Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome

Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome

Before their lives began, Romulus and Remus’s grandfather Numitor and his brother Amulius received the throne of Alba Longa upon their father’s death. Numitor received the sovereign powers as his birth right while Amulius received the royal treasury, including the gold Aeneas brought with him from Troy. But because Amulius held the treasury, thus having more power than his brother, he dethroned Numitor as the rightful king. Out of fear that Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, would produce children that would one day overthrow him as king, he forced Rhea to become a Vestal Virgin, priestesses sworn to celibacy.

However, one night Mars, the god of war, came to Rhea in the temple of Vesta and she bore him two twin boys of remarkable size and beauty, later named Romulus and Remus. Amulius was enraged and had Rhea placed in prison and ordered the death of the twins by exposure. However, the servant ordered to kill the twins could not. He placed the two in a cradle and laid the cradle on the banks of the Tiber river and went away. The river, which was in flood, rose and gently carried the cradle and the twins downstream.

Romulus and Remus were rescued by the river god Tiberinus and placed the twins upon the Palatine Hill. There, they were nursed by a she-wolf underneath a fig-tree and were fed by a woodpecker, two animals that were sacred to Mars. Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd for Amulius, who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own.

As they grew, their noble birth showed itself in their size and beauty while they were still children. When they grew up they were manly and high-spirited, of invincible courage and daring. Romulus, however, was thought the wiser and more politic of the two, and in his discussions with the neighbors about pasture and hunting, gave them opportunities of noting that his disposition was one which led him to command rather than to obey. On account of these qualities they were beloved by their equals and the poor, but they despised the king's officers and bailiffs as being no braver than themselves, and cared neither for their anger nor their threats. They led the lives and followed the pursuits of nobly born men, not valuing sloth and idleness, but exercise and hunting, defending the land against brigands, capturing plunderers, and avenging those who had suffered wrong. And thus they became famous throughout Latium.

One day when Romulus and Remus were 18 years old, a quarrel occurred between the shepherds of Numitor and the shepherds of Amulius. Some of Numitor’s shepherds drove off many of Amulius’s cattle, causing Amulius’s men to become enraged. Romulus and Remus gathered together the shepherds, found and killed Numitor’s shepherds, and recovered the lost cattle. To the displeasure of Numitor, Romulus and Remus collected and took into their company many needy men and slaves of Numitor, exhibiting seditious boldness and temper.

While Romulus was engaged in some sacrifice, as he was fond of sacrifices and the gods, some of Numitor’s shepherds attacked Remus and some of his friends and a battle broke out. After both sides took many wounds, Numitor’s shepherds prevailed and took Remus as their prisoner and returned him to Numitor for punishment. Numitor did not punish Remus, because he was in fear of Amulius, but went to Amulius and asked for justice, since he was his brother, and he had been insulted by the royal servants. The people of Alba Longa, too, sympathized with Numitor, and thought that he had been undeservedly outraged. Amulius was therefore induced to hand Remus over to Numitor to treat him as he saw fit.

When Numitor took Remus to his home for punishment, he was amazed at the young man's complete superiority in stature and strength of body. After hearing of his acts and deeds and of his noble virtues, Numitor asked Remus of his birth and who he really was. When Remus told him that they had found and nursed by a she-wolf on the banks of the Tiber river, and conjecturing Remus’s age from his looks, he left to speak with his daughter, Rhea, on the matter.

Upon Romulus's return from his sacrifices, Faustulus told Romulus that Remus had been captured and told him to go to his brother’s aid. Romulus left Faustulus and set out to levy an army to march against Alba Longa. Faustulus took the cradle that he had found Romulus and Remus in and quickly ran to Alba Longa. When Faustulus reached the gates of the city, the guards stopped him. By chance, one of the guards had been the servant who had taken the boys to the river. This man, upon seeing the cradle, and recognizing it, knew that that Faustulus spoke the truth, and without any delay told the matter to Amulius, and brought the man before him to be examined. He admitted that Romulus and Remus were alive and well, but said they lived at a distance from Alba Longa as herdsmen.

Acting out of fear and rage, Amulius quickly sent a friend of Numitor to see if he had heard any report of the twins being alive. As soon as the man entered Numitor’s house, he found Numitor embracing Remus, thus confirming that Remus was Numitor’s grandson. He then advised Numitor and Remus to act fast, for Romulus as marching on the city with an army of those who hated and fear Amulius. (Romulus’s army was divided in 200 man maniples). Remus acted quickly and incited the citizens within the city to revolt, and at the same time Romulus attacked from without. Amulius, without taking a single step or making any plan for his own safety, out of sheer confusion, was seized and put to death.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Life Before Rome", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki