Romulus and Rémus

The legendary history of Romulus and Rémus belongs to the Roman Mythologie. It should however be announced that the Roman historians themselves, to start with Tite-Live, are not easily deceived arranged and legendary character of this account founder. It should be recalled that Romulus became the founder of Rome and the first King of Rome. The name of the town of Rome, comes from its name, ROMULUS.

The She-wolf

Romulus and its twin brother Rémus are the wire of the Vestale Rhéa Silvia and of the god Mars. Rhea Silvia is the girl of Numitor, king of the legendary Latin city of Alba Longa (founded by Ascagne, wire of Enée) and dispossessed of the throne by his/her brother Amulius. This one, fearing that its great nephews do not claim their due while growing, and because they were the wire of a vestal who, while being devoted to this goddess, vow of chastity had made, ordered that one threw them in the the Tiber.

But the order is badly carried out, the newborns is abandoned in a basket on the river and survives miraculeusement (protected by the gods, said the legend). They are nourished by a she-wolf (moreover, in Latin antiquated ruma indicates “an udder”, from where word game on the origin of the name of the town of Rome) and by a green woodpecker, the bird of Mars (Ovide, Fastes III). Tite-Live advances another theory in order to explain this legend according to which Romulus and Rémus would have been nursed by a she-wolf: the twins would have been nourished certainly by a lupa , but within the meaning of prostitute (cf the French expression of Lupanar ). They were discovered in the cave of the Lupercale (with the foot of the Palatin only discovered in November 2007) by the shepherd Faustulus, guard of the herds of Amulius, and his wife Larentia (who was also, according to Tite-Live, a prostitute whom the shepherds called Lupa , “the She-wolf”, from where the origin of the legend) which raise them. Later, the twins, with whom is revealed the secrecy of their birth, will kill Amulius (cut the throat of by Rémus according to some, transpierced by the sword of Romulus according to others) and will restore their grandfather Numitor on the throne of Alba.

Vultures

The two twins then decide to found a city and choose for site “the place where they had been given up and where they had passed their childhood”. According to Tite-Live, it is the right to name the city and thus that of controlling which would be at the origin of the fratricidal conflict. The city was founded on April 21st, 753 before JC (beginning of the Roman calendar).

To decide between itself, the twins consult the Auspices; Romulus is placed on the Palatin, Rémus on the Aventin. The interpretation of predicts is problematic: Rémus has the first outline six vultures, but Romulus ended up observing twelve of them.

The historian brings back two versions of dead of Rémus ( Roman Histoire , Livre I, 6). According to the first, Rémus fell (victim of a blow of shovel of the centurion Celer) during the brawl which followed the calculation of the auspices; according to the other, it crosses by derision the furrow crowned (Pomœrium) which has just traced Romulus which killed it under the blow of anger. It is told finally that, taken remorse, Romulus buried his/her brother on Aventin with all the honors.

A late legend wants that Rémus was not killed, but simply driven out and left to found the town of Rheims (in France); what would explain the historical role of this last in the ceremonial of the sacring of the Kings de France.

See also in the article Foundation of Rome the analysis of the research undertaken on the historical reality of this event .

The removal of Sabines

Romulus continues the construction of its city, which it names Roma (Rome), according to its own name, known as the legend. But the City, place of refuge for the slaves in escape and the free men wishing to change existence, miss women singularly. As the attempts at marriage in the neighbouring “cities” very find scorning fine not-to receive, it decides to fly of the women. It founds the festival of “Consualia” in the honor of Neptune and invites to it the Sabins and the people of several “cities” around: Caenina, Crustumerium, Antemnae. While the attention of the men is diverted, the women are removed by surprise. Furious, the people insults form a coalition directed by the king of Cures Titus Tatius and declare the war. Romulus starts by crushing the soldiers of Caenina, keep silent their chief Acron and takes their city by storm. Attacked by surprised by the Antemnates, it also crushes them and takes their city. But at the request of his wife Hersilia, Romulus the saving, grants its forgiveness and the established among in Antemnae.

Thanks to the treason of the young person Tarpéia, Sabins manage to be introduced into the city and to seize the citadel. Initially hustled, Romulus, after an invocation with Jupiter, manages to start again its troops with the attack. The combat is very undecided. So much so that they are the wives sabines Romans who interpose between the two camps. Thus the battle ends. Romans and Sabins amalgamate, the government is concentrated in Rome which doubles its size and the Romans take the name of Quirites (of Cures) in the honor of Sabins.

Romulus then distributes the Roman population in thirty curies and gives to those the name of women sabines. (See Synœcisme)

If screw pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, prepares the war)

One forms also three Centurie S of knights: the Ramnes (which draw their name from Romulus), the Titienses (of Titus Tatius) and the Luceres (of one does not know where, perhaps Étrurie). (This interpretation of the “ethnic” origin of the three Roman tribes today is completely rejected inter alia because of the strictly Etruscan etymology of the three denominations)

Two kings, Romulus the Romain and Titus Tatius Sabin, reign together “in perfect agreement” during several years. Tite-Live reports however not without a certain irony that after the accidental death of Titus during a riot with Lavinium, “Romulus regretted less than it would have owed this misfortune. ” Alliance with Lavinium is renewed.

To the head of a troop of 300 soldiers (the same ones as those mentioned above) all devoted to his person, the Celeres, Romulus passes the remainder of its life to guerroyer against its Etruscan close close relations: Fidènes, and especially Véies, a city to which it ends up granting, against transfer of territories, truce a one hundred years.

It will leave a State sufficiently strong and impressing militarily to live in peace during forty years under the reign of its successor Numa Pompilius.

Quirinus

According to the legend, he did not die, but disappeared simply a day (event commemorated on July 7th) in a violent storm and was taken along to the sky whereas he inspected his troops close to the marsh of the Goat. He would have become the god of the valiant Romans and their city. He was compared later to Quirinus. Tite-Live still, after having recalled that “Romulus counted more partisans in the people than among the patricians”, brings back a more sordid rumor according to whom Romulus would have been quite simply massacred by the patricians, and supposes that its apotheosis under the name of Quirinus was a political stratagem intended to alleviate the good people.

“What is extraordinary, concludes it (Book I, 16), it is that one believed in this history and that the belief in the immortality of Romulus comforted the people and the army. ”

Romulus and the Indo-European heritage in Rome

As a founder of Rome, Romulus concentrates on its person of many aspects of the three Indo-European functions.

the first function is sovereignty, in particular by its close connections with Jupiter which grants its auspices to him. It more specifically incarnates the “magic” tendency, even “terrible” of this first function; the other tendency, more “legal” of sovereignty, ghost to his successor, king Numa Pompilius, founder of many worships of which that of Fides, the divinity guarantor of the oaths.
the second function is related on the force, the army, since that this warlike king and conqueror are wire of Mars.
Finally the third function of abundance, of prosperity, by its gemellity and its association with the king of Sabins Titus Tatius, whose people incarnate opulence.

Discovered cave of Lupercale

In 2007, Italian archeologists announce that they discovered the cave where the Romans celebrated the festival of the Lupercales and where, according to the legend, would have lived Romulus and Rémus. According to the specialist Andrea Carandini, it is about the one of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever made. The identification of the cave in Lupercale however did not achieve the unanimity, of the archeologists as Fausto Zevi considering that it is rather about a Nymphée depend on the imperial palace.

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