Myths and Legends of the World

Sailing away from Africa and Dido's drama, they were at sea for days before they reach Sicily again. This time they were guests of Acestes, in Eryx. Acestes' mother was Trojan, so he helped Aeneas prepared a great funeral games for Aeneas' father, Anchises, who had died at Drepănum a year ago. Then they set out again for Italy, hoping to reach Cumae, so he could consult with the Sibyl. Before they had landed in Eryx, Palinurus, the pilot of Aeneas' ship had complained about dark, stormy sky. But before they reached Cumae, the pilot was lulled by the calm weather and sea; he fell asleep at the tiller, then fell overboard and drowned by Somnus, the God of the Sleep. The Trojans reached Cumae, where Aeneas found and met the Sibyl, the oracle and priestess of Apollo and Diana in Diana's Wood. Her name was Deiphobe, daughter of Glaucus. Through a trance Sibyl foresaw that Aeneas would find greater danger in Latium than he ever did on the high seas. In Latium, Aeneas...

Gaius Julius Caesar God Consul of Rome General of Rome Dictator of Rome for life Gaius Julius Caesar was born on 12 July 100 BC in Rome, son of Gaius Caesar and Aurelia. The statesman and general Julius Caesar expanded the Roman Republic through a series of battles across Europe. He was appointed dictator for ten years in 47 B, for life on 14 February 44 BC. Married initially to Cornelia (one daughter, Julia), then to Pompeia, at last to Calpurnia (while have relationship with Cleopatra). Julius Caesar is often remembered as one of the greatest military minds in history and credited with laying the foundation for the Roman Empire. He died famously on the steps of the Senate at the hands of political rivals on 15 March 44 BC. Deified in 42 BC.

February was considered the final month of the Roman year, and on the 15th, citizens celebrated the festival of Lupercalia. Originally, this week-long party honored the god Faunus, who watched over shepherds in the hills. The festival also marked the coming of spring. Later on, it became a holiday honoring Romulus and Remus, the twins who founded Rome after being raised by a she-wolf in a cave. Eventually, Lupercalia became a multi-purpose event: it celebrated the fertility of not only the livestock but people as well. To kick off the festivities, an order of priests gathered before the Lupercale on the Palatine hill. The rite began in the cave of the She-Wolf in the city of Rome where legend had it that the founders of the city, Romulus and Remus, had been suckled by the wolf before they were found by a shepherd. The priests then sacrificed a dog for purification, and a pair of young male goats for fertility. The hides of the goats were cut into strips, dipped in bloo...

Sorry about the delay. Due to the LENGTH of biography on Julius Caesar I will present to you Caesar's youth. Gaius Julius Caesar was born around July (originally Quinctilis, but renamed by Caesar in his own calendar reform) 13, 100 BC. Caesar was a member of the deeply patrician Julii family with roots dating to the foundation of the city itself. He later claimed to be a direct descendent of Aenaes, Ancestor of the Roman people and son of Venus, and therefore related to the gods themselves. Still, at his start, the Caesar family was an impoverished line of the noble original clans. No Caesars in recent generations had held the seat of Consul but while still highly respected, they held little political clout. His father, Gaius Julius as well, had served in a respectable capacity within the Senate, but had little notoriety aside from his son's legacy. His mother, Aurelia, of the Aurelii Cotta line, seems to have been both a remarkable woman and a ...