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Rome is one of the most visited cities in Italy.
According to ancient Roman legend, Romulus and Remus
were the founders of ancient Rome. They are supposed
to be the sons of Rhea Silvia and Mars.
Rhea
was the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa.
Numitor was deposed by his younger brother, Amulius,
who put restrictions on Rhea in the hope that she
wouldn't produce children. For in the event of Rhea
having children, they could rightfully claim the
throne. However, Rhea had twin sons, Romulus and Remus,
through Mars. The infuriated Amulius ordered the twins
thrown into the Tiber River. As the story goes, the
trough in which the infant boys were placed floated to
safety on the site that is Rome today. They were
providentially saved and reared by a she-wolf and a
woodpecker, both considered sacred to Mars. Soon a
herdsman, Faustulus by name found the abandoned
infants and took them home. Faustulus and his wife
Acca Larentia brought up the two boys. The brothers
became leaders of a band of adventurous youths. When
they were old enough, they killed Amulius and restored
the throne to Numitor.
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At
the site where they had been saved, Romulus and Remus
decided to build a town. There soon arose a quarrel
and Romulus slew his brother in a fit of rage.
Subsequently, Romulus built a huge wall around the new
city that was built on seven hills and the city was
eventually named Rome after Romulus.
Romulus began to consolidate his power. By offering
asylum to fugitives and exiles, he strengthened the
population of the city. The crafty ruler once invited
the neighboring Sabines to a festival and abducted
their women. The captured women were forced to marry
the inhabitants of the city Rome. They were even told
to prevent the Sabines from seizing the new city.
Finally, at one point of time, the Sabines and the
Romans decided to draw a treaty and put an end to the
animosity that was growing between the two groups. The
treaty empowered the Sabine ruler Titus Tatius to
become the co-ruler of Rome, along with Romulus.
Unfortunately, Tatius died very early and Romulus took
charge of the entire kingdom.
In
spite of all that he enjoyed, Romulus could never
forgive himself for having caused his brother to die.
In atonement, he always had an empty throne beside
his, in a symbolic representation of Remus ruling the
now flourishing city of Rome along with Romulus.
Romulus continued to rule Rome for a long time. One
stormy night, he mysteriously disappeared and was
believed to have never been found. The Romans
concluded that Romulus had been taken in a golden
chariot by his father Mars, to the heavenly kingdom
above. They then began to worship him and called him
Quirinus.
There lies a bronze statue of two small boys
being suckled by a she-wolf, perpetuating the
legend of Romulus and Remus. The legend probably
originated in the fourth century BC. It was
recorded in a coherent form at the end of the
3rd century BC.
Some historians say that the story contains a
mixture of Greek and Roman elements.
It was the Greeks who used
to create mythical heroes, in an attempt
to explain names of places and their origins. By
including Mars in the legend, the Romans were
attempting to connect their origins with that
important deity, say some others. |
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