‘I sing of arms and the man’ wrote Virgil at the start of the Aeneid, one of Rome’s most iconic origin stories exploring the tumultuous journey of Aeneas from Trojan prince to a hero of Rome. But did Aeneas actually flee from Troy? How did this story affect the Roman’s perspective of themselves? And did they believe it? In Rome Before Rome, Philip Matyszak explores the myths and legends, heroes and villains that shaped the Roman sense of self.

There are few books which explain how these different legends fit into Rome’s overall narrative and none which explore the range of myths Matyszak describes. Some of the legends are well known, from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of the Sabines, whilst others are more obscure such as the story of the praetor Cipus, who grew horns and became a King of Rome. Whether renowned or unfamiliar, all are significant in their own way and have had a profound impact on the Romans. Even today these myths continue to reverberate throughout western culture as films, TV shows and plays.

Matyszak dissects these myths, investigating hard-to-find texts, such as the historical texts of Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Plutarch’s Roman Questions sources, as well as classic texts like Livy’s From the Founding of the City and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, revealing that Rome’s illustrious mythological past is not quite as it might seem.