The Legendary Origins of Rome
According to Roman tradition, the origins of Rome are steeped in myth, heroism, and divine intervention. The city’s foundation is most famously tied to the story of Romulus and Remus, twin brothers abandoned at birth, suckled by a she-wolf, and destined to establish one of history’s greatest empires. This legend, however, is far more than a simple origin tale—it encapsulates Rome’s self-perception, its cultural anxieties, and its political ideologies.
The earliest accounts, preserved by historians like Livy and Cicero, describe Romulus as Rome’s first king, a warrior-leader who secured divine favor through his piety and determination. The Temple of Jupiter Stator, where Cicero later delivered his famous denunciation of Catiline, was said to have been founded by Romulus himself after a desperate battle against the Sabines. By invoking Jupiter Stator—”Jupiter who holds men firm”—Romulus ensured Roman victory, setting a precedent for divine intervention in Rome’s military triumphs.
The Twin Founders: Romulus and Remus
The tale of Romulus and Remus is one of the most peculiar foundation myths in world history. Abandoned by their uncle, King Amulius of Alba Longa, the twins were left to die by the Tiber River. Instead, they were rescued by a she-wolf (or, as some ancient skeptics suggested, a prostitute, since lupa could mean both). Raised by a shepherd, they eventually overthrew Amulius, restored their grandfather Numitor to the throne, and set out to found their own city.
Their partnership, however, was short-lived. A dispute over the city’s location—Romulus favoring the Palatine Hill, Remus the Aventine—led to fratricide. In most versions, Remus mockingly leaped over Romulus’s newly built walls, prompting his brother to kill him with the chilling declaration: “So perish anyone else who shall leap over my walls.” This act of violence haunted Rome’s collective memory, symbolizing both the city’s ruthless ambition and its recurring struggles with civil conflict.
The Rape of the Sabine Women and Early Roman Society
With Remus dead, Rome needed citizens—particularly women. Romulus’s solution was the infamous abduction of the Sabine women, a mass kidnapping during a festival that became a defining moment in Roman lore. Livy presents it as a pragmatic necessity, while later writers like Ovid reinterpreted it as a flirtatious, almost romantic episode. Regardless of perspective, the event underscored Rome’s aggressive expansionism and its complex relationship with neighboring peoples.
The aftermath saw war with the Sabines, only resolved when the abducted women intervened, pleading for peace between their fathers and husbands. This reconciliation led to a joint Roman-Sabine rule under Romulus and the Sabine king Titus Tatius—until Tatius’s assassination, leaving Romulus as sole ruler.
The Legacy of Romulus: Civil War and Roman Identity
The murder of Remus cast a long shadow over Rome’s history. For later Romans, it prefigured the republic’s bloody civil wars, from the Social War to Caesar’s assassination. The poet Horace lamented that Rome was cursed by “the crime of a brother’s murder,” suggesting that fratricide was woven into the city’s destiny.
Yet Romulus was also celebrated as a heroic founder. His asylum policy—welcoming outcasts, fugitives, and foreigners—reflected Rome’s unique openness to assimilation, a trait that would later enable its vast multicultural empire. By contrast, Greek cities like Athens rigidly restricted citizenship, while Rome gradually extended rights to conquered peoples, culminating in Emperor Caracalla’s 212 CE decree granting citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire.
Myth vs. Archaeology: The Search for Early Rome
While Roman historians treated Romulus as a historical figure, modern archaeology tells a different story. Excavations beneath the Forum reveal traces of Iron Age huts and early burials, suggesting Rome began as a cluster of villages around 1000 BCE. By the 6th century BCE, it had developed into an urban center, but there is no evidence of a single founding moment.
The famous bronze Capitoline Wolf, long believed to be an Etruscan masterpiece, may actually date to the medieval period, further complicating the myth’s material legacy. Yet the persistence of Romulus’s story—in art, coinage, and literature—demonstrates its power as a cultural symbol rather than a historical fact.
The Enduring Influence of Rome’s Founding Myths
Rome’s foundation myths were more than just stories; they were tools for political rhetoric, moral reflection, and national identity. Cicero invoked Romulus to rally the Senate against Catiline, while emperors like Augustus linked themselves to Aeneas, Rome’s Trojan ancestor, to legitimize their rule.
Even today, the image of the she-wolf and twins endures as a global emblem of Rome, adorning souvenirs, sports logos, and public monuments. The myths’ themes—violence, integration, and destiny—continue to resonate, offering a window into how the Romans saw themselves and their empire’s tumultuous rise.
From fratricide to empire-building, the legend of Romulus and Remus remains one of history’s most compelling origin stories, blending myth, memory, and the enduring power of national narrative.