Pallantium

Pallantium was an ancient city on the Italian peninsula thought in Roman mythology to be founded by Evander. Pallantium was one of the cities included in the city of Rome. Other cities formed around Rome by different ethnics. Pallantium is said to have been founded by Greeks.

The origin of Rome and the composition of its people are worthy of remark. Theyexplain the particular character of its policy, and the exceptional part that fell to itfrom the beginning in the midst of other cities. The Roman race was strangely mixed.The principal element was Latin, and originally from Alba; but these Albansthemselves, according to traditions which no criticism authorizes us to reject, werecomposed of two associated, but not confounded, populations. One was theaboriginal race, real Latins. The other was of foreign origin, and was said to havecome from Troy with Aeneas, the priest-founder; it was, to all appearance, notnumerous, but was influential from the worship and the institutions which it hadbrought with it.

These Albans, a mixture of two races, founded Rome on a spot where another cityhad already been built — Pallantium, founded by the Greeks. Now, the populationof Pallantium remained in the new city, and the rites of the Greek worship werepreserved there. There was also, where the Capitol afterwards stood, a city whichwas said to have been founded by Hercules, the families of which remained distinctfrom the rest of the Roman population during the entire continuance of therepublic.

Thus at Rome all races were associated and mingled; there were Latins, Trojans, and Greeks; there were, a little later, Sabines, and Etruscans. Of the several hills, thePalatine was the Latin city, after having been the city of Evander. The Capitoline,after having been the dwelling-place of the companions of Hercules, became thehome of the Sabines of Tatius. The Quirinal received its name from the SabineQuirites, or from the Sabine god Quirinus. The Coelian hill appears to have beeninhabited from the beginning by Etruscans. Rome did not seem to be a single city;it appeared like a confederation of several cities, each one of which was attached byits origin to another confederation. It was the centre where the Latins, Etruscans,Sabellians, and Greeks met.

"Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, The Ancient City, 311"

External links

* [http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/fustel/AncientCity.pdf The Ancient City (pdf) at the McMaster Archive for the History of Economic Thought]