by Doug Stephens

Created on: July 28, 2009

The traditional and legendary founders of Rome were Romulus and Remus, twin brothers said to be the sons of Mars, the god of War, and a vestal virgin named Rhea Silvia. The brothers agreed to found a city of outcasts and criminals, and then fell to fighting on its precise location resulting in Romulus killing Remus in a fit of rage. Romulus is credited with being the first king of Rome, reigning for nearly forty years, and being taken up into the heavens and deified as Quirinus, the god of Roman character and strength.

Their mother, Rhea, was the daughter of Numitor, the once king of Alba Longa who had been dethroned by his brother Amulius. Amulius forced Rhea into becoming a chaste priestess, afraid she would one day produce an heir who would take his throne. The god of war is said to have visited the virgin Rhea in the temple and sired the two boys.

Amulius imprisoned Rhea and ordered the death of Romulus and Remus, but the servant ordered to do the job did not have the heart for it and placed them in a basket upon the Tiber River. Rescued by the river god Tiberinus, the boys were nursed by a wolf and fed by a woodpecker, until the shepherd Faustulus found them and took them under his care. It is said by some historians that Faustulus' wife, whose name could be translated as "wolf", suckled the boys.

The boys grew strong and handsome, noble and brave, and were known for defending their home and neighbors against thieves and brigands, gaining quite a reputation.

Their adoptive father, Faustulus, was a shepherd of Amulius, the usurping king, and he and others became engaged in conflict with shepherds of Numitor, the deposed king. Romulus and Remus joined the fight on the side of Amulius and led victories against Numitor's men. In retaliation, some of them ambushed Remus and captured him to take to Numitor.

The former king recognized the young man for whom he was, and embraced his grandson. During this time, Romulus had gathered a force of men and was marching to the city to rescue his brother. While Romulus attacked the city from outside the walls, Remus led an uprising within the city itself, and Amulius was killed. The city offered the crown jointly to the twins, but they refused it, declaring their grandfather Numitor to be the rightful king.

At the age of eighteen, unwilling to live in a city they did not rule, the brothers set out to found their own, bringing with them the outcasts of Alba Longa, and any others who wanted a second chance, including

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