The Legend of Romulus and Remus
The Twin Brothers and Their Origins
Romulus and Remus were twin brothers born to Rhea Silvia, a Vestal Virgin, and Mars, the god of war. That divine parentage matters: it gave Rome a direct link to the gods from the very start.
The twins were abandoned as infants in a basket on the Tiber River. Their great-uncle Amulius, who had seized the throne of Alba Longa from their grandfather Numitor, ordered them killed because a prophecy said they would one day overthrow him. But the basket washed ashore, and the infants were discovered by a she-wolf (the Lupa Capitolina), who nursed them until a shepherd named Faustulus found and raised them as his own.
The image of the she-wolf nursing the twins became one of the most recognizable symbols of Rome itself.
The Founding of Rome
As adults, Romulus and Remus learned their true identity, overthrew Amulius, and restored their grandfather Numitor to the throne. Then they set out to found a new city on the site where they had been rescued.
- They chose the Palatine Hill, one of Rome's famous seven hills (Palatine, Aventine, Caelian, Esquiline, Viminal, Quirinal, and Capitoline).
- The brothers disagreed over who should rule the new city. Each claimed to have received a sign from the gods through a practice called augury (reading the flight of birds to interpret divine will).
- The dispute turned violent, and Romulus killed Remus, becoming the sole founder and first king of Rome.
The traditional founding date is April 21, 753 BCE, celebrated annually with the festival of Parilia. That date became the starting point for how Romans counted their years.
The story of brother killing brother set a tone for Roman history: greatness and ambition, but also violence and sacrifice.
Aeneas and the Trojan Connection
The Trojan Hero Aeneas
The Romulus and Remus story explains how Rome was founded, but Romans also wanted a deeper origin story that connected them to the wider ancient world. That's where Aeneas comes in.
Aeneas was a Trojan prince, son of Anchises (a mortal) and Venus, the goddess of love (called Aphrodite in Greek mythology). After Troy fell to the Greeks, Aeneas led a group of Trojan survivors on a long journey across the Mediterranean to find a new homeland.
According to Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid (written in the 1st century BCE), Aeneas and his followers eventually settled in Latium, the region of central Italy where Rome would later be founded. Romans traced the line from Aeneas to the kings of Alba Longa and eventually to Romulus and Remus, creating a continuous mythical ancestry.
The Trojan Legacy in Roman Mythology
Why did this connection to Troy matter so much? A few reasons:
- Cultural legitimacy. By claiming descent from Troy, Romans positioned themselves as heirs to one of the great civilizations of the ancient world. This was especially useful as Rome grew into a Mediterranean power and interacted with Greek culture.
- Divine favor. With Venus as Aeneas's mother and Mars as the father of Romulus, Rome's founding family tree included multiple gods. This reinforced the idea that Rome's rise was divinely ordained.
- Religious traditions. Aeneas was said to have brought sacred objects from Troy and established early religious practices in Italy. The Vestal Virgins, priestesses of the goddess Vesta who maintained Rome's sacred fire, were traditionally linked to these Trojan origins. The Vestals held enormous religious importance and were considered essential to the city's safety and prosperity.
Together, the myths of Aeneas and Romulus gave Romans two complementary origin stories: one that connected them to the heroic past of the Greek world, and one that explained the founding of their specific city. Both shaped how Romans understood themselves and justified their growing power.