ytz CflRO-NOLOGY.

Chapter LVIIf. Whep the Greeks -and Latines were forming tlieirVid*Dionyf. technical chronology, there were great difputes about the an--^.'p.^45' tiquity of Reme: the Greeks made it much older than the olym-piads : fome of them laid it was built by PEneas; others by'Romus, the fon or grandfon of JEneas; others by Romus, theion or grandfon of Latinus king of the Aborigines; others, byRomus the fon of UlyfTes, or of Afcanius, or of Italus: andfome of the Latines at firft feli in with the opinion of the Greeks,faying that it was built by Romulus, the fon or grandfon ofiEneas. Timaeus Siculus reprefented it built by Romulus, thegrandfon of ^Lneas, above an hundred years before the olympi-ads ( r ) ; and fo did Naevius the poet, who was twenty years olderthan Ennius, and ferved in the firft Ptinic war, and wrote thehiftory of that war. Hitherto nothing certain was agreed upon;but about 140 or 150 years after the death of Alexander theGreat, they began to fay that Rome was built a feeond time byRomulus, in the fifteenth age after the deftru&ion of Troy : byages they meant reigns of the kings of the Latines at Alba, andreckoned the firft fourteen reigns at about 432 years (*), and thefollowing reigns of the feven kings of Rome at 244 years 0 ;both which numbers made up the time of about 676 years fromthe taking of Troy, according to thefe chronologers; but aremuch too long for the courfe of nature :■ and by fhis reckoningthey placed the building of Rome upon the iixth or feventholyrapiad. Varro placed it on the firft year of the feventh olym-piad, and was therein generaliy followed by the Romans. Butthis can fcarce be reconciled tothe co-urfe-of nature : for 1 do notmeet with any inftance in ali hiftory, fi nce chronology was cer-t-ain, wherein feven kings, moft of whom were flain, reigned244 years in continua! fueceffion. The fourteen- reigns of the

§ LVIII.

(') In the-jSth year befnre the olympiads. Dionyf. Htd. lib. i c. 74, p. 60.

( ) Dionyf. Hal. lib. 1. c> 71, p. 57,, (A)j Dionyf. Hal. lib. 1. c. 75,. p. 61 .

( 4 ) The retnrn of the Heraclidae preceded the olympiads, according to our author’s fyffem,46 years (fee § X.) And upon this fuppofition the taking of Troy, which was ftill 8o.years.-ear-ler than the retura of thS Heraclidae, preceded the olympiads 116 years. Therefdre 2S0 years

connted from the taking of Troy,. end. in,the_39th olympiad^ upon our author,’& principies..

( 5 ) For the Regifugewas in the 'ift year of'the 68th olymp. Dionyi.Hall lib, 1. c. 74. p.6r.

§ UX.

(’) See § XIX. note 1. p) Apollodor. lib. 1. c. 1. § I.

kings