Blessed by society's established authorities, many myths make their way into our history books. Our own history is full of myths and distortions of facts. So are our religions.
The most accepted date for the founding of the city of Rome is 753 B.C. History records the events which led up to the founding of Rome by the twin brothers Romulus and Remis: Several centuries before the two boys were born, refugees of the Trojan wars settled in Italy, and later founded the town of Alba Longa, which is southeast of Rome. A few centuries later, another two brothers were rivals for the kingship of Alba Longa. The younger of the two killed the son of his brother, took the throne and to prevent the birth of any children who might challenge him for the throne, he compelled his sister, Rhea Silvia, to become a priestess of Vesta, which would require her to remain a virgin for life.
But you know how such things go, right? Rhea was an attractive woman ... so attractive that she drew the attention of a god, Mars, the god of War, and he impregnated her. She gave birth to the twin boys, Romulus and Remis. The king took the newborn twins away from her and gave them to a servant to "dispose of". You probably know the story: the twin boys were abandoned in the countryside, in a wooden trough, and left to die. The two infants were carried off in a flood still in their wooden trough, which overturned, casting them both onto the muddy riverbank. As chance would have it, a she-wolf which had just given birth happened by. Her teats were still swollen with milk, and the wolf nursed the boys and saved their lives. This fact is known because some local herdsman came by and actually saw the boys nursing on the wolf. That herdsman took the boys to the keeper of the royal flock (of sheep) who raised them into strong young men.
Romulus and Remis became great men, despite their humble raising as shepherds, because they bore the characteristics of royalty. They had the right blood, you know. They were, after all, the sons of a god!
Mythology, right? Legend, not historical fact. Perhaps ... but here's the point I'm trying to make: This is the recorded history of the founding of Rome; steeped in mythology, yes, but recorded by the historians and biographers of the time. These are the historical facts. The history of Rome is mostly legendary. It is impossible to separate mythology from fact. And there is no real reason to ... the history is based on mythology; they are the same; recorded as factual, they must be accepted as factual.
And that's no different, really, than the history of any modern society or nation. The history of the United States, which I know quite thoroughly, is no different. The mythology we were taught as children, and the heroes we were taught to revere, are the history. The actual facts are irrelevant, and are largely ignored. The myths are unchallengeable. They are the history. And that's ok. That's the way things work. That's the way human beings work.
Mythology has a purpose. Myths are nice. I never realized how many of my own beliefs, unchallenged for years, were based on mythology, not facts or truth. When I realized that, I also realized that a believer in myths is not who I am or want to be. The fabric unraveled, completely, for me. That doesn't make the myths any less accepted as truth by society; it just means I made a choice to be skeptical of those myths. And I'm very comfortable with my choice.
And, yes, Rome definitely was founded by two twin brothers who were the sons of a god, and whose foster mother was a wild she-wolf. History records that as historical fact.
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Charles
Believe nothing just because a "wise person" (sage) said it.
Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held.
Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books, or it is said to be of divine origin.
Believe nothing just because someone else believes it.
Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.
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The teaching of the Buddha
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