Romulus and Remus are the characters from Roman legend who have the most presence in Rome today: the twins are depicted, suckling a she-wolf, on modern-day crests of Rome. Visitors to the city will see them on trashcans, lampposts, and even in graffiti. The story has a long history: Roman coinage with the she-wolf and twins first appeared in the third century BCE.1 But although this myth is famous, it's also controversial.
The basic story of the city's foundation explains why. Several generations had passed after the arrival of Aeneas (chapter 2). The 400-year gap between the arrival of Aeneas in the twelfth century BCE and the foundation of Rome (sometime in the mid-eighth century BCE, according to most of our sources) posed a problem for writers of histories, and over time became filled with the Alban kings (2.7). These kings began with Ascanius and ended with the brothers Amulius and Numitor. For the most part, there are no myths about these rulers. Most scholars believe that they were a late addition to Roman myth, and had few stories because Romans did not consider them culturally significant. But like Ascanius, Amulius and Numitor are developed characters.
These brothers both inherited Alba Longa after their father's death. A variety of stories existed about how they came to split the kingdom (3.1), but these variants agree on certain key points. First, Amulius gained political control of the city; second, his relationship with Numitor at some point soured; and third, the brothers’ quarrel eventually expanded to include Numitor's daughter, whose name was both Ilia and Rhea Silvia. Most versions of this story state that this daughter was a Vestal Virgin,2 a religious office that required women to remain abstinent for at least 30 years.
Rhea was getting water from a well when she was raped by an unknown man. Sexual violence, while perhaps no more common in antiquity than today, was often treated less seriously – at least in legendary history. Such lack of attention to the consequences of assault is not because Romans were unconcerned about rape, although it is important to recognize that their definition was not the same as ours.3 Instead, myths involving sexual misconduct (including, but not limited to, rape) helped introduce divine agency into the narrative. Mortals couldn't marry gods, but gods could rape and impregnate mortal women. In this way, myths introduce half-divine children (sometimes called heroes or demigods) into the world. Foundation stories in particular often begin with rape. As Jan Bremmer (1987) has argued, cities are built upon “the mother's tragedy,” meaning that the founder's mother must feel the birth pains of a new civilization in a variety of ways. Yet narratives rarely focus on the struggles of the raped woman (for a partial exception, see 7.6). Instead, they center on the child.
Rhea's story follows this pattern. She becomes pregnant and delivers twins. It is therefore clear that she has broken her vow of virginity. Although she claims that the father is Mars, Amulius punishes her by throwing her into the Tiber river, along with her newborn children. Many authors are unconcerned with Rhea's fate, although some state that she married the river god and became a deity herself. But the children are the main focus of the story. These twins, Romulus and Remus, are abandoned by the banks of the Tiber. They were hungry and crying; the noise attracted a she-wolf. This wolf, instead of attacking the children, gave them her own teats to suck on. The shepherds working nearby were amazed. One of them, Faustulus, took the twins home, and raised them with his wife, Acca Larentia. Although this story seems unlikely, it shares its basic narrative with other Mediterranean myths (comparison with Cyrus the Great of Persia comes as early as Michelet 1831, 59–61).
The twins grew up as shepherds, but somehow learned of their royal background. They got in touch with their grandfather, Numitor, and organized a coup to avenge their family. Their attack was successful: Amulius was killed in the battle, and Numitor took over the throne of Alba Longa. But Romulus’ and Remus’ adventures weren't done. They set out to found their own city, which was the future Rome. Soon, however, they began to fight, either over the location, the name, or who would be the actual founder of the city. To solve their argument, they took auspices, a Roman type of divination that was based on watching the flight of birds (among other things). They expected that the result would be a clear “winner”: one twin would receive a successful omen, while the other would receive a negative sign. But each twin received a good omen. Romulus claimed that his were better and that the gods favored him. This is debatable, and in some narratives led to war.
