The Challenge of Teaching Ancient History
When we set out to create the first two lessons of our Ancient Rome course—The Founding of Rome and The Seven Kings of Rome—we faced a fundamental question:
How do you teach history that happened over 2,700 years ago?
Most history platforms take the easy route: they compile information from modern textbooks, Wikipedia articles, and secondary sources that cite other secondary sources. It's a game of historical telephone, where each retelling drifts further from the original.
We decided to do something different.
Going Straight to the Source: Titus Livius
For our Roman Kingdom lessons, we went directly to Titus Livius (59 BCE - 17 CE), commonly known as Livy—the ancient Roman historian who preserved the legendary traditions and early history of Rome.
Livy's monumental work, Ab urbe condita ("From the Founding of the City"), originally contained 142 books chronicling Rome's history from its legendary founding in 753 BCE through his contemporary period. Though only 35 books survive today, they include the critical early history we needed for our lessons.
Why Livy Matters
According to research from EBSCO, Livy's writings are characterized by:
- Sophisticated narrative style with psychological portraits of historical figures
- Detailed accounts of speeches, reflecting political and religious perspectives
- Extensive commentary on Roman religion and morality
- Strong familiarity with Stoic philosophy
His work isn't just a dry chronicle of events—it's a vivid recreation of ancient Rome that brings the past to life.
Our Research Methodology: Primary Sources First
Here's how we approached creating lessons about Rome's founding:
Step 1: Access the Original Text
We used Project Gutenberg's public domain translation of The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Titus Livius, translated by D. Spillan in 1853.
This gave us direct access to Livy's accounts of:
- The legend of Romulus and Remus
- The she-wolf nursing the abandoned twins
- The founding of Rome on the Palatine Hill
- The seven kings who ruled before the Republic
- The overthrow of Tarquin the Proud and the birth of the Republic
Step 2: Cross-Reference with Modern Scholarship
We supplemented Livy's accounts with:
- Archaeological evidence from modern excavations
- Secondary scholarship from Livius.org and academic sources
- Analysis of Livy's historical methodology and potential biases
Step 3: Distinguish Legend from History
This is where it gets interesting—and where we need to be honest with our students.
The Livy Problem: Legend vs. Reality
Here's the uncomfortable truth that most history courses won't tell you:
We don't know how accurate Livy's early history actually is.
What Historians Say
According to modern classical scholarship, it's nearly impossible to verify Livy's accounts of early Rome. There aren't many near-contemporary sources to check his accuracy against. Scholars don't know whether he compiled his books using oral tradition alongside now-lost histories, or whether significant portions are literary invention.
Livy himself was writing 700+ years after the events he described. He relied on:
- Oral traditions passed down for centuries
- Earlier Roman historians whose works are now lost
- Myths and legends that Romans believed about their origins
- His own imagination and literary skill to fill in gaps
Livy's Biases
Modern scholars have identified clear biases in Livy's work:
- Patriotic bias favoring Rome and Roman values
- Aristocratic sympathies supporting the senatorial class
- Moral agenda contrasting virtuous early Romans with "degenerate" contemporaries
- Literary embellishment including invented speeches and dramatic dialogue
The EBSCO biographical entry notes that Livy "faced criticism for his perceived biases, particularly toward the aristocratic class," though he is "acknowledged for critically evaluating his sources."
How We Handle Uncertainty in Our Lessons
So how do we teach Rome's founding when even ancient historians aren't sure what really happened?
Our Approach: Transparency
In our lessons, we:
- Present the traditional legend as Livy recorded it—because these stories matter culturally and shaped Roman identity
- Acknowledge archaeological evidence that shows Rome developed gradually from multiple settlements, not founded by one person in one year
- Explain what we can and can't know about early Roman history
- Teach students to think critically about sources, bias, and historical methodology
The Value of Legendary History
Even if Romulus never existed, the legend itself is historically significant.
Romans believed these stories. They shaped:
- Roman cultural identity
- Political propaganda
- Religious practices
- National pride
As we note in our lessons: "Understanding both the legend and the reality helps us see how Romans viewed themselves and their place in history."
Why Primary Sources Matter
You might be wondering: If Livy isn't perfectly accurate, why use him at all?
Here's why primary sources are irreplaceable:
1. Direct Access to Ancient Perspectives
Reading Livy gives you insight into:
- How Romans thought about their own past
- What values they considered important
- How they justified their empire
- What stories they told themselves
2. Avoiding the Telephone Game
When you read a modern textbook about Rome, you're reading:
- A modern author's interpretation
- Of a 20th-century historian's analysis
- Of a 19th-century scholar's translation
- Of Livy's account
- Of earlier lost sources
- Of oral traditions
Every step adds interpretation and potential error.
Going to Livy directly eliminates at least some of those layers.
