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Romulus
Romulus: legendary founder of Rome.
Legend
- Romulus and his twin were born as children of Rhea Silvia (a Vestal Virgin) and the god Mars
- Rhea's uncle, king Amulius of Alba Longa, ordered the children to be killed; they were put in a basket and thrown in the river
- Nurtured by a she-wolf and found by shepherds, they were raised as shepherds
- Romulus and Remus founded Rome; Romulus killed his brother after a conflict about the auspices
- Romulus conquered several villages in the neigborhood (e.g, Fidenaenote )
- Romulus added new citizens to his city by opening an asylum. Because now there were more men than women, he captured the daughters of the nearby Sabines
- The inevitable war ended in a stalemate; the Sabine leader Titus Tatius was made king as well
- According to this legend, Romulus vanished. He was venerated as Quininius
There are no indications of a historical nucleus. The oldest settlement in Rome was a village of farmers, not of shepherds. The story about the she-wolf is a common fairy-tale (cg. Cyrus the Great being raised by a bitch); the story about the auspices was already known to Ennius.
Venerable institutions like the Senate were believed to have been created by Romulus.