Task 2. Historical Kings lists [May 23, 2012, 7:43 a.m.]
In this task you are going to answer the following question. Is a 'Kings list' a reliable document of an empire's existence?
Read the following extract:
According to legend, after the fall of Troy, the Trojan prince Aeneas led a band of refugees driven by destiny to found a new city, eventually arriving in Italy.
The traditional date of the war was established by Eratosthenes as 1183 BC, leaving a gap of some four centuries until the traditional founding of Rome in 753 BC.
The genealogy of the Alban kings justified the close ties between Rome and its Latin communities, and enhanced the status of Latin families who could claim descent from a legendary ancestor.
Such was the eagerness to claim a Trojan pedigree in the Late Republic that 15 different lists of the Alban kings from Aeneas to Romulus survive.
See the full article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_kings_of_Alba_Longa
Okay. How to answer the question.
An introduction sentence stating that kings lists (such as the Alba longa list) were used as an acadamic source of historical fact.
You should use your next 3 sentences to mention that the Motive for the Alba longa list was to fill a gap in the historic record, to facilitate the claiming of a Trojan pedigree which enhance the status of latin families.
You could also say that the list also cements the existance of the fabled city of Troy and reinforces the Myth of the founding of Rome in 753 BC by the ficticous Romulus and Remus.
Finally you should draw your own conclusion about the citing of kings lists, in general, when referral to factual history.
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Note:
There is no doubt that there certainly is a place for these lists in the, various timeless, classical works of literature and art.
Read the following extract:
According to legend, after the fall of Troy, the Trojan prince Aeneas led a band of refugees driven by destiny to found a new city, eventually arriving in Italy.
The traditional date of the war was established by Eratosthenes as 1183 BC, leaving a gap of some four centuries until the traditional founding of Rome in 753 BC.
The genealogy of the Alban kings justified the close ties between Rome and its Latin communities, and enhanced the status of Latin families who could claim descent from a legendary ancestor.
Such was the eagerness to claim a Trojan pedigree in the Late Republic that 15 different lists of the Alban kings from Aeneas to Romulus survive.
See the full article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_kings_of_Alba_Longa
Okay. How to answer the question.
An introduction sentence stating that kings lists (such as the Alba longa list) were used as an acadamic source of historical fact.
You should use your next 3 sentences to mention that the Motive for the Alba longa list was to fill a gap in the historic record, to facilitate the claiming of a Trojan pedigree which enhance the status of latin families.
You could also say that the list also cements the existance of the fabled city of Troy and reinforces the Myth of the founding of Rome in 753 BC by the ficticous Romulus and Remus.
Finally you should draw your own conclusion about the citing of kings lists, in general, when referral to factual history.
-------------------
Note:
There is no doubt that there certainly is a place for these lists in the, various timeless, classical works of literature and art.