How was Rome founded? Here is what the most famous legend says!

If you haven’t already visited Rome, you must have heard about it in various articles and documentaries. As one of the world’s top destinations, Rome is visited annually by over 35 million people. This eternal city has a rich history that goes back thousands of years, and according to the most famous legend, the brothers Romulus and Remus, sons of the god Mars and Rhea Silvia, are responsible for its foundation.

Rome, Photo: BiancoBlue Depositphotos

The story begins in ancient Alba Longa, where the ruler Amulius took the throne from his brother Numitor and forced his daughter Rhea Silvia to become a vestal, thus condemning her to celibacy so that she would not have children. However, the god Mars fell in love with her and then twins Romulus and Remus were born.

Fearing for his power, Amulius ordered that the twins be thrown into the Tiber River, which was eventually done.

Rome – Tiber River, Photo: marktucan, Depositphotos

Fate played its part and the basket with which they were thrown into the river washed ashore near the Lupercal cave where a young she-wolf lived. As she just had cubs, she raised and nursed them herself. Sometime later, they were discovered by the shepherd Faustul, who decided to take them in and raise them with his wife, where the twins grew up tending sheep without knowing their origins.

Over time, they discovered their origin and decided to go to their grandfather Numitor.

Rome, Photo: DimaKozitsyn, Depositphotos

Having won the battle against Amulius, their grandfather took over Alba Longa, and Romulus and Remus decided to found their new city. When they arrived in the valley of the seven hills, a conflict arose over its location, which resulted in a tragic altercation in which Rem was killed. Some stories claim that he was killed by Romulus and some that he was killed by one of his followers.

Romulus then built a new city on the Aventine and called it Rome.

She-wolf statue, Photo: Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 2.0

During his reign, he established many institutions, an army, and a senate, and after he mysteriously disappeared in a storm, his fellow citizens began to worship him as the god Quirinus.

Although historians and archaeologists cannot confirm this legend, the story of Romulus and Remus remains deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of Rome, symbolizing strength, destiny, and divine intervention in the founding of one of the most magnificent cities in history.

Today, all over Rome you will find a famous statue that symbolizes this legend, that of the she-wolf that feeds these twins.