Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these traditions incorporate elements of folklore, and it is not clear to what extent a historical figure underlies the mythical Romulus, the events and institutions ascribed to him were central to the myths surrounding Rome's origins and cultural traditions.

Traditional account

The myths concerning Romulus involve several distinct episodes and figures, including the miraculous birth and youth of Romulus and his twin brother, Remus; Remus' murder and the founding of Rome; the Rape of the Sabine Women, and the subsequent war with the

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divid ...

; a period of joint rule with Titus Tatius; the establishment of various Roman institutions; the death or

apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...

of Romulus, and the succession of

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are a ...

Romulus and Remus

According to Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia by the god Mars. Their maternal grandfather was Numitor, the rightful king of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was d ...

, through whom the twins were descended from both the Trojan hero Aeneas, and

Latinus Latinus ( la, Latinus; Ancient Greek: Λατῖνος, ''Latînos'', or Λατεῖνος, ''Lateînos'') was a figure in both Greek and Roman mythology. He is often associated with the heroes of the Trojan War, namely Odysseus and Aeneas. Alth ...

, the king of Latium. Before the twins' birth, Numitor's throne had been usurped by his brother, Amulius, who murdered Numitor's son or sons, and condemned Rhea Silvia to perpetual virginity by consecrating her a Vestal. Livy, '' History of Rome'' i. 3. When Rhea became pregnant, she asserted that she had been visited by the god Mars. Amulius imprisoned her, and upon the twins' birth, ordered that they be thrown into the Tiber. But as the river had been swollen by rain, the servants tasked with disposing of the infants could not reach its banks, and so exposed the twins beneath a fig tree at the foot of the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

. In the traditional account, a she-wolf happened upon the twins, and suckled them until they were found by the king's herdsman, Faustulus, and his wife,

Acca Larentia Acca Larentia or Acca Larentina was a mythical woman, later goddess of fertility, in Roman mythology whose festival, the Larentalia, was celebrated on December 23. Myths Foster mother In one mythological tradition (that of ...

. The brothers grew to manhood among the shepherds and hill-folk. After becoming involved in a conflict between the followers of Amulius and those of their grandfather Numitor, Faustulus told them of their origin. With the help of their friends, they lured Amulius into an ambush and killed him, restoring their grandfather to the throne.Livy, i. 3–6. The princes then set out to establish a city of their own. They returned to the hills overlooking the Tiber, the site where they had been exposed as infants. They could not agree on which hill should house the new city. When an omen to resolve the controversy failed to provide a clear indication, the conflict escalated and Romulus or one of his followers killed Remus. In a variant of the legend, the augurs favoured Romulus, who proceeded to plough a square furrow around the Palatine Hill to demarcate the walls of the future city. When Remus derisively leapt over the "walls" to show how inadequate they were against invaders, Romulus struck him down in anger. In another variant, Remus was killed during a melée, along with Faustulus.

Establishment of the city

The founding of Rome was commemorated annually on April 21, with the festival of the Parilia. Romulus' first act was to fortify the Palatine, in the course of which he made a sacrifice to the gods. He laid out the city's boundaries with a furrow that he ploughed, performed another sacrifice, and with his followers set to work building the city itself. Romulus sought the assent of the people to become their king. With Numitor's help, he addressed them and received their approval. Romulus accepted the crown after he sacrificed and prayed to Jupiter, and after receiving favourable omens. Romulus divided the populace into three tribes, known as the ''Ramnes'', ''Titienses'', and ''Luceres'', for taxation and military purposes. Each tribe was presided over by an official known as a tribune, and was further divided into ten curia, or wards, each presided over by an official known as a ''curio''. Romulus also allotted a portion of land to each ward, for the benefit of the people. Nothing is known of the manner in which the tribes and curiae were taxed, but for the military levy, each curia was responsible for providing one hundred foot soldiers, a unit known as a ''century'', and ten cavalry. Each Romulean tribe thus provided about one thousand infantry, and one century of cavalry; the three hundred cavalry became known as the Celeres, "the swift", and formed the royal bodyguard. Choosing one hundred men from the leading families, Romulus established the Roman senate. These men he called ''patres'', the city fathers; their descendants came to be known as " patricians", forming one of the two major social classes at Rome. The other class, known as the "

plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both ...

