Download Romulus and Remus

The ancient Romans loved to hear the story of Romulus and Remus. In their eyes, this
story explained why Rome had the right to rule.
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus justified their right to rule because their
mother was a princess and their father was the war god Mars.
The legend of Romulus and Remus
Rhea was married to Mars, the Roman god of war. Rhea had twin sons. She loved her
boys, but there were plots afoot by other gods and goddesses to harm her father,
herself, her husband, and her children. To protect the boys, she set them adrift on the
river, hoping someone would find them. Who would not love such beautiful boys?
Sure enough, first they were found by a she-wolf who fed them. Then a shepherd and
his wife adopted the boys.
As the twins grew older, they decided they did not want to take care of sheep. They
wanted to be kings. They decided to build a city on the shores of the Tiber. They both
wanted to be the only king. They quarreled. In a fit of rage, Romulus picked up a
rock, killed his brother, and made himself king.
That’s how Rome started
There were many thousands of Roman gods.
The ancient Romans believed that gods lived everywhere - in trees, under a bush, by
the side of the road, in a burrow, in a flower, in a stream, under the bed, and perhaps
even in the stove in your house. There was even a deity who lived inside the latch that
opened the door to each home.
In ancient Rome, everything had a spirit in charge of it. Remember Io, the little spirit
that Jupiter turned into a little white cow? Io’s job, before her run in with the gods,
was to guard the creek where she lived.
Temples: There were impressive temples all over the Roman Empire. Every day,
the ancient Romans brought offerings of meat and other items to at least one nearby
temple. Usually they visited more than one temple every day.
Household Gods: Each home had a personal household god that kept things
running smoothly at home. Some ancient Romans kept a whole room of their house
for a grand display to honor their personal household god. Others had a small display
somewhere in the kitchen. Whenever the ancient Romans prepared a meal, they ate it
in honor of the household god.
New Gods: Not all of the gods that the ancient Romans worshiped were
originally Roman gods. The Romans did a lot of traveling as they expanded their
empire. Each time the Romans heard a myth about a god or goddess or spirit or deity
from the people they met (and conquered), if they liked it, they adopted it and made it
their own.
When they heard about the Greek gods, they adopted nearly all of them! The Roman
changed many of the Greek god names to Roman names. Zeus became Jupiter. Hera
was renamed Juno. But the Romans left their personalities intact.
Roman Gods: The Romans had many gods of their own. There was a festival
nearly every day for one god or another. Pax, for example, was the Roman goddess of
peace. Her festival is January 3. Fornax is the Roman goddess of bread-making. Her
festival is February 17. Juturna is the goddess of wells and springs. Her festival is
January 11. Consus was the Roman god of good advice. He was so important that he
had two festival days - August 21 and December 15, and a temple in the Circus
Maximus.