I'm John Batchel with the author Emma Southern.

Her new book is A Rome of One's Own, the Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire.

Forgotten, not in the least in this telling, because we'll go quickly through the story of a couple of Etruscan kids.

Some Lucamo, who is a

Corinthian, is a Greek, but he marries an Etruscan young woman named Tanakil, and they pick up

stakes and go to the new Rome. And through an amazing series of coincidences, they become the king and queen of Rome.

I'm going fast through their story, not only because it's fantastic, but because I want to get to Lucretia and Tullia,

because I'm looking for this diad that sustains the Roman telling.

We're calling always that this pleases Augustus.

So we're not getting a story here, as we understand history.

We're getting a story here that pleases the boss.

Yeah.

Tanakil and, well, Tarakeneas, he takes on the name of a Etruscan city to make himself king.

Tarkinius and Tannachial produce heirs, and those heirs become the kingship between the 8th century and the 6th century.

And in the telling, it's important to come across a woman named Lucretia because Emma assures me

you can remove all the women in these stories except for Lucretia and you're okay, but if you remove

Lucretia, you've lost Rome. Yes. Lucretia is you're okay, but if you remove Lucretia, you've lost Rome.

Yes.

Lucretia is a good woman at home spinning wool for a toga.

And her husband and his friends are out battling somewhere.

And one night they're drinking and they propose to each other.

What is their test?

...