided executive leadership and military command
- Aristocratic element: The Senate offered experienced guidance and continuity
- Democratic element: Popular assemblies allowed citizen participation in legislation and elections
The Reality of Power
Whilst SPQR suggested partnership between Senate and People, the reality was more complex. The patricians (aristocratic families) initially monopolised political power, whilst the plebeians (common citizens) had to fight for political rights through a series of conflicts known as the Struggle of the Orders.
Nevertheless, the theoretical equality embedded in SPQR created a powerful ideal that politicians would invoke throughout Republican history—and which autocrats like Caesar and Augustus would need to respect, at least in form.
