Romulus and Remus

Roman The twin sons of the god Mars and Rhea Silvia. They were the legendary founders of Rome, the greatest city of the ancient world. Their mother, Rhea Silvia, was a Vestal Virgin. In the most common story, she was condemned to death for losing her virginity. Her uncle, King Amulius, commanded that the two infants be thrown into the Tiber River. A she-wolf who had just given birth found the boys and fed them with her own milk. Some sources say that Mars, the divine father of Romulus and Remus, sent the wolf, his sacred animal, to watch over his sons. A shepherd of the king, Faustulus, found the boys and took them home where his wife, Acca Laurentia (1), raised them. After they grew up, they founded the city of Rome on the Palatine Hill. They quarreled over the plans for the city, and Romulus slew Remus. Romulus became king of Rome and ruled for 40 years. He provided wives for the new settlers of Rome by capturing Sabine women. Romulus was at last taken up to the heavens in a mysterious whirlwind, said to be sent by Mars. The best-known artistic representation of Romulus and Remus is the bronze sculpture of a she-wolf nursing the two infants, now in the Capitoline Museum Rome.