3. Teaching Historical Thinking
When students read primary sources alongside modern scholarship, they learn:
- How to evaluate evidence critically
- Why historians disagree
- How to weigh competing claims
- That history is interpretation, not just facts
These are skills that matter far beyond history class.
The Future of Historicus: A Library of Great Historians
Our approach to Livy is just the beginning.
We're building Historicus to be the culmination of the works of the greatest historians brought to life.
Coming Soon: Other Civilizations, Other Sources
For our planned China course, we'll go directly to:
- Sima Qian's Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) - the first comprehensive Chinese historical text, written around 94 BCE
For ancient Greece:
- Herodotus - "The Father of History"
- Thucydides - known for rigorous methodology
- Plutarch - for biographical accounts
For Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, and beyond, we'll continue this same approach: primary sources first, with honest acknowledgment of their limitations.
What Makes Historicus Different
Most educational platforms optimize for:
- Easy content creation (copy from Wikipedia)
- Simple narratives (no contradictions or uncertainty)
- Standardized testing (memorize dates and names)
We optimize for:
- Historical accuracy (even when it's complicated)
- Critical thinking (teaching how we know what we know)
- Engaging storytelling (bringing ancient sources to life)
Our Commitment to Students
When you learn about Rome's founding on Historicus, you're not getting:
- A watered-down textbook summary
- Third-hand information from dubious sources
- Oversimplified narratives that ignore complexity
You're getting:
- Direct engagement with ancient sources
- Honest discussion of uncertainty and bias
- Context about what we can and can't know
- Skills to evaluate historical claims yourself
The Research Behind Every Lesson
Creating each lesson involves:
- Reading primary sources in translation (we cite Project Gutenberg and other public domain texts)
- Consulting modern scholarship from university presses, archaeological reports, and peer-reviewed journals
- Cross-referencing multiple sources to identify points of agreement and disagreement
- Presenting information transparently with proper citations so students can verify our work
- Distinguishing fact from interpretation so students understand the difference
This approach takes significantly more time than copying from Wikipedia. But it's worth it.
Why This Matters for You
If you're a student using Historicus, you deserve to know:
We take historical accuracy seriously.
When we present information about ancient Rome, we're not just making it up or copying from unreliable sources. We're going to the historians who were actually there (or as close as we can get).
And when those historians might be wrong or biased, we tell you.
The Livy Warning Label
In our Rome lessons, we include clear context about Livy's limitations:
"While this story is largely mythical, it reflects important Roman values: divine favor, determination, and the willingness to fight for leadership."
"Modern archaeology paints a different picture of Rome's origins. Evidence suggests that Rome developed gradually from several small settlements on the hills around the Tiber River."
We're not hiding the complexity—we're teaching it.
A Living Document of Human History
Historicus isn't just a collection of facts to memorize.
It's a living library of the greatest historical works ever written, made accessible and engaging for modern learners.
When you read our lesson on Rome's founding, you're engaging with:
- Livy's 2,000-year-old narrative
- Archaeological evidence from modern excavations
- Scholarly analysis of myth and reality
- Critical thinking about sources and bias
You're learning to think like a historian.
The Journey Continues
We've just launched our first two Roman lessons, but this is only the beginning.
As we expand to cover:
- The Roman Republic
- The Punic Wars
- Julius Caesar and the fall of the Republic
- The Roman Empire
- The Crisis of the Third Century
- The Fall of Rome
...we'll continue this same rigorous approach: primary sources, transparent methodology, honest acknowledgment of uncertainty.
And when we expand to other civilizations—China, Persia, the Islamic Golden Age, medieval Europe, the Americas—we'll bring the same commitment to going to the source.
Join Us in Bringing History to Life
History isn't just dates and names to memorize.
It's primary sources written by people who witnessed events firsthand.
It's archaeological evidence unearthed by modern scholars.
It's critical analysis that teaches us to question, evaluate, and think.
Most importantly, it's stories—the greatest stories ever told, about real people making real decisions that changed the world.
That's the Historicus difference.
And that's why we go directly to historians like Titus Livius, even when—especially when—their accounts are imperfect, biased, and incomplete.
Because understanding history means understanding its complexity, its uncertainty, and its power to shape how we see ourselves and our world.
Welcome to Historicus. Let's bring history to life—together.
Sources and Further Reading
Primary Sources
- Livius, Titus. The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08. Translated by D. Spillan, Project Gutenberg, 1853. www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19725.
Secondary Sources
- "Livy." Livius: Articles on Ancient History, www.livius.org/articles/person/livy/.
- Lawrence, John M. "Titus Livius." Research Starters: Biography, EBSCO, 2023.
Additional Reading on Livy's Historical Methodology
- Feldherr, Andrew. Spectacle and Society in Livy's History. University of California Press, 1998.
- Grant, Michael. "Livy." The Ancient Historians. Duckworth, 1995.
- Walsh, P. G. "Livy." Latin Historians, edited by T. A. Dorey, Basic Books, 1966.
