古罗马通常指从公元前10世纪初在意大利半岛中部兴起的文明，历罗马王政时代、罗马共和国，于1世纪前后扩张成为横跨欧洲、亚洲、非洲的庞大罗马帝国。到395年，罗马帝国分裂为东西两部。西罗马帝国亡于476年；东罗马帝国（即拜占庭帝国） 变为封建制国家，1453年为奥斯曼帝国所灭。
1. Ancient Rome：The brief history from the founding myth to each historical stage
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that began growing on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome， it expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world. It was the large Roman Empire across Europe， Asia and Africa in the first century or so.
古罗马：从神话起源到各个历史阶段的简史
古罗马是指从公元前8世纪在意大利半岛上兴起的文明。它位于地中海沿岸，以古罗马城为中心，扩大成为古代世界里的一个最大的帝国，也即公元1世纪前后横跨欧洲、亚洲、非洲的庞大罗马帝国。
The she-wolf suckling babies： The founding myth of Ancient Rome
According to the founding myth of Rome， the city was founded on 21 April 753 BC by twin brothers Romulus and Remus， who descended from the Trojan prince Aeneas and who were grandsons of the Latin King， Numitor of Alba Longa. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother， Amulius， while Numitor’s daughter， Rhea Silvia， gave birth to the twins.
The new king feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne， so he ordered them to be drowned. A she-wolf saved and raised them， and when they were old enough， they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor.
The twins then founded their own city， but Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over the location of the Roman Kingdom， though some sources state the quarrel was about who was going to rule or give his name to the city. At last Romulus became the source of the city’s name. In order to attract people to the city， Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent， exiled， and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome， which had a large workforce but was bereft of women. Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens， leading to the integration of the Latins and the Sabines.
Another legend， recorded by Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus， says that Prince Aeneas led a group of Trojans on a sea voyage to found a new Troy， since the original was destroyed in the outcome of the Trojan War. After a long time in rough seas， they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed， the men wanted to take to the sea again， but the women who were traveling with them did not want to leave. One woman， named Roma， suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first， the men were angry with Roma， but they soon realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships.
母狼哺婴：古罗马的起源神话
根据古罗马的起源神话，这座古城是公元前753年4月21日由一对双胞胎兄弟罗慕路斯和雷穆斯建立的，他们是特洛伊王子埃涅阿斯的后裔，还是拉丁国阿尔巴隆加的子孙。阿尔巴隆加国王被他的弟弟废黜了，他的女儿雷亚·西尔维亚生下了这两个孪生兄弟。
新国王担心罗慕路斯和雷穆斯会收回王位，于是他命令淹死他们。一只母狼保护并喂养了他们，当他们长大后便重新帮助阿尔巴隆加夺回了王位。
然后这对双胞胎建立了他们自己的城市，但是后来，在有关罗马王国的位置问题的争吵中，罗慕路斯杀死了雷穆斯。也有记载说，这场争吵是为了谁将统治这座城市，或者将以谁的名字命名这座城市，最后罗慕路斯的名字成为这座城市的名字。为了吸引人们来到这座城市，罗马城成了一个专供贫穷、流亡和无家可归的人的避难所，这就给罗马带来了一个问题，那就是引来了大量劳动力，但妇女严重缺乏。罗慕路斯前往邻近的城镇和部落试图与它们的女性结亲，但由于罗马充满了不良分子，所以求婚失败。有传言说，拉丁人邀请当地的萨宾人去参加节庆，趁机偷走了他们的未婚少女，拉丁人才得以和萨宾人通婚。
还有一个传说，那是哈利卡尔那索斯的希腊历史学家戴奥尼夏记载的，上面写道，埃涅阿斯王子带领一群木马在海上航行，试图发现一个全新的特洛伊城，因为原来城市被特洛伊战争毁灭了。他们在波涛汹涌的大海上漂泊很久以后来到台伯河的岸边。他们登陆一段之后想再度出海，但是跟随他们的女人们却不肯离去。一个名叫罗马的女人建议大家把海上的船只烧毁，阻止男人们出海。起先，男人们都对罗马很生气，但他们很快就意识到这里是他们的理想住所。于是，他们定居下来，并用这个烧毁他们船只的女人名字命名了这座城市。
Roman Kingdom：It opened Rome’s great buildingprojects
The city of Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river Tiber， a crossroads of traffic and trade. According to archaeological evidence， the village of Rome was probably founded sometime in the 8th century BC， though it may go back as far as the 10th century BC， by members of the Latin tribe of Italy， on the top of the Palatine Hill.
The Etruscans， who had previously settled to the north in Etruria， seem to have established political control in the region by the late 7th century BC， forming the aristocratic and monarchical elite. The Etruscans apparently lost power in the area by the late 6th century BC， and at this point， the original Latin and Sabine tribes reinvented their government by creating a republic， with much greater restraints on the ability of rulers to exercise power.
Roman tradition and archaeological evidence point to a complex within the Forum Romanum as the seat of power for the king and the beginnings of the religious center there as well. Numa Pompilius was the second king of Rome， succeeding Romulus. He began Rome’s great building projects with his royal palace the Regia and the complex of the Vestal virgins.
罗马王政时代：开启罗马的伟大建筑工程
罗马城是从台伯河畔的一个渡口的居民点发展而来的，那里是交通和贸易的十字路口。根据考古证明，罗马村可能起源于公元前第8世纪，虽然它可以追溯到公元前10世纪生活在的帕拉丁山顶的意大利的拉丁部落。
起先定居在伊特鲁里亚北方的是伊特鲁里亚人，他们大约于公元前7世纪晚期已经在该地区建立了政治统治，出现了贵族和君主的精英人物。很明显，公元前6世纪晚期，伊特鲁里亚人失去了在这个地区的统治权。在这个地方，原来的拉丁人和萨宾部落对于施展权力的统治者的能力要求限制越来越多，并通过建立共和国来改变他们的政府。
罗马的传统和考古证据指向罗马广场里的一个建筑群，那是国王的权力宝座和宗教中心的发源地。努马·庞皮利乌斯接替了罗慕路斯的王位，成为罗马的第二代国王。他开始兴建雷吉亚皇宫和维斯塔贞女院，这就开启了罗马的伟大建筑工程。