Founding Myths

Lupa Capitolina, "Capitoline Wolf," Bronze, twelfth century CE copy of a fifth century BCE original, twins added in the fifteenth century CE, Museo Capitolino, Rome, Italy.

How did we get here? It's a question that humans have been trying to answer for millennia and one that many religions are devoted to answering. One question that is easier to answer is how did we arrive here? As in, how did we get to this island or this particular settlement?

Americans have stories about the Mayflower or The Oregon Trail but ancient people did not have the kind of documented history that many of us use to find this information today. They relied on stories passed down from generation to generation. The resulting founding myths are part truth, part fairy tale, part religion and part embellishment.

Many of these stories were common topics on coins since it was an easy way for a ruler to incite nationalistic pride, just as the story of "George Washington and the Cherry Tree" might do for Americans' today.