The Founding of Rome: The Story of Romulus and Remus in Roman Mythology

Did you know that the founding of Rome is

dated based on the myth of Romulus and

Remus? Stick around to learn more.

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Hello and welcome to World History

Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly, and today

we are honoring the legendary founding of

Rome on April 21, 753 B.C.E. Let's have a

look at the story of Romulus and Remus,

and the very beginning of one of the most

influential empires of the Western world.

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find the link to it down below. The

founding of Rome is a legendary tale about

the twins and demigods, Romulus and

Remus. In Roman mythology, Romulus and

Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia and

Eva, the god Mars, or the demigod

Hercules. Also, in order to synthesize

the myth of Aeneas, a Trojan prince who

had fought in the Trojan War before

setting off to Italy to establish the

Roman bloodline, Romulus and Remus were

believed to be direct descendants of

Aeneas. When Romulus and Remus were born

in the city of Alba Longa, they were given

prophecy like many other heroes were.

This prophecy said that they would

overthrow Amulius, their great uncle, who

had usurped the throne of Alba Longa from

Rhea's father, Numitor. Prior to their

birth, their mother had been forced to

become a vestal virgin, an important

religious position that demanded celibacy.

There are many contradictory myths about

the father of Romulus and Remus, but

either way, Rhea attributed her pregnancy

to divine conception. The law regarding

vestal virgins breaking their oath of

celibacy though, was that the children had

to either be buried alive, exposed to

the elements and left to die, or thrown in

the Tiber River. The servant who was sent

to kill the babies, in every version of

the myth, took pity on them and spared

their lives, so they were left in a

basket on the River Tiber. The boys were

carried by the river god Tiberinus, who

caused their basket to be caught by a fig

tree at the base of the Paletine Hill. It

was then that a she-wolf, or Lupa, found

the boys and suckled them, and they were

also fed by a woodpecker. Eventually, they

were discovered by a shepherd, Faustulus,

and his wife, Acca Larentia, who took

them in and raised them as their own to

become shepherds. One day as they were out

in the fields, the twins were met by

shepherds of King Amulius, who picked a

fight with Romulus and Remus, and Remus

was captured and brought back to the

king. Amulius thought the twins were dead

and didn't recognize them as the boys who

were prophecized to kill him. In the

process of freeing Remus, Romulus killed

Amulius, but they rejected the crown and

reinstated the previous king, Numitor.

Romulus and Remus decided that it was

about time they founded their own city,

and so they set off to find the perfect

spot for it. Of course, they chose

different locals and couldn't seem to

agree on one. Romulus wanted to start on

Paletine Hill, and Remus wanted to start

on Aventine Hill, and to settle this, they

agreed to consult augury. Augury is a

type of prophecy which uses birds to

determine which choices or actions are

favored by the gods. Naturally, they both

thought that they had won, since

Romulus had seen 12 birds, a good omen for

his claim, but Remus said he had seen

six birds before Romulus had seen six yet,

advancing his. So, they were still

nowhere near choosing a spot for their

city. Romulus started to dig trenches and

build a wall around Paletine Hill, and

Remus thought this was hilarious. Remus

made fun of the wall and even made a joke

of jumping over it. Some myths say that he

died suddenly after jumping over it as a

sign from the gods that Romulus was

right. Others say that he was killed

either by Romulus himself or by one of

his supporters. Either way, Remus died and

was given full burial rites before

Romulus declared his city of Roma, named

after himself, of course, which was

established on the Palentine Hill. The

date of the death of Remus, April 21, 753

B.C.E., is also known as the legendary

date for the founding of Rome. Are there

any popular foundation or creation myths

in your culture? Feel free to share in the

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below for more information on Romulus,

Remus, and the beginning of Rome.

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