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Yes, the Romans had many myths about their origins. One of the most famous is the myth of Romulus and Remus.
In the city of Alba Longa, the king had a daughter named Rhea Silvia. The king's brother usurped the kingdom and imprisoned Rhea Silvia to prevent unwanted heirs. However, Rhea Silvia was impregnated by Mars and two twins were born, Romulus and Remus. The babies put in a basket and sent down the Tiber River. Their cries were heard by a wolf who had recently lost her cubs. She suckled the babies and they survived. The babies were found by a shepherd named Fastula and raised by him.
When the twins had grown, they discovered their true origins and returned to Alba Longa and restored their grandfather to his thrown. Then they went on to found their own city, Rome (named after Romulus).
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Why did the Romans have two consuls rather than one?
With 1 consul, they can make themselves dictators and Rome did not want that to happen. With 3, two could side against one and it could get unbalanced. With 2, one can veto the other and stop them from doing bad, hopefully balancing each other's weaknesses.
Why there were growing tensions between the Romans and the early Christians?
They were suspected of planning revolution - meeting in private houses, and reportedly eating human flesh and blood - sacrileges were often a sign of revolutionaries binding themselves with criminal actions so that none of them could break the plot without bringing the death penalty on themselves as well as the others.
What did early Romans worship?
The early Romans were idolaters. It was a custom that not only did Romans initiate their own gods but as they began to conquer the known world, they did what most such nations then and before them did. If the conquered peoples had something worthwhile in their god line, the conquering nation would either adopt a similar god or some of the attributes of a particular deity they liked. Romans also deified their emperors, making idols and temples to them as they did their other deities. They had male and female deities and as was the practice their gods had specialties, governing with particular powers and crafts. Having a number of deities, as did many nations, is called the pantheon of gods. In fact the Greeks were so superstitious they had an altar to the unknown god, just in case they did not know about one and so, to not anger it by making it feel slighted. This is a very big subject. There are books in your library that specify these things.
Why might the Romans have wanted to conquer Carthage?
Because Carthage was its one remaining big competitor for power over the Western Mediterranen at the time. It was richer than Rome and controlled large areas in North Africa, Spain, southern France and Sicily. It took three wars because the Romans were out to completely destroy Carthage as a nation and as a competitor.
Why do you think the Persians allowed the people they conquered to govern themselves why might such freedom be dangerous?
They followed the successful example of their predecessors - Assyria and Babylon. By appointing provincial governors, they had a supervisory control to ensure that local government was run properly, and by having local government, the peoples were able to continue their traditional ways. And of course, it saved having massive bureaucracies which so plague the modern world, eg the European Union.