" or "plebeians", consisted of the servants, freedmen, fugitives who sought asylum at Rome, those captured in war, and others who were granted Roman citizenship over time.Livy, i. 9. To encourage the growth of the city, Romulus outlawed infanticide, and established an asylum for fugitives on the Capitoline Hill. Here freemen and slaves alike could claim protection and seek Roman citizenship.

The Rape of the Sabine Women

The new city was filled with colonists, most of whom were young, unmarried men. While fugitives seeking asylum helped the population grow, single men greatly outnumbered women. With no intermarriage taking place between Rome and neighboring communities, the new city would eventually fail. Romulus sent envoys to neighboring towns, appealing to them to allow intermarriage with Roman citizens, but his overtures were rebuffed. Romulus formulated a plan to acquire women from other settlements. He announced a momentous festival and games, and invited the people of the neighboring cities to attend. Many did, in particular the

, who came in droves. At a prearranged signal, the Romans began to snatch and carry off the marriageable women among their guests. The aggrieved cities prepared for war with Rome, and might have defeated Romulus had they been fully united. But impatient with the preparations of the Sabines, the Latin towns of Caenina, Crustumerium, and Antemnae took action without their allies. Caenina was the first to attack; its army was swiftly put to flight, and the town taken. After personally defeating and slaying the prince of Caenina in single combat, Romulus stripped him of his armour, becoming the first to claim the spolia opima, and vowed a temple to Jupiter Feretrius. Antemnae and Crustumerium were conquered in turn. Some of their people, chiefly the families of the abducted women, were allowed to settle at Rome. Following the defeat of the Latin towns, the Sabines, under the leadership of Titus Tatius, marshalled their forces and advanced upon Rome. They gained control of the citadel by bribing Tarpeia, the daughter of the Roman commander charged with its defense. Without the advantage of the citadel, the Romans were obliged to meet the Sabines on the battlefield. The Sabines advanced from the citadel, and fierce fighting ensued. The nearby Lacus Curtius is said to be named after Mettius Curtius, a Sabine warrior who plunged his horse into its muck to stymie his Roman pursuers as he retreated. At a critical juncture in the fighting, the Romans began to waver in the face of the Sabine advance. Romulus vowed a temple to Jupiter Stator, to keep his line from breaking. The bloodshed finally ended when the Sabine women interposed themselves between the two armies, pleading on the one hand with their fathers and brothers, and on the other with their husbands, to set aside their arms and come to terms. The leaders of each side met and made peace. They formed one community, to be jointly ruled by Romulus and Tatius.

Subsequent events

The two kings presided over the growing city of Rome for a number of years, before Tatius was slain in a riot at Lavinium, where he had gone to make a sacrifice. Shortly before, a group of envoys from

Laurentum Laurentum was an ancient Roman city of Latium situated between Ostia and Lavinium, on the west coast of the Italian Peninsula southwest of Rome. Roman writers regarded it as the original capital of Italy, before Lavinium assumed that role afte ...

had complained of their treatment by Tatius' kinsmen, and he had decided the matter against the ambassadors. Romulus resisted calls to avenge the Sabine king's death, instead reaffirming the Roman alliance with Lavinium, and perhaps preventing his city from splintering along ethnic lines. In the years following the death of Tatius, Romulus is said to have conquered the city of Fidenae, which, alarmed by the rising power of Rome, had begun raiding Roman territory. The Romans lured the Fidenates into an ambush, and routed their army; as they retreated into their city, the Romans followed before the gates could be shut, and captured the town. The Etruscan city of Veii, nine miles up the Tiber from Rome, also raided Roman territory, foreshadowing that city's role as the chief rival to Roman power over the next three centuries. Romulus defeated Veii's army, but found the city too well defended to besiege, and instead ravaged the countryside.

Death and succession

After a reign of thirty-seven years, Livy, I. "Romulus reigned thirty-seven years." Plutarch, ''

Parallel Lives Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

''
''Romulus''
"Romulus is said to have been fifty-four years of age, and in the thirty-eighth year of his reign when he disappeared from among men." Romulus is said to have disappeared in a whirlwind during a sudden and violent storm, as he was reviewing his troops on the Campus Martius. Livy says that Romulus was either murdered by the senators, torn apart out of jealousy, or was raised to heaven by Mars, god of war. Livy believes the last theory regarding the legendary king's death, as it allows the Romans to believe that the gods are on their side, a reason for them to continue expansion under Romulus' name. Romulus acquired a cult following, which later became assimilated with the cult of Quirinus, perhaps originally the indigenous god of the Sabine population. As the Sabines had not had a king of their own since the death of Titus Tatius, the next king of Rome,

, was chosen from among the Sabines.