In other narratives, the settlers accepted the outcome and began to build Rome. Again an argument broke out between the twins, but this time it was more serious: Remus ended up dead. Romulus buried his brother and went on building. If this behavior sounds insensitive to you, it did to many Romans as well; Romulus’ reaction to his brother's death has been a serious problem in classical scholarship since antiquity. Romulus could be described in such negative terms that some scholars believe the story was invented by an anti-Roman source and accepted by the Romans out of pride or desperation (Strassburger 1968); others point out similarities to other foundation legends (Roller 1996), or change over time (ver Eecke 2008; Neel 2014); still others suggest that the foundation story was closely connected to the “Conflict of the Orders,” Rome's longest internal political dispute (Wiseman 1995). Certainly the door is not closed on this major interpretive issue. The narrative that we have, however, centers on Roman themes and cultural practices (such as the auspices), even if some Romans found it distasteful. It has not been adopted wholesale from any culture; it may have been substantially adapted to fit Rome's needs.
After the city was finished, Romulus established many important laws and customs. He set up an asylum for criminals, slaves, and exiles, who would be welcomed in Rome. This asylum reinforces the idea, introduced in chapter 2, that Rome was a “melting pot” even from its very earliest stages. Romulus also tried to gain new citizens. The most famous example of this was the rape of the Sabine women (in this case, “rape” is used in its old-fashioned sense: these women were kidnapped and forced to marry). Neighboring cities, upset by this kidnapping, attacked Rome. This war with the Sabines included many memorable episodes, such as the taking of the spolia (3.5.2), the treason of Tarpeia (7.4), and the naming of the Lacus Curtius (2.5.1, 8.6.1). At the end, Romulus and the Sabine king Titus Tatius made a peace treaty and jointly ruled Rome.
At some later date, Titus Tatius died and Romulus ruled on his own. Some scholars have seen a repetition of the Romulus and Remus story here, but this parallel wasn't noted in antiquity. Instead, according to some texts, Romulus’ rule became cruel and tyrannical at this point. The senators, senior statesmen whom Romulus himself had appointed, conspired to kill him. In some versions, they succeed; in others, Romulus simply dies and is deified, much like Aeneas before him. He has no children.
The Romulus story shares themes with the Aeneas legend. Both Romulus and Aeneas are the sons of a major divinity (Venus or Mars); both undergo trials to establish their city; both steal their wives (Aeneas takes Lavinia from Turnus, while Romulus marries one of the Sabine women). These similarities, while not unique to Rome, suggest that Romans considered these themes important for a foundation story. To the Romans, Romulus held continuing significance as a lawgiver, as well as founder of many city festivals, sites, and customs. But he remained only one of many founding figures. The idea that “Rome wasn't built in a day” would have been familiar to a Roman reader from at least the second century BCE onwards.
Several aspects of the Romulus story are also common to world myth. His mother's rape and subsequent murder set the stage for his later glory. His humble background – hiding the king he was and would become – is also a common feature in Greek foundation legends, as well as stories found in the Near East (Lincoln 1975 and 1976). Even the fratricide has parallels in other societies’ cosmogonies (see Puhvel 1975). But it's also important to stress that Romulus is thoroughly intertwined with Roman culture. While pointing to parallels is useful and helps “fill out” the back history of the myth, it should not be substituted for trying to understand the Romulus saga in its Roman context (Beard 1993). By examining many different versions of the Romulus narrative in this chapter, you'll be able to do just that.
TEXTS
The contest between Amulius and Numitor for the throne sets the stage for their grandsons’ attempt to rule and offers a bridge between the Alban kings (2.7) and the kings of Rome. It foreshadows the conflict between Romulus and Remus (3.3–3.4) and echoes the conflicts between Aeneas and Turnus and Ascanius and Silvius (2.5, 2.7). The idea of a “family curse” (2.3.5) can also be found in Greek myth (for example, the House of Atreus), as well as later Roman myths (the Tarquins: 5.4–5.6). Several authors were preoccupied with the “bad” ruler, and such myths offered numerous ways to distinguish good rulership from bad.
You'll notice that the stories about the twins’ birth are among the most detailed and varied myths in this book. These variants suggest the importance of the story for Roman self-definition.
