romulus and remus – the founding of rome and remus – the founding of rome according to the roman...

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Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were the supposed sons of the god Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia. The story begins with the deposition of Numitor (their grandfather and king of the ancient Italian city of Alba Longa), by his brother Amulius. Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was made a Vestal Virgin by Amulius - which meant that she was made a priestess of the goddess Vesta and therefore forbidden to marry and condemned to virginity. However, the god Mars came to her in her temple and of him she conceived her two sons, Romulus and Remus. As soon as they were born, Amulius knew that he had to rid himself of them. Fearing the possibility that her story may be true about Mars being the father, Amulius knew that he could not outright kill the boys. The boys’ demise was wanted because Amulius feared that the boys would grow up to overthrow him. So he had them placed in a trough and thrown into the River Tiber. At that time the river was in flood so he could then justify that the river had killed the boys, not him, thereby avoiding the wrath of Ares. If the waters did not kill the boys, he knew that the river would take the boys far away from his kingdom of Alba Longa. Thus would be the case. When the flooding waters fell, the trough, still containing the two boys, came ashore. They were found by a she- wolf, who instead of killing them, looked after them and fed them with her milk, the she-wolf was helped by a woodpecker who brought them food too. Interesting enough both these animals were sacred to Mars. Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd, who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own. Upon reaching adulthood, Romulus and Remus were strong, striking young men. They had Ares skill and with the love and guidance provided by the parents who raised them (Faustulus’ and his wife), Romus and Remus were proud and confident. Through rumor and legend, the two eventually learned of their birth and from where they came. Knowing their horrific past, they set out for vengeance and set out for Alba Longa. Once there, they killed Amulius and reinstated

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Page 1: Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome and Remus – The Founding of Rome According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were

Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome

According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and

Remus. The twin-brothers were the supposed sons of the god

Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia. The story begins with the

deposition of Numitor (their

grandfather and king of the

ancient Italian city of Alba

Longa), by his brother Amulius.

Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia,

was made a Vestal Virgin by

Amulius - which meant that she

was made a priestess of the goddess Vesta and

therefore forbidden to

marry and condemned to virginity. However, the god

Mars came to her in her temple and of him she

conceived her two sons, Romulus and Remus.

As soon as they were born, Amulius knew that he had

to rid himself of them. Fearing the possibility that her

story may be true about Mars being the father, Amulius knew that he could not

outright kill the boys. The boys’ demise was wanted because Amulius feared

that the boys would grow up to overthrow him. So he had

them placed in a trough and thrown into the River Tiber. At

that time the river was in flood so he could then justify that

the river had killed the boys, not him,

thereby avoiding the wrath of Ares. If

the waters did not kill the boys, he

knew that the river would take the

boys far away from his kingdom of

Alba Longa. Thus would be the case.

When the flooding waters fell, the trough, still containing

the two boys, came ashore. They were found by a she-

wolf, who instead of killing them, looked after them and fed them with her milk,

the she-wolf was helped by a woodpecker who brought them food too.

Interesting enough both these animals were sacred to Mars.

Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd, who

brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife,

Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own. Upon reaching

adulthood, Romulus and Remus were strong, striking young

men. They had Ares skill and with the love and guidance

provided by the parents who raised them (Faustulus’ and

his wife), Romus and Remus were proud and confident.

Through rumor and legend, the two eventually learned of

their birth and from where they came. Knowing their horrific

past, they set out for vengeance and set out for Alba

Longa. Once there, they killed Amulius and reinstated

Page 2: Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome and Remus – The Founding of Rome According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were

Numitor, their grandfather, as King. Because they were young and wanted

adventure, they decided to create a kingdom of their own. Romulus and Remus

chose the place where the she-wolf had nursed them. Once Romulus and

Remus arrived at the Palatine Hill, the two argued over

where the exact position of the city should be. Romulus

was set on building the city upon the Palatine, but

Remus wanted to build the city on the strategic and

easily fortified Aventine Hill. They agreed to settle their

argument by testing their abilities

as augurs and by the will of the

deities. Each took a seat on the

ground apart from one another, and, Remus saw six

vultures (which were considered

to be sacred to Mars, their

father), while Romulus saw

twelve.

