Romulus And Remus In Livy

What roles do violence and sacrifice play in religious society? According to Regina Schwartz, quite large ones, at least in monotheism; she states that “narratives about God…tend to be projections of human life, human desire, human possession, and human violence…” (Schwartz, 201). Her view, however, presents an incomplete picture of religion. When comparing monotheism and polytheism, a greater emphasis on human sacrifice for the sake of social order comes to light. Polytheistic myths, such as the tale of Romulus and Remus in Livy’s History, fail to act as legitimate founding stories due to their use of human sacrifice and violence as a means for obtaining social order. Contrary to Schwartz’s claims, monotheistic myths, such as the tale of

In order to populate Rome, Romulus tricks women from outside the city into entering Rome and then allows his men to claim them as their own. He then ‘reassures’ the ravaged women by promising them the “fortunes of Rome” and urges them to “forget their wrath and give their hearts to those whom chance had given their bodies” (Livy, 18). This explicitly spells out a relinquishment of the women’s hearts and bodies, and ultimately their entire selves, to the control of men. Romulus’s attempts to justify his actions by the future success of Rome he believes the women will bring about mean nothing (Livy, 18). He expects the women, subjected to the possession of men and stolen violently from their families, to enjoy the fruits of Rome, even with their own wellbeing as the price to pay for those fruits. It’s ridiculous, made even more so when, just a few lines later in the story, the women “[learn] to accept their lot” (Livy, 19). The possession of women within the story becomes normalized and correlates with the earlier acts of violence that make up the foundation of Rome. The violence, the possession, the need for social order no matter the cost: it all serves to devalue Livy’s History as a founding