The Myth Of Romulus And Remus: The Foundation Of Rome

The events of many Greek and Roman myths tell of struggles for the throne, while also conveying messages of political importance. The myth of Romulus and Remus tells the story of the foundation of Rome and the fight to be named founder of the new city. Synonymously, on his journey to becoming King of Athens, Theseus encounters many obstacles and struggles before he can claim the title of King. Often, like many Greek and Roman myths, these stories entail a deeper meaning that may not be realized when taking a quick glance. These myths of struggles for the throne are usually riddled with violence and while violence is often seen as a crime, it is used in these myths portray political messages.
The foundation myth of Rome focuses heavily of Romulus,

The two brothers one day set out to build a city of their own. The two brothers could not decide which of them would rule their new city, as neither had seniority over the other. The two argued, but soon turned to violence, ending with the death of Remus, leaving Romulus to be the ruler of Rome. Although Romulus committed a violent crime by murdering his brother, his actions were not seen in ill regard. Romulus' killing of Remus is seen as a sacrifice, in that he does it for the greater good of the city that he desires to found. Once the city of Rome had been built, Romulus came to realize a critical mistake in his plans to build a nation of strength and resilience. At its foundation, the population of Rome was in majority male. This was a critical obstacle that Romulus had to overcome if he wanted his city to succeed. Without women to bear children, there was no way to build

Theseus’ first obstacle required him to muster all his strength in order to lift the rock to retrieve the sword and sandals left there for him. After acquiring the tokens which were rightfully his as the son of the King Aegeus, he set off to Athens. While traveling by sea was the much safer way to Athens, Theseus insisted on traveling by land, as he wished to complete six good deeds to demonstrate his strength. First, he killed Periphetes, who would bash passersby with his iron club. Next, he killed Sinis, a giant, who would trick travelers into an untimely death. As he continued his journey to Athens, he slayed Crommyon, a giant pig. For his fourth deed, he sought payback at Sciron by forcing him to wash Theseus’ feet and shoved him down the hill, in the same way Sciron would do to innocent people. He then went on to kill Cercyon, a tremendous wrestler. For his last deed, Theseus killed Procrystes, who would over refuge to travelers and then submit them to terrible torture. All of these people were villains, who did not abide by the laws. Theseus having conquered them all, was seen as someone who acted in ways to advance and better Greek civilization. Upon his arrival in Athens, the sorcerous Medea, having recognized Theseus as the son of King Aegeus, sent Theseus on a quest to kill a bull that had been terrorizing the land. In completing his quest, Theseus’ once again overcame an obstacle on