Legendary twins in Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome. 

The earliest of the traditions go back to the fourth century BCE and were well-known by the beginning of the third century BCE.

The legend has been debated since the nineteenth century, especially given interest in its antiquity, meaning, and the death of Romulus. Analysis has posed challenges for historians whose interpretations differ, although all of them recognize that the legend narrates the foundation of Roman institutions. Explanations for the death of Romulus pose challenges (e.g., sudden disappearance or murder followed by dismemberment).

Their Story

Romulus and Remus were the sons of the war god Mars and a human woman, Rhea Silva.

Silva had been forced into being a Vestal virgin by Amulius, her uncle, and the king, who wanted to prevent her from producing a rival heir to the throne he had usurped from her father, Numitor. When Romulus and Remus were born, the king condemned them to a vessel that was abandoned to float away in the Tiber.  

The twins survived, were suckled by a she-wolf, and were discovered by a shepherd, Faustulus, who adopted them and under whom they grew and became known for their strength.

When Remus one day quarreled with his grandfather Numitor’s followers, he was taken to Numitor to be punished. Romulus would then attempt to rescue his brother, upon which the twins were revealed as Numitor’s grandsons. Reunited, the family defeated Amulius and restored Numitor to his throne. 

Returning to the site along the Tiber where they had been saved by the she-wolf, the twins built a city on the site, although Romulus would later murder Remus during a quarrel. As such, Rome took its name from Romulus.

Rome was built upon the Palatine Hill at the traditional date of 753 BCE (Howatson 2011). Romulus then expanded it to become an asylum for runaway slaves, criminals, and murderers. It also had a shortage of women, which Romulus remedied by arranging for the capture of Sabine maidens at a festival, the Consualia.

Romulus ruled for forty years until 715 BCE before vanishing from the earth while enveloped in a cloud during a thunderstorm. He evidently became the god Quirinus, as he made known to an individual, Proculus Julius (eighth century BCE). A different legend says that Romulus was murdered and “disappeared” by being cut into tiny pieces and hidden in the senators’ togas.

References

Howatson, M. C. 2011. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (3rd ed.). Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press.

Leeming, David. 2005. The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press.