Rome, the “Eternal City”, cradle of history, art and age-old culture, has always fascinated and intrigued generations of scholars, travelers and curious people from all over the world. But behind its majestic panorama of ancient monuments and centuries-old streets lies a fascinating mystery: why is Rome called that? AND What is its secret name, hidden in the folds of its rich history?
Let’s discover the legendary origins and the mysterious secret name of Romeand where it gets its meaning from.
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The origins of the city’s name
Plutarchin its “Life of Romulus”, and other ancient authors cannot agree on who imposed the name Rome and why it was chosen. Cicero and Ennius, for example, report that at the beginning there was discussion about whether the city should be called Rome or Remora.
The The name “Roma” remains a subject of debate even today from an etymological point of view: some scholars hypothesize that it derives from Rome, nephew of Aeneas, or from Romo, son of Aeneasor by other characters with that name, including a companion of Aeneas.
A fascinating hypothesis suggests that Rome took its own named after a Trojan woman called Roma, which would have set fire to the ships of the Trojans who had temporarily landed on the banks of the Tiber, thus forcing them to settle in that place. Others scholars maintain that Romulus, at the time of its foundation, imposed his name on the citybut this theory appears unlikely since the city should have been called “Romulia” or “Romilia”.
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Another hypothesis proposes that the name derives from “ruma”, “rumia” or “rumina”with the meaning of “breast”, in reference to the breasts of the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remusor to the breast shape of the Palatine Hill, where the city was founded. Furthermore, it is suggested that “Rumon” and “Rumen” they were ancient names of the Tiber riverand therefore “Rome” could mean “the city of the river”.
This last hypothesis is supported by a passage from Servius inAeneidwhich mentions the Ruminal fig near which they were abandoned Romulus and Remusand which now corresponds to the site of Lupercal on the Palatine, then lapped by the Tiber. This theory is currently the most accredited by scholars.
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Why did Rome have a secret name?
In ancient times, keeping the real name of a city secret was a widespread practicea kind of precaution against possible external threats. This was also the case of Rome, whose secret identity was jealously guarded, so much so that it is said that its revelation even cost the lives of those who dared to divulge it.
Tells Pliny the Elderin his encyclopedic work Naturalis HistoriaThat the tribune of the plebs Quintus Valerius Soranoduring a tumultuous period of Roman history, he was sentenced to death for revealing the secret name of Rome in his treatise “Epoptides” (“The Mysteries Revealed”). This revelation could have allowed the enemies of Rome to evoke, through the ritual ofevocativethe patron god of the city during a siege.
L’evocative it was a ancient rite in which iThe name of the god was pronounced outside the walls of the city under siege, with the intention of subduing the divinity and, consequently, the city itself. Knowing the secret name of a city meant, according to the belief of the time, having the power to control its essence and submit it to one’s will.
What was the secret name of Rome?
Just as it is great debate on the origins of the name of Romeit is not easy to find a hypothesis fully accredited by experts regarding what the secret name of the Eternal City was. Gaius Julius Solinusa writer of ancient Rome, argued that the real name of Rome was never disclosed to the publicbeing strictly prohibited from doing so.
Through mysterious ceremonies, kept in the most rigorous silence, this name was handed down by the high officials of the State, thus transferring power from one generation to the next. There are many opinions on this topic, e.g this diversity seems to have been created specifically to maintain mystery intact and impenetrable.
The most accredited hypothesis proposes that the secret name of Rome was none other than lreading of the name itself from right to left: “Amor”. In support of this theory, reference is made to aancient inscription discovered in Pompeii on a wall of a house. “Amor” therefore seems to be the name considered arcane and mysterious, associated with Venusthe tutelary deity secretly venerated by the city of Rome.
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