Lady Victoria Eclectic Pagan's blog: "The Roaming Roman"

Just a little Q & A about what one thinks they know...

1. Who was the biological mother of Romulus and Remus?

Rhea Silvia

Rhea Silvia was the daughter of Numitor. Rhea was made a priestess by her uncle, Amulius, so she couldn't have children. However, the Roman god of war named Mars fell in love with her and Rhea gave birth to twin boys.

2. Why were Romulus and Remus thrown into the Tiber river as babies?

So their great-uncle would think they were dead

The twins' great-uncle Amulius didn't want to be overthrown so he sent one of his soldiers to slaughter the boys. The soldier couldn't, so he put them into a homemade cradle and set them afloat on the river Tiber. Amilius thought that the boys were dead.

3. What kind of animal found Romulus and Remus on the bank of the Tiber river?

Wolf

A female wolf found on the boys on the bank of the Tiber river and instead of killing them for food the wolf took them back to her pack and fed them as she did her other cubs. A woodpecker also helped feed the boys.

4. Romulus and Remus were found and named by a man named Faustulus who worked for the king. What the occupation of Faustulus?

Shepherd

Faustulus found the boys with the female wolf and took them home to live with him and his wife, Acca Larentia. Faustulus and his wife named the boys Romulus and Remus.

5. When they were teenagers, one was captured by their grandfather's men. Which one?

Remus

Remus was captured by Numitor's men after he was caught sacrificing some of the king's sheep. Numitor's men took Remus to Numitor to be punished. After questioning Remus, Numitor realized it was the grandson he thought had been killed. When Romulus went after his brother, the twin boys great-uncle Amalius, the man who had sent them be killed, was murdered in the war. The kingdom was given back to their grandfather, Numitor.

6. To decide where a new city would be built, of what bird did Romulus and Remus bet each other they could count more?

Eagle or vultures

After defeating their great-uncle and giving the land back to their grandfather, Romulus and Remus set off to build their own city. When they couldn't decide where the city should be built, they bet each that they could count more eagles than the other. Romulus won the bet by spotting twelve eagles, while Remus spotted six.

7. Romulus and Remus ended up building their own cities.

True

Romulus decided to build at the spot where the female wolf found them when they were babies, but Remus wanted to build it on the Aventine Hill. Since neither could agree, they both decided to build their own cities.

8. For what reason did Romulus kill his twin brother, Remus?

Remus jumped over the trench at Romulus' new city

While building their individual cities, Remus jumped over the trench that was protecting Romulus' city to prove that an enemy could get to his brother's city. In his anger, Romulus took an axe and killed his brother. The city that Remus had built became Romulus' city.

9. What name did Romulus give his city?

Rome

Romulus named the city he had built after himself. The people that came to the city were mainly thieves. Romulus brought women over from another city so they could marry the male citizens. He then divided the citizens into groups and gave them each land on the seven hills that were in his new city named Rome.

10. When Romulus had been carried away into the sky, what was the name of the god he became?

Quirinus

One day out of nowhere Romulus was seen ascending into the sky. The people of Rome built a temple in the place where he was standing when he ascended and named the place Quirinal Hill after their new god.