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{{short description|Twin brothers and central characters of Rome's foundation myth}}
{{about|the tale of the mythical twins||Romulus (disambiguation)|and|Remus (disambiguation)|and|Romulus and Remus (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}

[[File:Lupa Capitolina, Rome.jpg|thumb|''[[Capitoline Wolf|La Lupa Capitolina]]'' ("the Capitoline Wolf"). Traditional scholarship says the wolf-figure is Etruscan, 5th century BC. The figures of Romulus and Remus were added in the 15th century AD by [[Antonio del Pollaiuolo]]. Some modern research suggests that the she-wolf may be a [[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] sculpture dating from the 13th century AD.<ref>Adriano La Regina, [http://roma.repubblica.it/dettaglio/articolo/1485581 "La lupa del Campidoglio è medievale la prova è nel test al carbonio"]. ''La Repubblica''. 9 July 2008</ref>]] [[File:Altar Mars Venus Massimo.jpg|thumb|350px|Altar to [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] (divine father of Romulus and Remus) and [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] (their divine ancestress) depicting elements of their legend. The god Tiberinus ("Father Tiber") and the infant twins being suckled by a [[Capitoline Wolf|she-wolf]] in the [[Lupercal]] are below. A vulture from the contest of augury and Palatine Hill are to the left. (From [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]], now at the [[National Museum of Rome#Palazzo Massimo alle Terme|Palazzo Massimo alle Terme]])]]
[[File:Mignard - The Shepherd Faustulus Bringing Romulus and Remus to His Wife.jpg|thumb|350px|''The Shepherd Faustulus Bringing Romulus and Remus to His Wife'', [[Nicolas Mignard]] (1654)]]

In [[Roman mythology]], '''[[Romulus]]''' and '''Remus''' ({{IPA|la|ˈroːmʊlʊs|lang}}, {{IPA|la|ˈrɛmʊs|}}) are [[twins in mythology|twin brothers]] whose story tells of the events that led to the [[Founding of Rome|founding]] of the [[History of Rome|city of Rome]] and the [[Roman Kingdom]] by Romulus, following his [[fratricide]] of Remus. The image of a [[She-wolf (Roman mythology)|she-wolf]] suckling the twins in their infancy has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the [[Ancient Rome|ancient Romans]] since at least the 3rd century BC. Although the tale takes place before the founding of Rome in 753 BC, the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC. Possible historical bases for the story, and interpretations of its local variants, are subjects of ongoing debate.

==Overview==
Romulus and Remus were born in [[Alba Longa]], one of the many ancient Latin cities near the [[seven hills of Rome]]. Their mother [[Rhea Silvia]], also known as Ilia,<ref>{{Cite web | first1=Dio | last1=Cassius | year=1914| title=Dio's Roman History | url=https://archive.org/details/diosromanhistory08cassuoft/diosromanhistory08cassuoft/ | last2=Earnest | first2=Cary | last3=Foster | first3=Herbert Baldwin | location=Cambridge, MA | publisher=Harvard University Press| page=13}}</ref> was a [[Vestal Virgin]] and the daughter of former king [[Numitor]], who had been displaced by his brother [[Amulius]]. In some sources, Rhea Silvia conceived them when the god [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] visited her in a sacred grove dedicated to him.<ref>Other sources express doubt as to the divine nature of their parentage. One claims that the boys were fathered by Amulius himself, who raped his niece while wearing his armor to conceal his identity.</ref>

Seeing them as a possible threat to his rule, King Amulius ordered them to be killed and they were abandoned on the bank of the river [[Tiber]] to die. They were saved by the god [[Tiberinus (god)|Tiberinus]], Father of the River, and survived with the care of others at the site of future Rome. In the best-known episode, the twins were suckled by a she-wolf in a cave now known as the [[Lupercal]].<ref>For other depictions, see Livy and Dionysius</ref> Eventually, they were adopted by [[Faustulus]], a shepherd. They grew up tending flocks, unaware of their true identities. Over time, they became natural leaders and attracted a company of supporters from the community.
[[File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Maison de la Louve - 05.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|<div style="text-align:center">Romulus and Remus on the House of the She-wolf at the [[Grand-Place]] of [[Brussels]]</div>]]

When they were young adults, they became involved in a dispute between supporters of Numitor and Amulius. As a result, Remus was taken prisoner and brought to Alba Longa. Both his grandfather and the king suspected his true identity. Romulus, meanwhile, had organized an effort to free his brother and set out with help for the city. During this time, they learned of their past and joined forces with their grandfather to restore him to the throne. Amulius was killed and Numitor was reinstated as king of Alba. The twins set out to build a city of their own.