Primary sources

Livy,

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

, and Plutarch rely on Quintus Fabius Pictor as a source. Other significant sources include Ovid's '' Fasti'', and Virgil's '' Aeneid''. Greek historians had traditionally claimed that Rome was founded by Greeks, a claim dating back to the logographer Hellanicus of Lesbos of 5th-century BC, who named Aeneas as its founder. Roman historians connect Romulus to Aeneas by ancestry and mention a previous settlement on the

, sometimes attributing it to Evander and his Greek colonists. To the Romans, Rome was the institutions and traditions they credit to their legendary founder, the first "Roman". The legend as a whole encapsulates Rome's ideas of itself, its origins and moral values. For modern scholarship, it remains one of the most complex and problematic of all foundation myths. Ancient historians had no doubt that Romulus gave his name to the city. Most modern historians believe his name is a back-formation from the name of the city. Roman historians dated the city's foundation to between 758 and 728 BC, and Plutarch reports the calculation of Varro's friend Tarutius that 771 BC was the birth year of Romulus and his twin. The tradition that gave Romulus a distant ancestor in the semi-divine Trojan prince Aeneas was further embellished, and Romulus was made the direct ancestor of Rome's first Imperial dynasty. It is unclear whether or not the tale of Romulus or that of the twins are original elements of the foundation myth, or whether both or either were added.

Romulus-Quirinus

Ennius (fl. 180s BC) refers to Romulus as a divinity in his own right, without reference to Quirinus. Roman mythographers identified the latter as an originally Sabine war-deity, and thus to be identified with Roman Mars. Lucilius lists Quirinus and Romulus as separate deities, and Varro accords them different temples. Images of Quirinus showed him as a bearded warrior wielding a spear as a god of war, the embodiment of Roman strength and a deified likeness of the city of Rome. He had a Flamen Maior called the Flamen Quirinalis, who oversaw his worship and rituals in the ordainment of Roman religion attributed to Romulus's royal successor,

. There is however no evidence for the conflated Romulus-Quirinus before the 1st century BC. Ovid in '' Metamorphoses'' XIV
lines 805-828
gives a description of the deification of Romulus and his wife Hersilia, who are given the new names of Quirinus and Hora respectively. Mars, the father of Romulus, is given permission by Jupiter to bring his son up to Olympus to live with the Olympians. One theory regarding this tradition proposes the emergence of two mythical figures from an earlier, singular hero. While Romulus is a founding hero, Quirinus may have been a god of the harvest, and the

Fornacalia The Fornacalia was an Ancient Roman religious festival celebrated in honor of the goddess ''Fornax'', a divine personification of the oven (''fornax''), and was related to the proper baking of bread. History The Fornacalia may have been establishe ...

a festival celebrating a staple crop (

spelt Spelt (''Triticum spelta''), also known as dinkel wheat or hulled wheat, is a species of wheat that has been cultivated since approximately 5000 BC. Spelt was an important staple food in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times. No ...

). Through the traditional dates from the tales and the festivals, they are each associated with one another. A legend of the murder of such a founding hero, the burying of the hero's body in the fields (found in some accounts), and a festival associated with that hero, a god of the harvest, and a food staple is a pattern recognized by anthropologists. Called a "''dema'' archetype", this pattern suggests that in a prior tradition, the god and the hero were in fact the same figure and later evolved into two.

Historicity

Possible historical bases for the broad mythological narrative remain unclear and disputed. Modern scholarship approaches the various known stories of the myth as cumulative elaborations and later interpretations of Roman foundation myth. Particular versions and collations were presented by Roman historians as authoritative, an official history trimmed of contradictions and untidy variants to justify contemporary developments, genealogies and actions in relation to Roman morality. Other narratives appear to represent popular or folkloric tradition; some of these remain inscrutable in purpose and meaning.

T.P. Wiseman Timothy Peter Wiseman (born 3 February 1940), who usually publishes as T. P. Wiseman and is named as Peter Wiseman in other sources, is a classical scholar and professor emeritus of the University of Exeter. He has published numerous books ...

sums up the whole issue as the

mythography Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

of an unusually problematic foundation and early history... — A critical, chronological review of historiography related to Rome's origins. The unsavoury elements of many of the myths concerning Romulus have led some scholars to describe them as "shameful" or "disreputable".Cornell, Tim (1995),
The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC)
'. London: Routledge, . In antiquity such stories became part of anti-Roman and anti-pagan propaganda. More recently, the historian Hermann Strasburger postulated that these were never part of authentic Roman tradition, but were invented and popularized by Rome's enemies, probably in

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...

