Download Romulus and Remus – The Founding of Rome

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 shewolf, 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
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.
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.
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?
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