The Legend of the Capitoline Wolf

 T

The founding of Rome has its strongest history in the legend of Romulus and Remus. The story from the beginning of the Empire was rejected by the scientists of the XIX and XX centuries, however, it regains validity with the latest archaeological discoveries.

Essentially the legend relates that a Trojan prince in flight from destruction at the hands of the Greeks, founded on the right bank of the river Tiber a city called Alba Longa. After being succeeded by several kings, Numitor was dethroned by Amulio and to prevent the first from having offspring, he forced his niece, daughter of the deposed sovereign, Rea Silvia to remain a virgin as Vestal. However, the god Mars impregnates her with Twins. To prevent the children from being harmed, they were left in a basket adrift in the river and were rescued and suckled by a she-wolf.

Romulus and Remus, that's what the twins were called, after a few years they found out about their monarchical genealogy and decided to kill their great-uncle Amulio and restore their grandfather Numitor in power. In gratitude they were given territories in the Seven Hills where they grew up. More precisely on the Palatine Hill. There they had to decide which of the two would be the highest authority to start a civilization. Then, Romulus drew a limit with the plow called Pomerium and followed the Etruscan tradition of counting the birds that were flying over the territory at that time and counted 12, while his brother Remo only located 6, so the sovereignty corresponded to the first. maximum. Remus in disgust, crossed the line defined by his brother, again and again, until Romulus, according to the design of tradition and the command of the gods, kills his brother. The Pomerium would mark the location of the first city wall, whose foundation dates according to the legend of 753 BC, and the name Rome implies a repentance of Romulus for the murder of his brother.

The first inhabitants were shepherds and peasants of different precedents that stretched up the slopes of the hills and then into the valley between them.

Despite the dismissal of the famous legend of Rome, in which a later foundation dating back to the 6th century BC is suggested, it was recently discovered that there are remaining 3 retaining walls of the ancient city and in the third it has been established as the date of origin the 7th century BC

As an alternative to the legend of the suckling wolf, it was supposed at some point that a prostitute had given the twins to suckle because of the derogatory Latin way of calling those women back then.

ManHistories