Ulrich Schmitzer, "Itala nam tellus Graecia maior erat. Griechen und Troianer als mythische Städtegründer in Italien", in: Almut-Barbara Renger and Isabel Toral-Niehoff (Eds.), Genealogie und Migrationsmythen im antiken Mittelmeerraum und auf der arabischen Halbinsel, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2014, 137–156
Abstract
The imaginary map of ancient Italy is defined by mythical wanderings that originate primarily with the events surrounding the Trojan War. The conflict between Greeks and Trojans is thereby quelled and a new synthesis achieved. Due to the extent of the surviving records this process can be studied particularly closely in the case of Rome (with the “founding fathers” Euander, Aeneas and Romulus), but it holds as well for other Italian cities. In a number of cases it is even possible to identify the relevant local traditions. By contrast, there are hardly any examples of autochtonic conceptions or notions of cultural independence from Greece.
Published In
Almut-Barbara Renger and Isabel Toral-Niehoff (Eds.), Genealogie und Migrationsmythen im antiken Mittelmeerraum und auf der arabischen Halbinsel, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2014