, during the latter part of the fourth century BC. This hypothesis is rejected by other scholars, such as Tim Cornell (1995), who notes that by this period, the story of Romulus and Remus had already assumed its standard form, and was widely accepted at Rome. Other elements of the Romulus mythos clearly resemble common elements of folk tale and legend, and thus strong evidence that the stories were both old and indigenous. Likewise, Momigliano finds Strasburger's argument well-developed, but entirely implausible; if the Romulus myths were an exercise in mockery, they were a signal failure.

Depictions in art

The episodes which make up the legend, most significantly that of the rape of the Sabine women, the tale of Tarpeia, and the death of Tatius have been a significant part of ancient Roman scholarship and the frequent subject of art, literature and philosophy since ancient times.

Palazzo Magnani

In the late 16th century, the wealthy

Magnani Magnani is an Italian-language occupational surname derived from the occupation of locksmith. The surname Magnani was first found in Bologna (Latin: Bononia), the largest city and the capital of Emilia-Romagna Region. The early record shows th ...

family from Bologna commissioned a series of artworks based on the Roman foundation myth. The artists contributing works included a sculpture of Hercules with the infant twins by Gabriele Fiorini, featuring the patron's own face. The most important works were an elaborate series of frescoes collectively known as ''Histories of the Foundation of Rome'' by the Brothers Carracci: Ludovico,

Annibale Annibale is the Italian masculine given name and surname equivalent to Hannibal. In English, it may refer to : Given name * Annibale Albani (1682–1751), Italian cardinal * Annibale I Bentivoglio, (died 1445), ruler of Bologna from 1443 * Annibal ...

, and Agostino. File:Romolo traccia con l'aratro il confine della città di Roma.png, Romulus marking the city's boundaries with a plough File:L'asilo per i profughi sul Campidoglio.png, The Asylum (Inter duos Lucos) File:Il ratto delle Sabine.png, The rape of the Sabine women File:Romolo dedica a Giove Feretrio le spoglie del re Acrone.jpg, Romulus dedicating the temple to Jupiter Feretrius File:Battaglia tra Romani e Sabini.png, The Battle of the Lacus Curtius File:Tito Tazio ucciso dai Laurenti.png, The death of Titus Tatius in Laurentium File:Carracci, Romolo appare a Proculo, Palazzo Magnani, Bologna.png, Romulus appearing to Proculus Julius File:La superbia di Romolo.jpg, The Pride of Romulus

The rape of the Sabine women

File:Sodoma 004.jpg, ''Ratto delle Sabine'' "The Rape of the Sabines", Il Sodoma (1507) File:L'Enlèvement des Sabines – Nicolas Poussin – Musée du Louvre, INV 7290 – Q3110586.jpg, ''L'Enlèvement des Sabines'' "The Abduction of the Sabines",

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...

(1638) File:RUBENS anversa osterriethuis the rape of the sabine woman 1634-36 56 x 87 cm.jpg, ''The Rape of the Sabine Women'', Peter Paul Rubens (1634–36) File:Rape of the Sabine Women (Loggia dei Lanzi) 2 2013 February.jpg, ''Ratto delle Sabine'' "Rape of the Sabines",

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

(1583) File:Jacopo Ligozzi Rape of the Sabine Women.JPG, ''Ratto delle Sabine'' "The Rape of the Sabines", Jacopo Ligozzi (c.1565-1627) File:Theodoor van Thulden (attr) Rape of the Sabine Women.jpg, ''L'Enlèvement des Sabines'' "The Abduction of the Sabines", ''Attributed to'' Theodoor van Thulden (17th c.) File:Rape of the Sabine Women by Sebastiano Ricci.jpg, "The Rape of the Sabine Women",

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice. About the same age as Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Tiepolo, he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminous Cortonesqu ...

(c. 1700) File:Johann Heinrich Schönfeld - Rape of the Sabine Women - WGA21057.jpg, ''Der Raub der Sabinerinnen'' "The Rape of the Sabine Women",

Johann Heinrich Schönfeld Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609–1684) was a German painter in the Baroque style. Biography He was the son of Johann Baptist Schönfeld (?-1635); a goldsmith. From birth, he was blind in his left eye and could only use his right hand for sim ...

