Romulus and Remus: Founders of Rome

 

 

The following is my take on the myth of Romulus and Remus that I wrote as a teenager.

 

Romulus and Remus: Founders of Rome

Once there were two brothers named Romulus and Remus. They were twins born to Mars, the god of war, and Rhea Silvia, the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba.

The two children were thrown into the Tiber River in a basket. They came ashore at Palatine Hill.

A wolf cared for them until a shepherd named Faustulus found them and took them to his home. Faustulus cared for Romulus and Remus along with his own children and they grew up to be strong, handsome young men.

Not knowing his family, Remus argued one day with one of Numitor’s shepherds. Numitor’s brother, Amulius, had stolen his throne. Numitor got really mad and demanded Remus be executed.

“What will I ever do?” though Remus. Just then, Romulus came to the rescue and saved the day. Soon Romulus and Remus discovered that Numitor was really their grandfather, and they all became good friends. They drove out Amulius, and Numitor reclaimed the throne.

A little later, Romulus said, “Hey, let’s build a city right beside the Tiber River, where our lives were saved by the wolf!”

“Okay,” Remus responded, “but where is that exactly?”

They quarreled about it and asked the gods to decide. They decided in favor of Romulus and soon Romulus set the boundary for the city, where the walls would go. Remus was jealous and jumped over the boundary, saying, “How silly! Such a wall will never protect the city!”

Romulus got mad and killed Remus and said, “So perish whoever shall hereafter attempt to cross these walls!” He called the city Rome, after himself, and became its first king.

Romulus was soon sorry he killed his twin brother, and he always left a throne next to his empty, regardful that Remus had power too.

Many young men moved to Rome, but Romulus didn’t think there enough women, so he told the Romans to go back to Sabine to bring their wives to Rome too. This caused a lot of problems between Rome and Sabine, including war. After several more battles, the Sabines united with Rome.

One day while Romulus was with his army, the sky became dark. Storm clouds came about and creeped the Romans out. Lightning flashed around Romulus’ head. The Romans got scared and ran away. When they came back, Romulus had died and disappeared.

The inhabitants of Rome said Romulus’ father, Mars, had carried him off to the gods’ dwelling place. They changed his name to Quirinus and worshiped him as a god.  ■