Romulus stood on the Palatine Hill, his eyes scanning the skies above. Not far away, on another hill named Aventine, Romulus’ twin brother, Remus, was also looking skyward. Each wanted to establish a great city on the Italian peninsula, but they could not agree on where it should be built. So they watched and waited for a sign that would reveal which brother would become the founder of the new city.
Tradition says that Rome was founded in 753 B.C. But to learn the full legend of Romulus and Remus, we must go back to the end of the Trojan War.
When the Greeks captured the city of Troy (according to many scholars, sometime around 1184 B.C.), a Trojan warrior named Aeneas (uh nē’ uhs) escaped and, with a small band of soldiers, wandered throughout the Mediterranean Sea region, finally settling on the coast of Italy. Aeneas’ son founded a city named Alba Longa, and for approximately four hundred years a long line of kings reigned.
Eventually, rule of Alba Longa fell to a king named Numitor. Although Numitor was the rightful ruler, his younger brother Amulius took the throne by force. To assure that Numitor would have no descendants who could challenge him, Amulius forced Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silva, to become a vestal virgin. Such women were dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, and were not allowed to bear children.
Rhea, however, had twin boys, claiming the god of war, Mars, as their father. The twins were named Romulus and Remus, and were “of more than human size and beauty,” according to the Greek biographer Plutarch (born before A.D. 50 and died after A.D. 120). When Amulius learned of their birth, he was furious and ordered them killed. A servant placed the infants in a basket and set it adrift on the Tiber River, where the boys would die of exposure. Instead, the basket ran aground in shallow water. The hungry cries of the babies attracted a female wolf, who nursed Romulus and Remus and kept them alive. A shepherd named Faustulus soon found the twins, and with his wife, raised the boys in secret.
As young men, Romulus and Remus had a wild streak, hunting dangerous animals and ambushing robbers in order to share the thieves’ loot with their fellow shepherds. One day, during a quarrel between Amulius and Numitor’s herdsmen, Remus was captured and charged with stealing cattle belonging to Numitor. Amulius decided to turn Remus over to Numitor for punishment. In talking with the young man, Numitor realized that Remus was one of his long-lost grandsons. The two began to plot to overthrow Amulius.
Meanwhile, Romulus was making his own plans to rescue his brother. Gathering together a small force, Romulus invaded King Amulius’ palace, while Remus attacked from within. Amulius was slain, and the throne was returned to its rightful owner, Numitor.
Romulus and Remus had helped restore their grandfather’s kingdom, but now they grew restless. They longed to build their own city at the place by the Tiber where their basket had run aground. But the brothers disagreed on the exact location. Romulus chose a hill called Palatine as the site, while Remus selected the Aventine. Ordinarily, the wishes of an older brother would take priority over a younger one, but, since Romulus and Remus were twins, another way had to be found.
In ancient times, augury was the “science” of receiving signs or omens from the gods by observing natural phenomena such as lightning or the behavior of birds and animals. Priests called augurs were charged with interpreting such divine messages.
Romulus and Remus decided to choose the location of their city by watching for flock of birds. Each brother stood on a selected hilltop and Remus was the first to see and omen: six vultures flew over his hill. Remus and his followers rejoiced at this sign, which they said qualified him as king. Then came word that Romulus had seen a flight of twelve vultures. The brothers argued about the omens. Remus said his was the right one because he had seen it first. Romulus proclaimed his omen best because he had observed more vultures. During the quarrel, Remus taunted Romulus by jumping over the boundary of his proposed city. Enraged, Romulus struck and killed his brother, angrily shouting, “Any other who leaps over my walls shall have the same!”
After burying his brother, Romulus began building the city that would bear the name Rome, after its first king. Tradition gives the date as April 21, 753 B.C., a day the Romans celebrated much as we celebrate the Fourth of July. As for Romulus, he lived a long life and one day disappeared in a thunderstorm, after which the Romans associated him with their god of war, Quirinus. It is, perhaps, a fitting end for the legendary founder of the eternal city called Rome.
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