Remus was enraged by Romulus’s victory. He claimed that since he had seen his

six vultures first, he should have won. When Romulus began digging a trench (or

building a wall) where his city's boundary was to run, Remus ridiculed some parts

of the work, and obstructed others. At last, Remus leapt across the trench, an

omen of bad luck, since this implied that the city fortifications would be easily

breached. Romulus, enraged at this, slew him, uttering

“So perish every one that shall hereafter leap over my

wall." Fighting broke out between those who

supported Remus and those who supported Romulus.

But with Remus dead, it was only time before

Romulus’ forces were victorious. Once the fighting

subsided, Romulus buried Remus before continuing to

build his city. He named the city Roma after himself,

and served as its first king.

After the completion of the city, Romulus divided the people of Rome who were

able to fight into regiments of 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry. Romulus called

these regiments "legions". The rest of the people became the populace of the

city, and out of the populace, Romulus hand selected 100 of the most noble

men to serve as a council for the city. He called

these men Patricians and their council the

Roman Senate. Romulus called these noble men

Patricians not only because they were the fathers

of legitimate sons, but also because he intended

the great and the wealthy to treat the weak and

the poor as fathers treat their sons. This

delineates, symbolically, the inauguration of the

patron-client relationship, known as clientela,

which was central to Roman culture and society,

and was later passed down to medieval

societies.

Page 3: Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome and Remus – The Founding of Rome According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were

Romulus spread the reputation of Rome as an asylum to all who desired a new

life. Because of this, Rome attracted a population of exiles, refugees, murderers,

criminals, and runaway slaves. Rome's population grew so much that the city

settled five of the seven hills of Rome: the Capitoline Hill, the Aventine Hill, the

Caelian Hill, the Quirinal Hill, and the Palatine Hill. Romulus, however, saw a

problem quickly forming before him: few of the foreigners had wives. Romulus

decided he needed to fill his city with women as well.

To provide wives so that his society could flourish, Romulus decided to steal

women from the Sabines, an Italian tribe. He proclaimed a festival and invited

many Sabines to it. While the attention of the men was elsewhere Romulus' men

rushed in and carried off the

women. This was the famous

"Rape (carrying off) of the Sabine

women" (which later became a

subject for painters). The Sabine

men were furious and, led by their

king Titus Tatius, made war on

Romulus. When the fighting had

reached its peak the Sabine

women, who had grown fond of

their Roman husbands, rushed

between the ranks and begged

both sides to make peace. So the

battle was stopped, Romulus and Titus Tatius ruled together over the two

peoples until Titus Tatius was killed in battle. For the rest of his life Romulus ruled

alone, proving himself a great leader in peace and war. He did not die but

disappeared one day in a violent storm. The Romans believing he had been

taken up to heaven, worshipped him under the name of Quirinus. He was

succeeded by Numa Pompilius.

The people of Rome grew proud of their city and loved the two gods they

believed were the most influential – Venus and Mars. Although still seen as

promiscuous, Venus was viewed by the Romans as more of a loving, caring

goddess. As for Mars, he was viewed as their patron. He took on the qualities of

Athena – strategy, tactics and wisdom.

LINEAGE: Venus & Anchises → Aeneas →

12 generations → Numitor → Rhea Silvia &

Mars → Romulus & Remus → 20 generations

→ Julius Caesar. In legend, Julius Caesar

claimed that he was actually descended

from the gods Venus and Mars. He used

this propaganda to his best benefit is his rise

to power in Rome in the last 1st century BC.

Page 4: Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome and Remus – The Founding of Rome According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were

Romulus & Remus Questions

Name: Date: Per:

As you read the story, answer the following questions.

1) Who are the parents of Romulus and Remus?

2) Why did their mother originally become a Vestal Virgin?

3) Why are the two boys sent away?

4) Who/what finds the babies first and what is done with baby boys?

5) Who finds them with the she-wolf?

6) How do the boys learn about who they really are?

7) Where do the boys go and what do the boys do when they learn about their past?

8) Why do they move on instead of staying in the place they on in question #7?

9) Why did they choose the particular area for their new city?

10) How was Palatine Hill finally chosen as the exact spot?

Page 5: Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome and Remus – The Founding of Rome According to the roman mythology, the founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus. The twin-brothers were

11) What kind of people first populated “Roma”? Why?

12) How were Rome’s military history and government started?

13) What happened with the Sabines? Explain fully.

14) Who is the most famous “descendent” of the patron gods of Rome?

15) Using the remaining space to illustrate one of the following:

a) The abandonment of Romulus & Remus and being found by answer to question #4, OR

b) The building of Roma, OR

c) The episode with the Sabines