In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of the god Mars, and were the founders of the city of Rome. Their mother, Rhea Silvia, was the only daughter of King Numitor (pronounced NOO-muh-tor) of Alba Longa. Numitor’s brother Amulius (pronounced uh-MYOO-lee-uhs) seized the throne and kept Rhea Silvia from marrying, since any sons she had would be the rightful heirs to the throne. However, Mars, the god of war, made love to her, and she gave birth to Romulus and Remus.
When Amulius found out about the twins, he ordered that they be thrown into the Tiber River to drown. The boys floated downstream, coming ashore near a sacred fig tree. A she-wolf and a woodpecker— creatures sacred to Mars—fed the twins and kept them alive until a shepherd found them. Faustulus (pronounced FAW-stoo-luhs), the shepherd, and his wife raised the boys. They grew up to be brave and bold.
The twins became involved in local conflicts and led a group ofyouths on raids, including a raid on a herd of cattle that belonged to Numitor. Remus was caught and brought before Numitor. In questioning the young Man, Numitor realized that Remus was his grandson. Shortly afterward, the twins led a revolt against Amulius. They killed him and put Numitor back on the throne.
Afterward, Romulus and Remus wanted to found a city of their own, so they returned to the place where Faustulus had discovered them. A sign from the gods indicated that Romulus was to be the founder of the new city. He marked out the city boundaries and began to build a city wall. When Remus jumped over the unfinished wall, mocking his brother for thinking that it could keep anyone out of the city, Romulus killed him. Romulus became the sole leader of the new city, named Rome.
To populate Rome, Romulus invited people who had fled from nearby areas to live there. However, most of these settlers were men. The city needed women. Romulus invited the Sabine (pronounced SAY-bye-n) people, who lived in neighboring towns, to come to Rome for a great festival. While the Sabine men were enjoying themselves, the Romans seized the Sabine maidens, drove the men from the city, and married their women. The event became known as the “rape of the Sabine women.”
The Sabine men planned revenge and staged several small but unsuccessful raids. Then Titus Tatius (pronounced TAY-shuhs), the Sabine king, led an army against Rome. The Romans were losing the battle when Romulus prayed to Jupiter (pronounced JOO-pi-tur), the king of the gods, for help. At that point, the Sabine women stepped in. They pleaded with the warring men to stop, for they could not bear to see their fathers and husbands killing one another. The two sides agreed to a peace in which the Sabines and Romans formed a union, with Rome as the capital.
Romulus ruled Rome for forty years. He disappeared mysteriously while reviewing his army on the Campus Martius (Field of Mars) in a thunderstorm. Some legends indicate he ascended into the heavens, where he became the god Quirinus (pronounced kwi-RYE-nuhs) and sat alongside Jupiter, the king of the gods.
World History
