Myth In Ancient Rome

It is proposed to answer this question by looking at the foundation myths of Rome and the ways this was used to boost the Imperial power of Rome. Then to move on to the way Emperors used myth for their own ends, promoting themselves and trying to mould society, then ending with how myth was used by Romans in everyday living, before moving to a conclusion on the most important way myth was used.
To begin with myths on the subject of the foundation of Rome and the ways in which they were used. The foundation of the city is usually dated to around the eighth century BCE and there are a number of myths associated with the foundation of the city. The mythical founders of the City were Romulus and Remus, sons of the god Mars, who were suckled by
The Romans seemed to have adapted the older Greek myths for explanation of death and the afterlife, using a version of Hades owing much to Homer and Plato, expanded on by Vergil who expanded on the geography of Hades with five rivers to cross, the Styx, Acheron, Lethe, Cocytus and Phlegethon being ferried by the ferryman Charon to the entrance guarded by the dog Cerberus before reaching the realm of Hades and its king Pluto, husband to Persephone (I p359-385). Myth was made great use of in epitaphs to the dead although these practices seemed to have been scoffed at by the upper classes as shown by this by Lucian on funerals shows ‘The general herd, whom philosophers call the laity, trust Homer and Hesiod and the other myth makers in these matters, and take their poetry for a law unto themselves (iv p65). Scenes from myth were also shown on sarcophagi, with one of the most popular being that of Persephone and Adonis, a love story which ends in Adonis’s death and transformation into a flower which blooms annually, signifying rebirth (v p258). Another subject was the myth of Diana and Actaeon an example of which is in the Louvre in Paris (vi p54). Myth in people’s everyday life, especially pertaining to an afterlife, seems to point to a widespread belief in the gods and their power over life and
From Augustus onwards, Emperors used myth not only for their self-aggrandisement, but as a way of uniting Rome and instilling civic pride in the homeland, an early form of nationalism, so was very important in not only keeping Rome as a living entity, but enabling Emperors to continue to expand the Empire and defend its borders from all its enemies. It was also used to communicate with the populace, what was expected of them in way of behaviour as well as communicating personal qualities, like status, power and education. Would also be used to present the political agendas of the elite as they would be seen to ally themselves with certain gods and myths all of these uses would be important, but are they more important than the more personal uses put to myth by the ordinary person on any Roman street. With the elite viewing a large part of the population as uneducated it may have been seen as belief in myths acted as a control mechanism, and concern with the gods being deeply imbedded and thus helped largely in the observance of Roman law. The normal Roman citizen lived with myth as a central part of their lives and these stories actually set behaviours not only by example but by creating fear of punishment from the gods, for a transgression that had been told in myth. The final overall choice in to the more important use, has