#ItalyStudyAbroad# There is such a sentence in the introduction. We often say it. Although we understand its meaning, we don’t know where it comes from? That is AllRoadsLeadtoRome. I remember when I was a child, I always wondered why every road led to "my house"? Later I learned that Rome here means Rome. Below, we will introduce Italian students to explain the proverbs and legends of Rome.

Since I went to Italy to study, I have to say that the origin of this famous saying is very clear. Let me tell you the reason for it. All roads lead to Rome means there is more than one way to accomplish something, and there is more than one path in life waiting for us to discover.

All roads lead to Rome is a famous English proverb. From Roman allusion. Ancient Rome was originally a small city-state in Italy. In the 3rd century BC, Rome unified the entire Apennine Peninsula. In the 1st century BC, the city of Rome became the political, economic and cultural center of the Roman Empire that spanned Europe, Asia and Africa. In order to strengthen its rule, the Roman Empire built highways with Rome as the center and leading to all directions.

According to historical records, the Romans built 80,000 kilometers of hard-surface roads. These avenues facilitated trade and cultural exchange within and outside the empire. Since the 8th century AD, Rome has become the center of Catholicism in Western Europe, with an endless stream of pilgrims from all over the world. It is said that at that time, if you started traveling from any avenue in the Italian peninsula or even Europe, as long as you kept walking, you could eventually reach Rome.

What’s even more interesting is that in order to facilitate the deployment of troops, the rulers of ancient Rome ordered large trees to be planted on both sides of the avenue to shield the marching soldiers from the hot sun. According to legend, the saying “all roads lead to Rome” was first said by the Roman Emperor Julian (Julian theapostate, 331-363). Julian was the nephew of Constantine I (c. 280-337). He was a scholar, writer and general all in one. During his reign (360-363), he allowed freedom of religious belief and allowed the Germans to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He himself believed in paganism and was a non-Christian emperor after Constantine. Therefore the church called him an "apostate".

All roads lead to Rome. It can be said that there are many different methods and approaches to achieve the same goal. It is similar to the Chinese idiom that different roads lead to the same destination, or the saying that water flowing thousands of miles returns to the sea.

AllRoadsLeadtoRome

This sentence comes from the Visigoth King Alaric;

Around the fifth century AD, the internal affairs of the Western Roman Empire were corrupt, and the increasingly powerful Germanic Ethnic forces seriously threaten Rome;

The most powerful Visigoth king Alaric among the Germanic ethnic groups has always wanted to capture Rome, but has been repeatedly defeated by the Western Roman general Stilicho;

The two sides have been fighting for nearly fifteen years, and Alaric has been severely defeated by Stilicho every time;

Although he has been defeated repeatedly, Alaric has never given up;

The good loser wins. In 407 AD, the Western Roman Emperor Honorius destroyed the Great Wall and killed Stilicho for rebellion;

Arari, who was in Slovenia at the time After receiving the news that Stilicho was killed, he looked up to the sky and laughed: "Finally no one can stop me from going to Rome."

When his general asked: "I don't know which way the king plans to take." To Rome?"

The Visigoth King laughed loudly and said the eternal saying: All Roads Lead to Rome.