As young men, Romulus and Remus led their own band of shepherds, which came into conflict with rival groups of herders. These raids involved theft, some violence, and eventually kidnapping. The idea that Romulus and Remus are “bandits,” while surprising to a modern audience, is consistent with our evidence for Iron Age Italy (see 4.1 and 4.6 for some archaeological support). The stories about livestock rustling thus may preserve memories of early Italian social structures. These youthful bands offered quasi-military training for young men (as in Greece: see Vidal-Naquet 1998, especially pp. 129–158; Alföldi 1974, 107–150; 8.7). The contest of the shepherds also foreshadows Romulus and Remus’ desire for supremacy among their own men. This struggle will repeat itself in the myth of the foundation auspices and end in Remus’ death (3.3, 3.4).
The conflict between Amulius’ and Numitor's men distinguishes Remus from Romulus for the first time: Remus is captured, while Romulus is not. This moment of division was repeated in the yearly Lupercalia festival. The association of the twins with this festival, which took place in mid-February, is consistently noted, but not well understood. Perhaps the tale of Remus’ capture was retold at the rite.
After killing Amulius, Romulus and Remus gave Alba to Numitor. Despite the fact that they're his heirs, they decide to found a new city. But they argue over the name and location. The logic behind this argument isn't clear to us, but it is consistent. To settle the dispute, Romulus and Remus seek divine favor through augury, a form of divination that involves watching birds. Augury was an important part of Roman public life: magistrates observed the birds before elections and battles. Romulus’ success establishes him as Rome's military and religious leader. But the choice of Romulus isn't immediately obvious: augury was supposed to provide a yes-or-no answer, which should have ended the controversy immediately. Instead, sources provide us with a “contest” in which Remus sees a positive sign, followed by Romulus’ even better sign. Greek versions suggest that Romulus cheated, while unorthodox variants such as Egnatius (3.4.7) may envision a much different struggle for power than the traditional accounts of Romulus’ supremacy. As our complete accounts make clear, the preferred tradition emphasized Romulus’ victory – and his ambition.
Remus’ death is one of the most problematic events in Roman myth, and potential solutions abound (see chapter introduction). Ancient authors differ on Romulus’ responsibility for Remus’ death. In general, they find the question of why Remus died less urgent than modern scholars, and care more about whether the death was accidental or planned (both options are common). Romulus’ character changes in accordance with these judgments: authors who favor the “accident” hypothesis tend to depict a virtuous Romulus, while those who favor “murder” depict the king as an evil tyrant. Because Romulus is the first Roman, his moral character is important to Roman self-identification or foreigners’ attempts to characterize the Romans as a whole. As we saw with Aeneas and Turnus (2.5.3), our interpretation of this single event has broad implications for how we understand the Romulus saga as a whole.
After founding the city, Romulus realized that he'd need a source of population to ensure its survival. He first started an asylum (a place of refuge for slaves and criminals), but his settlement also needed wives and children. AfterRome's neighbors refuse to marry their daughters to low-status Romans, Romulus tricks them by stealing their daughters, much as he'd stolen cattle in his youth. The women's parents retaliate with Rome's first wars.
The cities attack individually, allowing Rome to defeat them and even create military awards (the spolia: 3.5.2 and 3.5.5). The final battle against the Sabines was more difficult. Several warriors distinguished themselves, including the grandfather of the future king Tullus Hostilius (5.3) and the Sabine Mettius Curtius, whose name survived in the Lacus Curtius in Rome's Forum (“Curtius’ pool,” still visible today58). The Sabines nearly defeat Rome thanks to female treachery (7.4), but the conflict is resolved through female ambassadors: the kidnapped women themselves.
The wars conclude with the Sabines and Romans joining forces. The arrival of the “Sabine women” (in fact from several cities), and later of Sabine settlers, emphasizes that Rome was built on immigration. Gary Miles (1995) also noted the close association between Roman marriage customs and the Sabine story; every Roman female was, in essence, a Sabine woman.
