Tarquin the Proud

Today, not in class, we discussed Chi Cago's Guide to Ancient Rome. The Etruscans and the Greeks settled Rome. The Etruscans came from the birth-central part of the peninsula. They were metalworkers, artists, and architects who created two foundation myths: Virgil's Aeneid and the story of Remus and Romulus. The Greeks had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea. They had ideas about religious beliefs, the alphabet, art, and military techniques/weaponry, which the Romans borrowed from them later on. However, the Latins first settled there. They were descendants of the Indo-Europeans, who settled on the banks of the Tiber. They were situated so that trading ships (not war fleets) could navigate as far as Rome (not further though), and they had a commercial port (not susceptible to attack, and built on seven hills. Romulus chose Palatine, but Remus wanted Aventine. They drained a swamp, causing many streams flowed into the Tiber. There was a marshy area called the Forum, which was between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. Tarquin the Proud's grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima, which then channeled water into the Tiber. Urban legend says Washington DC was built on a swamp, but only about 2% is swampland. However, Constitution Avenue is located on what use to be called Tiber Creek. Lucius Tarquinias Superbus was the last king of Rome. He was known as Tarquin the Proud because he could be a little too cocky at some times. He was a true tyrant.