The legendary origins of Rome were perpetuated by both Roman historians and poets like Livy in his Roman History and Virgil in the Aenaeid. Both claimed that Aeneas, son of the goddess Venus, fled from Troy when it was captured and landed at the mouth of the Tiber. Having defeated the local tribes he founded Lavinium. His son Ascanius (or Lulus ) founded Alba Longa. It was here that Rhea Silvia the Vestal, following her union with the god Mars, gave birth to the twins Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned on the Tiber. The twins came to rest at the foot of the Palatine where they were nursed by a wolf. Later Romulus marked a furrow around the sacred area on which the new city was to be built. Jesting, Remus stepped over the line; Romulus killed him for violating the sacred precinct. Romulus populated his village with outlaws who settled on the Capitol and he provided them with Sabine wives. An alliance grew up between the two peoples who were ruled by a succession of kings, alternately Sabine and Latine, until the Etruscans arrived.

In reality, Caesar changed the Republic of Roma into the Empire. When Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March, his relative Octavin became the first emperor of the Roman Empire to be called Augustus. His achievements were considerable, including extending Roman government and restoring peace to the whole of the Mediterranean basin. After Augustus, Nero, Caligula and Domitian ruled as cruel emperors plagued with madness. Of course there were emperors who continued the good works of the Roman civilization, including Vespasian, Titus, Trajan, and the best of all Emperors, the great builder, Hadrian.