New
New
Year 4

Roman kings

I can understand why the foundation myth of Rome was so important to the Romans.

New
New
Year 4

Roman kings

I can understand why the foundation myth of Rome was so important to the Romans.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. CE and BCE are a common method used in the West to note the periods of time before and after the year ‘1’.
  2. The Romans believed the myth that Rome was founded by Romulus.
  3. Romulus was raised by a wolf alongside his brother, who he later fought and killed, becoming the first King of Rome.
  4. This myth was important to Romans: it showed that to be Roman was to be strong and powerful.

Keywords

  • BCE - BCE is short for Before Common Era and refers to the time before the year 1

  • CE - CE stands for Common Era is the time from the year 1 onwards

  • Myth - a myth is a traditional story, usually about heroes, heroines, gods and goddesses

  • Founded - founded means the time when something was first started or created

  • Romans - the Romans were a group of people whose civilisation was based around the city of Rome

Common misconception

BCE and CE denote times before and after the year 0.

There is no year 0. BCE denotes the time before the year 1 and CE denotes the time from the year 1.

Use an atlas to show that Italy is located in Europe in the Mediterranean Sea, and then locate Rome and the River Tiber.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Historians use timelines to show when events happened. Timelines are arranged...
by the importance of the event
Correct answer: chronologically
by distance
alphabetically
Q2.
Rome is located in which country?
Correct answer: Italy
Spain
France
Germany
Q3.
Which of the following countries is not Mediterranean?
Italy
Correct answer: Great Britain
Greece
Egypt
Q4.
Match the word to its meaning.
Correct Answer:civilisation,a large group of people living together according to rules

a large group of people living together according to rules

Correct Answer:culture,the customs and traditions of a group of people

the customs and traditions of a group of people

Q5.
Match the word to its meaning
Correct Answer:politics,how a country is governed and how it makes rules and laws

how a country is governed and how it makes rules and laws

Correct Answer:religion,the belief and worship of a god or gods

the belief and worship of a god or gods

Q6.
A person who uses clues from the past, such as artefacts and written documents, to find out about the human past is...
a teacher
a palaeontologist
Correct answer: an historian
a professor

6 Questions

Q1.
BCE stands for...
because
Before Christ
Correct answer: Before Common Era
Q2.
Which of these events happened before the year 1?
Correct answer: Rome was founded.
Queen Elizabeth II was the queen.
Correct answer: Alexander the Great was king of Ancient Greece.
Queen Victoria was the queen.
Q3.
The story of how Rome was founded by Romulus is...
true
Correct answer: a myth
Q4.
Romulus's twin brother was called...
Roman
Rome
Correct answer: Remus
Julius
Q5.
According to myth, Mars, the god of war, was Romulus'...
brother
uncle
grandfather
Correct answer: father
Q6.
Why was the myth of Romulus and Remus important to Romans?
Correct answer: It showed that Romans were strong and powerful.
The Romans liked stories about wolves.
It showed that Romans were good storytellers.

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