After the war with the Sabines, Romulus and Tatius agree to rule together. It doesn't last long. The death of Titus Tatius marks a turning point in many versions of the Romulus story. Both kings are just rulers before the events that lead to Tatius’ death; then Tatius, followed by Romulus, behaves more like a tyrant.
Unlike the Remus story, Romulus never bears any blame for Tatius’ death. Their disagreement is often described in terms that are more favorable to Romulus than Tatius: when a group of Romans, including Tatius’ relatives, behave unjustly by robbing an embassy, Tatius defends them; Romulus recommends punishment suitable for highway robbery. This difference of opinion is also a difference in outlook. Tatius focuses inward on pre-existing relationships, while Romulus looks outward for diplomatic ties. Both positions are defensible, and this myth demonstrates how such stories could be used to negotiate values.
The second failure of joint rule also points to continuing concern among the Roman elite about the appropriate exercise of power, and underlines the distinction between kingship and republic. In Republican Rome, consuls were expected to work out their differences; a monarchy needs only one king.
The apotheosis of a city founder was fairly typical in the ancient world (compare Aeneas in 2.6). Like Aeneas, Romulus got a new name to mark his divine status: “Quirinus.” Quirinus was probably a pre-existing god with whom Romulus became identified; the name could also be an epithet attached to other gods, including Mars. Its significance and etymology was debated even in antiquity (the Sabine town of Cures vs. the Sabine word curis, spear).91 But myths about Quirinus are always myths about Romulus. Romans could be called “Quirites,” a word that perhaps means something like “Quirinus’ people” (as “Romans” are “Romulus” people).
Despite his ascent to heaven, Romulus’ death was disturbing: some authors claimed that he was dismembered. This tradition has parallels in the Egyptian Osiris myth, the “Orphic” myth of Dionysus, and perhaps also the historical murder of Julius Caesar. Despite this negative tradition, the deified Romulus continued to be honored throughout Roman antiquity.
Romulus has troubled commentators both ancient and modern, perhaps because his character is far more human than we expect from ancient heroes. He certainly has his low points: raised by a wolf, he murders (or at least is an accessory to the death of) his brother, and becomes a tyrant who's murdered in turn. He's a thief whose city grows because he allows the lowest elements of society – criminals and slaves – to gain citizen rights. He's a trickster who fools his neighbors when diplomacy doesn't work. He's a humble ruler who became known for eating turnips,99 proverbial peasants’ food, rather than the delicacies of the wealthy. But many of Romulus’ negative aspects could be presented in a positive light as well. His city was truly open to anyone who wanted to work for citizenship – an appealing notion to us as well as to some Romans. He didn't set himself on a pedestal, but enjoyed the simple pleasures of ordinary Romans. He was a successful warrior who fought in the front lines, yet was also able to strategize.
Romulus’ generally ambiguous character was appreciated by Roman authors, who were equally comfortable idealizing and vilifying him. Over time, most aspects of city life, customs, and culture were referred back to Romulus, so that he became the greatest of Rome's many founders. Most accounts of his life are approving, which may surprise you; remember that Romulus killed his great-uncle and perhaps his brother! Concerned about this familial violence, modern authors tend to focus more heavily on the earlier episodes of Romulus’ life. Yet comparison with Greek myths can be fruitful here. Romulus is no more violent than many Greek heroes, and his family is considerably less dysfunctional than some of the cycles that were celebrated in Greece (such as the house of Atreus or the Theban cycle). In Greece, Hercules kills his children and Theseus kills his son Hippolytus – and these heroes are still accepted in Greek myth and society. Romulus’ story is not so very different. In fact, as we've seen, Romulus can be distanced from his brother's death in a way that Hercules and Theseus were not.
As the founder of the city, Romulus is Rome's most common mythic figure, appearing in works of all varieties and throughout Rome's history. His character traits are those of the ideal Roman male: tough, simple, clever, god-fearing, just. He triumphs over his enemies, but he is also prepared to make peace. The importance of these qualities to Roman self-perceptions, even if those perceptions are idealized, helps explain why Romulus can seem hard to pin down.