After arriving back in the area of the seven hills, they disagreed about the hill upon which to build. Romulus preferred the [[Palatine Hill]], above the Lupercal; Remus preferred the [[Aventine Hill]]. When they could not resolve the dispute, they agreed to seek the gods' approval through a contest of [[augury]]. Remus saw 6 auspicious birds, but Romulus saw 12 and claimed to have won divine approval. They disputed the result; Remus insulted Romulus' new city and was killed, either by Romulus or by one of his supporters.<ref>Dionysius lays out several of the different accounts of his death, along with his murder by Romulus.</ref> Romulus then went on to found the city of Rome, its institutions, government, military, and religious traditions. He reigned for many years as its first king.

==Primary sources==
The origins of the different elements in Rome's foundation myth are a subject of ongoing debate. They may have come from the Romans' own [[Italic peoples|Italic]] origins, or from [[Greco-Roman relations in classical antiquity|Hellenic influences]] that were included later. Definitively identifying those original elements has so far eluded [[Classics|classicists]].<ref>Tennant, p. 81</ref> Roman historians dated the founding of Rome around 753 BC, but the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC.<ref name="DoH I-72">Dionysius, vol. 1 p. 72</ref> There is an ongoing debate about how and when the "complete" fable came together.<ref name="Tennant">Tennant</ref>

Some elements are attested earlier than others, and the storyline and the tone were variously influenced by the circumstances and tastes of the different sources as well as by contemporary Roman politics and concepts of propriety.<ref>Wiseman, ''Remus''</ref> Whether the twins' myth was an original part of Roman myth or a later development is the subject of an ongoing debate.<ref name="Tennant"/> Sources often contradict one another. They include the histories of Livy, Plutarch, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Tacitus as well as the work of Virgil and Ovid.<ref name="DoH I-72"/><ref name="DoH II-76">Dionysius, vol. II p. 76</ref><ref name="Plutarch">Plutarch, ''Lives''</ref>
[[Quintus Fabius Pictor]]'s work became authoritative to the early books of Livy's ''[[History of Rome (Livy)|History of Rome]]'', [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]'s ''Roman Antiquities'', and [[Plutarch]]'s ''Life of Romulus''.<ref name="Albrecht1997">{{cite book|last=von Albrecht|first=Michael|title=A History of Roman Literature: From Livius Andronicus to Boethius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DrYatgm2MWoC|access-date=20 November 2016|volume=I|year=1997|publisher=BRILL|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-10709-0|page=374}}</ref>

These three works have been among the most widely read versions of the myth. In all three works, the tales of the lupercal and the fratricide are overshadowed by that of the twins' lineage and connections to Aeneas and the deposing of Amulius. The latter receives the most attention in the accounts. Plutarch dedicates nearly half of his account to the overthrow of their uncle.

===''Roman Antiquities'' (Dionysius)===
{{Main|Dionysius of Halicarnassus}}
Dionysius cites, among others, the histories of [[Quintus Fabius Pictor|Pictor]], [[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (consul 133 BC)|Lucius Calpurnius Piso]], [[Cato the Elder]], [[Lucius Cincius Alimentus]].

The first book of Dionysius' twenty-volume history of Rome does not mention Remus until chapter 71. After spending another 8 chapters discussing the background of their birth in Alba, he dedicates a total of 9 chapters to the tale (79–87). Most of that is spent discussing the conflict with Amulius.

He goes on to discuss the various accounts of the city's founding by others, and the lineage and parentage of the twins for another 8 chapters until arriving at the tale of their abandonment by the Tiber River. He spends the better part of the chapter 79 discussing the survival in the wild. Then the end of chapters 79 through 84 focuses on the account of their struggle with Amulius. Chapter 84 is an alternate, non-fantastical account of their survival; the augury and fratricide are discussed in chapters 85 to 88.

===''Ab Urbe Condita'' (Livy)===
{{Main|Ab Urbe Condita Libri}}
[[File:Details of Romulus and Remus on the allegory of Tiber.jpg|thumb|Detail of Romulus and Remus on the allegory of Tiber]]
Livy discusses the myth in chapters 4, 5, and 6 of his work's first book. p.&nbsp;7 parentage 4 p.&nbsp;8 survival. p.&nbsp;8 the youth. 5 9–10 the struggle with Amulius. 6 p.&nbsp;11 (the beginning only) the augury and fratricide.

===Life of Romulus (Plutarch)===
{{Main|Parallel Lives}}
Plutarch relates the legend in chapters 2–10 of ''the Life of Romulus''. He dedicates the most attention, nearly half the entire account, to conflict with Amulius.

