Romulus and Remus

Amulius seized the throne from his elder brother, Numitor, after their father, King Proca, died. He sent Numitor to live on a small farm near Alba Longa. He had Numitor’s two sons killed. He then sent Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, to the temple of Vesta. As a Vestal Virgin, she vowed to remain chaste for thirty years. Amulius intended to prevent her from bearing children who could threaten his rule.

Rhea Silvia gave birth to twin boys despite her vow. When Amulius discovered this, he became furious. Rhea Silvia said that Mars had taken her against her will in the god’s sacred grove, and that he was the twins’ father. Amulius refused to believe her. He ordered his men to take Rhea Silvia and the babies to the Tiber and drown them. He wanted to prevent any heir from challenging his throne.

The king’s men carried out the order. They threw Rhea Silvia and her sons into the river, but the twins survived. The current carried Rhea Silvia’s body away towards the sea. The basket holding the babies drifted until an olive tree caught it in its roots. When the twins began to cry, a she-wolf followed their cries. She found them, comforted them, and nursed them in her cave. Local shepherds later found the boys, took them in, and raised them. The twins were named Romulus and Remus.

The brothers chose the northern edge of the Latium plain for their new city. Their grandfather, Numitor, had asked them to build another city nearby after Alba Longa had prospered and grown crowded. Since neither twin could claim seniority, they agreed to let the gods decide which brother would rule the city and give it his name.

Remus saw six vultures first. Soon afterwards, Romulus saw twelve. Their followers disputed which sign had brought victory. The quarrel grew more bitter because each brother claimed the right to govern. Romulus began building an earthen wall around Palatine Hill. He intended it to mark and protect the place where his city would rise.

Remus mocked the wall and leaped over it to show that it could not stop him. His defiance drove Romulus into a rage. Romulus killed his brother during the fighting. He then warned Remus’s followers that the same fate would come to anyone else who dared to jump over the wall.

Romulus became the sole founder of the city. Soon afterwards, the people proclaimed him king. A new city rose on Palatine Hill, and it was named Rome after Romulus.

Romulus opened an asylum in his new city to increase its population. He welcomed fugitives from neighbouring peoples and offered refuge to outcasts who had nowhere else to go. Some were free people, and some were slaves. All sought a fresh start within Rome.

Romulus also welcomed the homeless and the destitute from neighbouring towns. He did this on horseback as people gathered in the new settlement. The newcomers formed the first real addition to the city’s strength. They brought different lives and circumstances into the settlement, but all received a place among its people. Their arrival gave Rome more inhabitants and began the growth that would lead to its future greatness.

Romulus was pleased that so many people flocked to the city. He saw the newcomers settle in the asylum and join the first community. He soon realised that the refuge had left Rome with a serious problem. Nearly all the first settlers were men. Rome could not continue to grow unless most of these men found brides and began families. The new population therefore strengthened the city, but it also made the need for women and children clear.

Faustulus watched the she-wolf nurse the abandoned twins beside the Tiber. Amulius had seized Alba Longa from his brother Numitor and had ordered the infants drowned. The king’s men had carried Rhea Silvia and her sons to the overflowing river. The mother had been swept away, but the basket carrying the boys had caught in the roots of an olive tree. Their cries had drawn a she-wolf, which had rubbed them with her snout and fed them. She had guarded them until Faustulus found them.

Faustulus waited until the she-wolf left her cave to hunt. He gathered one boy under each arm and carried both children home. His wife, Acca Larentia, received them with joy. She made a bed for them in their hut, lined it with sheepskins, and cared for them. The couple named the boys Romulus and Remus.

The twins grew among the shepherds. They helped in the house and tended sheep with Faustulus. For a long time, Faustulus kept their descent secret. He knew that they were Numitor’s grandsons and Amulius’s great-nephews. As the young men grew older, they became dissatisfied with shepherding and followed local robbers who stole from others.

At last, Faustulus decided that he could no longer keep the truth hidden. He told Romulus who they were. Someone also told Numitor that his grandsons still lived. Romulus and Remus gathered men and attacked Amulius. Each led a group, and together they killed the usurping king. Numitor then told the people how Amulius had seized the throne, ordered the infants’ deaths, and raised the two boys in secret. Romulus and Remus came before him and saluted their grandfather. The people accepted Numitor as their rightful king.