Founding of Rome

Lore & Background

Roman myth held that the city was founded by Romulus, son of the war god Mars and the Vestal virgin Rhea Silvia, a fallen princess of Alba Longa and descendant of Aeneas of Troy. Exposed on the Tiber river, Romulus and his twin Remus were suckled by a she-wolf at the Lupercal before being raised by the shepherd Faustulus. They later took revenge on their usurping great-uncle Amulius and restored Alba Longa to their grandfather Numitor. The brothers then decided to establish a new town but quarrelled over details, ending with Remus's murder and the establishment of Rome on the Palatine Hill.

Reader's Guide

The founding of Rome, whether legendary or historical, served as a central cultural touchstone for the Roman state. The Parilia Festival on 21 April was considered to commemorate the anniversary of the city's founding during the late Republic, and that aspect of the holiday grew in importance under the Empire until it was fully transformed into the Romaea in AD 121. The year of the supposed founding was variously computed by ancient historians, but the Varronian chronology's 753 BC date continues to form the basis for most modern calculations of the AUC calendar era, despite known errors in Varro's calculations. Archaeological evidence shows that Rome developed over a long period from the gradual union of hilltop settlements, with the combination into a single polity by the later 8th century BC probably influenced by the trend for city-state formation emerging from ancient Greece. Most modern historians dismiss the ancient accounts of a single founder descended from a Trojan lineage as fiction.

Did You Know?

• Archaeological evidence indicates Rome developed from the gradual union of several hilltop villages during the Final Bronze Age or early Iron Age.
• The Parilia Festival on 21 April was considered to commemorate the anniversary of the city's founding during the late Republic.
• The year 753 BC (Varronian chronology) continues to form the basis for most modern calculations of the AUC calendar era.
• The first evidence of a wall on the Palatine dates between 730 and 720 BC.