Solar Eclipses Used To Correctly Date the Foundation Of Rome

Posted by clnews _Featured_, Ancient Mysteries Saturday, August 18th, 2012

(By Lucian Dau)

The founding of Rome can be investigated through Astronomy and time calculations, following the ancient legends and myths that surround the birth of Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers, descendants of Aenea and the sons of Rhea Silvia (Ilia), daughter of Numitor, and Mars, the god of war. Because of a prophecy that they would overthrow their uncle, the usurper king of Alba Longa and restore their grandfather Numitor on the throne, they were abandoned at birth on the Tiber River by a servant who took pity on the babies, or because the river was swollen and the servant abandoned them near the bank. Then the overflow of the swollen river took them up and carried them down to a place where there was a fig-tree which they called Ruminalis.

The ancient Romans called the teat “ruma,” and a certain goddess, who is thought to preside over the rearing of young children, is still called Rumilia, in sacrificing to whom libations of milk are poured. Here, then, the babes lay, and a she-wolf have suckled them and a woodpecker help in feeding them. Both the she-wolf and the woodpecker are considered sacred to Mars. Later a shepherd named Faustulus found and adopted the twins. He and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the children.

When Romulus and Remus became adults, they decided to found a city by reading omens of the flight of vultures. Romulus looked for the signs on the Palatine hill and Remus on the Aventine. The legend has that Romulus saw 12 vultures and Remus 6 vultures. Romulus decided to build the city on Palatine Hill and that he should be King because he has seen more vultures. Remus objected that he saw his vultures first. Each brother started to build the walls for his city on his respective hill. Romulus marked the city’s boundaries with a plough drawn by a white bull and a white cow. Remus, mocking the low walls of his brother’s city, leapt over the Palatine walls, they quarreled and an angry Romulus has killed Remus. The city grew up around the Palatine and was named Rome for Romulus, its first king.

So Romulus was the one who founded the city. But when this event actually took place? History books and historians are maintaining the belief that the Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC. During the Roman republic, several dates were given for the founding of the city. Under the Roman Empire the date suggested by Atticus and Varro (753 B.C.) was agreed upon.

Interestingly, one of the earliest of the Latin historians who have received information about the beginnings of Rome, Quintus Fabius Pictor (c.254 BC), considered 747 BC as the year of city’s foundation, the first year of the eighth Olympiad, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, (Book 1, chapter 74, 2). Quintus Fabius Pictor, the most ancient of all Roman writers, was right. He was the founder of historiography and is known for the establishment of the “ab urbe condita” tradition, which is writing history “from the founding of the city.” His history of Rome is now lost but his work survives in quotations.

According to Velleius Paterculus the foundation of Rome took place 437 years after the fall of Troy (1184 BC). But if we take into account the solar eclipse that was mentioned in the Odyssey when Ulysses returned home 10 years after the fall of Troy, then we see that the only viable eclipse has occurred on April 16 1178. This is pointing to the date of conquest of Troy: 1188 BC. Then there are 441 years between the two and not 437.

Now, studying the list of all the solar eclipses described in the legend of Rome’s foundation, with the help of a good computer soft of Astronomy, I have found that Rome was actually founded in the year 747 BC and not in 753 BC, as it is incorrectly written in the history books since antiquity until toady. I have reached this conclusion by astronomical data and simple arithmetic following the details of legends. There were other researchers who tried to find this date but as far as I know neither one found this date correctly.

According to Lucius Tarrutius of Firmum, Romulus was conceived on the 23rd day of the Egyptian month Choiac, at the time of a total eclipse of the sun. This eclipse I found that occurred on February 10, 765 BC 8:55, with a magnitude of 0.98 precisely in the area of Alba Longa (Latium). In other words the Latin town and the whole Latium was exactly in the path of totality.

At the same time, in February 10, 765 BC Mars was very close to Earth, at only 0,655 astronomical units and phase 99%. They have been thus conceived during the total solar eclipse according to the legend, which took place in Alba Longa on February 10, 765 BC 8:55 a.m. (Julian date).

According to the same source, Romulus and Remus have been born on the 21st day of the month of Thoth at sunrise, in the Egyptian calendar. Taking into account astrological considerations and counting between these two dates of the Egyptian calendar, I have calculated that Romulus and Remus were born on November 9th 765 BC (Julian date).

It is said that Romulus died at Nones of Quintilis (Latin for fifth month – July in the calendar of ancient Rome), at the age of 54, on a day of solar eclipse; I have also found that this occurred precisely on July 28th 710 BC at 18:10, just before sunset.
Plutarch states that Romulus ruled for 37 years and disappeared in the 38th year of his reign. Most of these have been recorded by Plutarch, Florus, Cicero, Dio Cassius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Dio in his Roman History (Book I) confirms these data by telling that Romulus was in his 18th year of age when he founded Rome. Therefore, the two eclipses and these recorded data indicate that Romulus reigned from April 21 747 BC to July 28 710 BC.

A simple calculation leads us to the conclusion that Romulus was 17 years and 5 months at the founding of Rome; he reigned 37 years and 3 months, and lived 54 years and 8 months, all of these data being in a perfect agreement with the legend!

The birth of Rome according to tradition was day XI ante-Kalendas prior to Kalendis May 1st that coincided with Parilia festival (dedicated to goddess of the shepherds, Pales), which was on April 21 747 BC. It was the first day after the New Moon (April 20 17:00) and multiple conjunction between the Sun, the Pleiades, Mars and the Moon in the constellation of Taurus, the sun-sign of exaltation for the Moon and sun-sign of Venus, the consort of Mars. Mars was the well known patron of Rome and the legendary father of Romulus and Remus. Mars and Venus were conjunct in the astrological chart of Romulus and Remus.

The constellation of Pleiades was extremely important for the Mayans. And speaking of the Mayans, I mention that the year 747 BC was also the beginning of their 7th Baktun, an era of light. Specifically it was February 28 (Gregorian date).

It is also interesting to note that the Babylonian calendar was reformed on February 26, 747 BC during the reign of Nabonassar at the early neo-Babylonian dynasty, which was also adopted by Ptolemy in Egypt.
So, 747 BC has been a remarkable year: The first year of the eighth Olympiad in Greece, the beginning of the 7th Baktun for the Maya, the reformation year for the Babylonian calendar and the foundation of Rome.

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Lucian Dau is a spiritual teacher and multidisciplinary writer.  For more, visiit Lucian’s website:

http://thelightofascension.weebly.com

and blog:

http://thelightofascension.weebly.com/blog.html