DI DONATELLA MONTEVERDI
ABSTRACT – What relevance do historical events, and in particular those of ancient history, hold for our time? How can the way we analyze the events of our most remote past be significant today in addressing the complexities of the present? The author considers both the ancient and modern perspectives on one of the most important episodes of archaic Rome: the establishment of the legislative decemvirate and the drafting of the Twelve Tables, concluding that recovering the viewpoint of the ancients—focused on the foundational moment of these events—can provide valuable tools for interpreting the complexity of the present.
KEYWORDS – Twelve Tables – Legislative Decemvirate – Livy – Civil law – Constitution