Romulus (legendary)

The legendary first king of Rome, suckled by a she-wolf, who founded the city.

Life

Suckled by the she-wolf

According to Roman legend, Romulus and his twin brother Remus were born to the war god Mars and a Vestal Virgin. Thrown into the Tiber after birth, they were suckled by a she-wolf and later raised by a shepherd.

Founding of the city

The brothers decided to found a city where they had been rescued, but they quarreled over the site, and Romulus killed Remus. On April 21, 753 BCE, he founded Rome on the Palatine Hill and named it after himself. To provide wives for the men of the city, he devised the abduction of the women of the neighboring Sabines.

Sabine women

Legend says he ruled Rome for thirty-seven years and finally vanished in a storm, after which he was worshiped as a god. These stories are the Romans' own founding myth, not reliable history.

Legacy

The image of "the she-wolf suckling the twins" is still the emblem of the city of Rome, and April 21 is still celebrated as Rome's birthday.

Did you know? Archaeology shows that villages did indeed appear on the Palatine Hill around the 8th century BCE.

Key dates

• 753 BCEFounded Rome, according to legend
• 716 BCEVanished and ascended to heaven, according to legend