(1640) File:Charles Christian Nahl 1870, The Rape Of The Sabines - The Abduction.jpg, ''The Rape Of The Sabines – The Abduction'', Charles Christian Nahl (1870) File:Charles Christian Nahl 1871, The Rape Of The Sabines - The Captivity.jpg, ''The Rape Of The Sabines – The Captivity'', Charles Christian Nahl (1871) File:Charles Christian Nahl 1871, The Rape Of The Sabines - The Invasion.jpg, ''The Rape Of The Sabines – The Invasion'', Charles Christian Nahl (1871)

Tarpeia

File:Sodoma Tarpeia.jpg, ''The Vestal Virgin Tarpeia Beaten by Tatius’ soldiers'' Il Sodoma (16th c.) File:Frieze Basilica Aemilia Massimo n3.jpg, Tarpeia's punishment, Pentelic marble fragment from the Frieze of the Basilica Aemilia (100 BC-100 AD File:Tarpeia's Punishment.png, Reconstruction of Basilica Aemilia Frieze marble fragment File:Pictura loquens; sive, Heroicarum tabularum Hadriani Schoonebeeck, enarratio et explicatio (1695) (14751427905).jpg, Tarpeia, Illustration fro
''Pictura loquens'' "the Heroic Accounts of Hadrian Schoonebeeck"
(1695) (14751427905) File:Tarpeia.gif, Tarpeia conspires with Tatius in an illustration fro
''The story of the Romans''
by

Hélène Adeline Guerber Hélène Adeline Guerber (1859–1929), also known as H.A. Guerber, was an American author of many books, most of which were lively retellings of myths, legends, folklore, plays, epic poetry, operas and history. She was also a teacher. Although se ...

(1896)

Hersilia

File:Romolo ed Ersilia, final scene, Act 3.jpg, Print from Romolo ed Ersilia, final scene, Act 3, Artist;:

Giovanni Battista Cipriani Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727 – 14 December 1785) was an Italian painter and engraver, who lived in England from 1755. He is also called Giuseppe Cipriani by some authors. Much of his work consisted of designs for prints, many of whic ...

, Engraver: Francesco Bartolozzi (1781) File:F0442 Louvre JL David Sabines INV3691 detail01 rwk.jpg, Hersilia from a detail of ''Les Sabines'' " The Intervention of the Sabine Women",

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

(1799) File:Guercino - Hersilia Separating Romulus and Tatius - WGA10944.jpg, ''Ersilia separa Romolo da Tazio'' "Hersilia Separating Romulus and Tatius, Guercino (1645)

Death of Tatius

The subject for the 1788 Prix de Rome was the death of Tatius (''La mort de Tatius''). Garnier won the contest. File:Garnier La mort de Tatius.JPG, Version by

Étienne-Barthélémy Garnier Étienne-Barthélémy Garnier. (24 August 1759 – 16 November 1849) was a French painter of historical subjects. Grandson of François Garnier, cabinet-maker, son of Pierre Garnier, cabinet-maker, born in Paris, he studied art under Joseph-Mari ...

, now in the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris. File:Girodet La mort de Tatius.jpg, Version by

Girodet Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (or ''de Roucy''), also known as Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson or simply Girodet (29 January 17679 December 1824),Long, George. (1851) ''The Supplement to the Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of ...

, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Angers. File:Jacques Réattu - La mort de Tatius.jpg, Version by Jacques Réattu, now in the Musée Réattu, Arles.

Death of Romulus

File:Rubens Apparizione di Romolo e Proculo Cardiff.png, "Apparition of Romulus before Proculus",

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

(17th c.)

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *Cook, John Granger (2018),
Empty Tomb, Apotheosis, Resurrection
', p. 263. *Hyden, Marc (2020),

', Pen and Sword History, ISBN 9781526783172.

Ancient Sources

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

, ''Roman Antiquities'' i & ii. * Livy, '' History of Rome'' i–v.

Additional reading

*Carandini, Andrea (2011). ''Rome: Day One.'' Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. . *Forsythe, Gary (2005). ''A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War.'' Berkeley: University of California Press. . {{Authority control 8th-century BC Romans 8th-century BC monarchs Kings of Rome Deified Roman people Founding monarchs Missing person cases in Italy People from Alba Longa People whose existence is disputed Romulus and Remus Fratricides Mythological city founders