Romulus

• Romulus (715-673 BCE) was the mythical founder and first King of Ancient Rome.
• The myth of Romulus and Remus is the story of the Foundation of Rome.

The Foundation of Rome myth

• Romulus and Remus
  • They were the twin sons of Rhea Silvia, daughter of King Numitor. When he was usurped by his brother Amulius, she was imprisoned. When the twins were born he ordered that they be drowned in the Tiber, but the servants left them on the riverbank.
  • The twins were then found and reared by a she-wolf in a cave called the Lupercal, located on the Palatine Hill.
  • Later they were found by a shepherd and taken to his village, where they grew to manhood.
  • After discovering that their grandfather was King Numitor, they overthrew Amulius and restored Numitor to his throne.
• Ab urbe condita (the Founding of Rome)
  • Romulus and Remus then set off to found a city of their own.
  • After an altercation in which Remus subsequently died, Romulus founded the city of Rome on April 21st 753 BCE.
• Rape of the Sabine Women
  • As Rome was full of men but had no women, Romulus held a festival and games and invited the neighbouring cities to join in, the largest group being the Sabines.
  • After a signal was given, the Roman men carried off all the marriageable Sabine women.
  • The neighbouring cities then went to war with Rome but because they did not coordinate their attacks, Rome survived.
• The Succession
  • As Romulus had no successor, the next king was chosen from the Sabines, Numa Pompilius.
• Lupercalia
  • Lupercalia was a Roman Festival that took place in the Cave of Lupercus on the Palatine Hill, where Romulus and Remus were thought to have been reared by the wolf.
  • Lupercus was the Roman God of shepherds.
  • It was celebrated in honour of Romulus and Remus on the Ides of February, which fell on the 13th, and continued through to the 15th.
  • The Cave of Lupercus, the Palatine Hill and the Forum Romanum were part of Rome’s Foundation Myth.
• The Wolf
  • Because of this Legend, Wolves held a religious importance to the Romans.
  • The wolf was the one animal that was not displayed in the Venatio, the wild animal hunts held in the Amphitheatres.

Palatine Hill, Rome