A Smaller History of Rome from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire

This compact guide walks listeners through the landscape of ancient Italy, sketching the diverse tribes and regions that surrounded the fledgling city of Rome. It maps out the fertile plains, rugged hills, and bustling coastlines that shaped daily life, while introducing the Latins, Sabines, Etruscans, Greeks, and even distant Celtic groups. By grounding the story in geography, the book helps listeners picture the setting in which Rome's early myths and politics took root.

The narrative then turns to the legendary founders and the first four kings, from Romulus’s dramatic birth and the famous “rape of the Sabine women” to Numa’s peaceful reforms. It outlines how early institutions—tribes, curiae, the Senate, and religious offices—were said to emerge, giving a glimpse of the social fabric that would later support a vast empire. Listeners gain a clear sense of how myth and early governance intertwined in Rome’s formative centuries.