Jerusalem: What is the origin of many cities' myths of being built on seven hills?

Read the list half of them are not exactly built on seven hills. Se... You must be signed in to read this answer.Connected to GoogleConnected to FacebookBy continuing you indicate that you have read and agree to the .  Loading account...Complete Your ProfileFull NameChecking...EmailChecking...PasswordChecking...By creating an account you indicate that you have read and agree to the .

I know for Edinburgh it was settled around castle rock (which the famed Edinburgh Castle is built on) because it was easy to defend. The other surrounding hills have been included as the city grew after the New Town was built in the 19th and 20th century. So in reality Edinburgh was built on just one hill, two if we are being generous. Now that the city is bigger there are in fact ten summit's (since two of the traditional seven hills are ranges) in the city not including the minor hills that have just been built on. My guess it that as more and more hills entered the city boundaries the citizens were influenced by the story of Rome and picked the most prominent hills as our our "seven hills". In case you were wondering the seven are:  Arthur's Seat (a range), Castle Rock (with Edinburgh Castle upon it, this was our founding hill), Calton Hill (with the The National Monument), Corstorphine Hill (Corstorphine only became a part of the city in mid twentieth century), Braid Hills (another range), Blackford Hill and Craiglockhart Hill. Edit: I think it's pretty clear that Rome was the first to make a 'thing' about being built on seven hills but not the first city to be built on several hills.