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Why Is Lucretia Important In Early Roman Culture

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The insights that can be found about early Roman culture from the story of Romulus and Remus is that early Roman culture was much like its founding. The Romans were a fierce nation and “Rome’s savagery was matched by its size, when the colosseum was built Rome was a city if a million people and growing” (The Rise of Rome). In the story of Romulus and Remus, Remus attacks his brother and is killed by him too. For Remus to attack his brother required savagery, and for Romulus to kill Remus also required this same type of savagery. Overall, early Roman culture like its founding was built on savagery.

The values that Livy tried to emphasize in the story of Lucretia were honor and virtue. When the men in the story saw their wives partying, but when they saw "Lucretia, even though it was night, was still working on her spinning” (Livy's Story of Lucretia). Livy first defines Lucretia was a women of honor and virtue in the story, “They were all impressed by Lucretia's chaste honor… and by her exemplary virtue” (Livy's Story of Lucretia) Sextus Tarquinius though, violated her, taking away her honor and virtue in her own eyes, ““Sextus Tarquinius triumphed over her virtue… how can anothing go well for a woman who has lost her honor...No woman shall use Lucretia as her example in …show more content…

Although, the story of Lucretia reminded the Romans why they had left the idea of a monarchy and the reason why they became a republic. This was because after Lucretia lost her honor and virtue, her good friend Brutus decided to take revenge against Sextus Tarquinuis which ultimately involved overthrowing the king and his family, for the prince was Sextus Tarquinius. If it were not for this event and the recording of it for other to learn of it, then Rome may have not of become the empire that it became and they could have possibly reverted to a

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In the departure there is a miraculous conception because Romulus and Remus are sons of the god Mars, they were on “the belly of the whale” when Amulius left them in the river, and they had a supernatural aid when the she-wolf nursed them instead of eating them. They grew believing that they were sons of a shepherd, it was his ordinary world until they discovered they were princes. In the Initiation, they allied with some shepherds and overthrow Amulius, restoring the kingdom to his grandfather Numitor. After that trying to decide who should rule the city both received a signal from heaven (a boon). Then Remus was killed (Death).

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