Romulus and Remus

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Romulus and Remus
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• Numitor was king of Alba Longa. His younger
  brother, Amulius, betrayed him and took the
  throne from him.

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• Numitor had only one child, Rhea Silvia. In
  order to prevent her from marrying and having a
  child that might one day overthrow him, Amulius
  forced her to join the vestal virgins.

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• The vestal virgins were a sacred group of
  priestesses that were not permitted to get
  married.

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• However, Mars the god of war visited Rhea Silvia
  and she had twin boys, Romulus and Remus.

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• When Amulius found out, he was furious!

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• He ordered servants to drown the boys in the
  Tiber River so they would not grow up to be a
  threat to him.

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• The servants could not bring themselves to drown
  the babies so they put the boys in a basket and
  floated them down the river.

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• The babies basket came to a rest down the river
  where a she-wolf found them and nursed them.

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• Later, the boys were found by a shepherd named
  Faustulus. Faustulus and his wife raised the
  boys as if they were their own children.

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• When the boys grew up, they learned their true
  identity. They returned to Alba Longa where they
  overthrew Amulius and returned Numitor to his
  throne.

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• In honor of their victory, Romulus and Remus
  decided to build a city of their own in 753
  B.C.E. at the location where the she-wolf
  discovered them.

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• Romulus and Remus settled on separate hills at
  their new city. In a classic case of sibling
  rivalry, they got into an argument over which one
  of them to name the city after.

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• The argument escalated into a fight wherein
  Romulus killed Remus. He then named the city
  Rome after himself.

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• Out of this sibling rivalry came one of the most
  powerful civilizations in history.