Rome Before Rome

A Book Review by Dominick Maino

Rome Before Rome: A Book Review by Dominick Maino

Matyszak, P. (2025). Rome before Rome: The legends that shaped the Romans. Thames & Hudson Inc. 41 illustrations, epilogue, Dramatis Personae*, Glossary, Further Reading and Index. 222 pages

Was Matyszak writing about legends, myth or history? The answer is yes.

Matyszak weaves Legend+Myth+History into a narrative that informs us about the creation of the Roman Republic and the later Empire’s soul, heart, and mind. The well-known creation myth of Romulus and Remus being raised by wolves, the rape of the Sabine women, and Virgel’s creation Aeneas, the Trojan (which helped to bring Julius Caesar up to divine status) all played a key role in what became the empire that ruled the known world. The message of Aeneas was that it was preordained that Augustus and Rome would rule.

Centuries before the founding of Rome, Greeks developed several colonies in what was to become Italy. The Greeks and the Roman societies were seemingly always intertwined. The Greek gods became the Roman gods, but with different names. The Greek stories were told and retold in Rome and then recreated in stories created by Virgil.

Historians and writers like Livy, Polybius, and Plutarch were supported in telling Rome’s stories during the Republic and early Empire by many others. Individuals such as Cato the Elder, Pliny the Elder, Cicero and Tacitus authored new stories that supported the rise and empowerment of Rome. Were they writing history, myth or legend? It made no difference to Romans.

From before the time of the Roman Kings until the establishment of the Republic and Empire Rome was supported by the gods and preordained their greatness. Rome could only win battles (even if they lost a few along the way). Rome could never be defeated. After all they were blessed by the gods.

I’ve read all of the biographies of the Roman Republic’s consuls and the Empire’s Emperors. I’ve read numerous histories. I’ve read about the lives of the common Roman, their leading citizens, their generals and Rome in Britain. I’ve read about the Rome not only in the West but also the East. I’ve even studied the fall of the West and much later, with the aid of cannons, the fall of the East.

Could I possible learn anything new about Rome by reading this book?

By Jupiter’s thunderbolt! I certainly could and did. My puffed up historian self, shrunk down in size even smaller than my existing old guy Italian self. This 200+ paged book is a goldmine of information that any Roman aficionado must know.

The author writes in a readable and entertaining style accessible by all. Along with its 44 illustrations, this book tells an incredible story. A story of myth, legend, history, and truth. This is a story about blood and guts, about bravery and brazenness. It tells the story of an Empire’s birth that still affects all of us in our daily lives.

Read this book. Learn. Apply it to our times. When you understand Rome. You get a better understanding of America.

Dramatis Personae* This tells readers about the key players in the story of Rome.