The myth of Romulus and Remus, the founders of the Empire

The myth of Romulus and Remus tells the origin and founding of the Roman Empire, which according to historians took place in the year 753 BC. This story is very much a legend, but it is recorded in the annals of the time. However, their bases are confusing and contradictory, so they are not given full credibility.

There are great historians who have made reference to the myth of Romulus and Remus. Among them are Plutarch, Dionysus, Titus Livy and Lucius Anneus, among others. There is still no consensus among experts as to whether the legend has a basis in reality.

It should be noted that the myth of Romulus and Remus is Roman, as is obvious, but There is also a Greek version of the same. According to the latter, Rome would have been founded by the Greeks. However, such a version is full of inconsistencies and did not survive even as a legend.

The origin of the myth of Romulus and Remus

The myth of Romulus and Remus says that it all began with Aeneas, hero of the Trojan War, who escaped after 10 years of conflict. In his escape, he lost his wife Creusa, but He managed to save his father and his son Ascanio. The latter founded a city called Alba Longa and was its first king.

Of his descendants, four centuries later, a man named Numitor reigned. He was betrayed by his brother, who dethroned him and killed all his male children. Only one daughter remained alive. The murderer, fearing that she might father a son who would avenge her insult, consecrated her to the goddess Vesta. By doing this, The young woman had to take vows of chastity for life.

According to the myth of Romulus and Remus, Mars, god of war He fell in love with the girl. On one occasion, the young woman was visiting a garden dedicated to the god and he took advantage of her carelessness and took her by force. From that union the woman, named Rea Silvia, became pregnant.

The Twins

Rea Silva was waiting for twins. When the man who had betrayed her father found out that she was pregnant, he locked her up and ordered the servants to kill her children as soon as they were born. However, they disobeyed the order and instead they put the twins in a crib and they left her floating in the river.

When the water level rose, the crib reached a dry area. A wolf named Luperca came to drink and saw the little ones. She collected them and nursed them in her den, which was located on the Palatine Hill. Thus, the twins survived. It should be noted that in Latin the term “loba” or “lupa” was also used to designate prostitutes.

Shortly after, the twins were found by a shepherd who adopted them as if they were his own children, along with his wife. The children also became shepherds and, in their work, one day Remus was kidnapped and brought before the man who had dethroned his grandfather. There the young man learned of his true origin. Once freed, his brother told him and between the two they fought and returned the throne to their grandfather..

The founding of the Roman Empire

The myth of Romulus and Remus indicates that the twins, knowing they were children of a god, decided to found their own city. They marched towards the point where they had been found by the wolf to start their own kingdom there.. However, they could not agree on where the new city should be and who should reign first.

To end the discussion, they resorted to an Etruscan custom: whoever saw the most vultures in flight would be the winner. Romulus saw 12 vultures, while Remus only saw 6. Romulus, then, decided that the new city would be built on the Palatine Hill and drew up the boundaries, ordering that no one should trespass on them.

Remus, who had been dissatisfied with the situation, disobeyed his brother’s order and crossed the border. It was then that Romulus killed his brother and became the first ruler of what would from that moment be the eternal city.

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