THE EVOLUTION OF A MYTH: ROMULUS & REMUS

Myths offer an explanation of something unknown, as is the case with Rome’s founding myth of Romulus and Remus. The first known record was written four hundred years afterward and survives only as a reference in later material. In each subsequent account from the first, authors contribute the influence of their time to grasp the imaginations of their audience and renew interest in days long past. In 2019, director Matteo Rovere molded the Romulus and Remus myth to suit a modern audience in his film Il Primo Re, using reconstructed Proto-Latin to create an immersive 8th-century experience. Comparing early accounts such as those written by Livius’ and Plutarch, and methods of storytelling through film, we will examine how the myth of Romulus and Remus evolved and adapted to audiences of the past and present