===''Fasti'' (Ovid)===
''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', the epic Latin poem by [[Ovid]] from the early 1st century AD, contains a complete account of the twins' tale. Notably, it relates a tale wherein the ghost of Remus appears to Faustulus and his wife, whom the poet calls "Acca". In the story, Remus appears to them while in bed and expresses his anger at Celer for killing him and his own,{{clarify|date=August 2018}} as well as Romulus' unquestioned fraternal love.

===''Roman History'' (Dio)===
''Roman History'' by [[Cassius Dio]] survives in fragments from various commentaries. They contain a more-or-less complete account. In them, he mentions an oracle that had predicted Amulius' death by a son of Numitor as the reason the Alban king expelled the boys. There is also a mention of "another Romulus and Remus" and another Rome having been founded long before on the same site.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dio Cassius|access-date=24 November 2016|chapter=|title=Roman History I p.12-18|url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/dio_cassius-roman_history/1914/pb_LCL032.13.xml?rskey=eUjGRa&result=1&mainRsKey=Aro2od|doi=10.4159/DLCL.dio_cassius-roman_history.1914|year=1914|isbn=9780674990364}} {{Subscription required|via=[[Loeb Classical Library|digital Loeb Classical Library]]}}</ref>

===''Origo Gentis Romanae'' (unknown)===
This work contains a variety of versions of the story. In one, there is a reference to a [[woodpecker]] bringing the boys food during the time they were abandoned in the wild. In one account of the conflict with Amulius, the capture of Remus is not mentioned. Instead, Romulus, upon being told of his true identity and the crimes suffered by him and his family at the hands of the Alban king, simply decided to avenge them. He took his supporters directly to the city and killed Amulius, afterwards restoring his grandfather to the throne.<ref>''Origo Gentis Romanae'' XXI</ref>{{fcn|date=June 2025}}

===Fragments and other sources===
[[File:Franks Casket the left panel.jpg|thumb|320px|Panel of the 8th-century [[Anglo-Saxon art|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Franks Casket]]]]
*''Annals'' by [[Ennius]] is lost, but fragments remain in later histories.
*''Roman History'' by [[Appian]], in Book I "Concerning the Kings", is a fragment containing an account of the twins' parentage and origins.
*''[[The City of God]]'' by [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] claims, in passing, that Remus was alive after the city's founding. Both he and Romulus established the Roman Asylum after the traditional accounts claimed that he had died.<ref>{{cite book|author=Saint Augustine|access-date=24 November 2016|title=The City of God Against the Pagans|volume=1|page=137|url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/augustine-city_god_pagans/1957/pb_LCL411.137.xml?mainRsKey=Aro2od&result=1&rskey=bxRC3b|doi=10.4159/DLCL.augustine-city_god_pagans.1957|year=1957|isbn=9780674994522}} {{Subscription required|via=[[Loeb Classical Library|digital Loeb Classical Library]]}}</ref>
*''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' by [[Diodorus Siculus]], is a [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]], which survives mostly intact in fragments and has a complete recounting of the twins' origins, their youth in the shepherd community, and the contest of the augury and fratricide. In this version, Remus sees no birds at all and he is later killed by Celer, Romulus' worker.
*''[[Origines]]'' by [[Cato the Elder]], fragments of which survive in the work of later historians, is cited by Dionysius.
*Roman poet [[Juvenal]] calls them ''geminos Quirinos'', an allusion to [[Quirinus]].<ref>Leeming, David.''From Olympus to Camelot: The World of European Mythology''. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2003. pp. 64–65.</ref>

===Lost sources===
*[[Quintus Fabius Pictor]] wrote in the 3rd century BC. His ''History'', written in Greek, is the earliest-known history of Rome. He is cited by all three canonical works.
*[[Diocles of Peparethus]] wrote a history of Rome that is cited by Plutarch.
*[[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (consul 133 BC)|Lucius Calpurnius Piso]] wrote a history cited by Dionysius.
*[[Quintus Aelius Tubero (jurist)|Quintus Aelius Tubero]] wrote a history cited by Dionysius.
*Marcus Octavius (otherwise unknown) wrote an account cited in the ''Origo Gentis''.
*[[Licinius Macer]] (died 66 BC) wrote an account cited in the ''Origo Gentis''.
*Vennonius wrote an account cited in the ''Origo Gentis''.
*[[Juba II]] wrote a history cited by Plutarch<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roller |first1=Duane |title=The world of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene : royal scholarship on Rome's African frontier |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0415305969 |pages=171}}</ref>

==Modern scholarship==
[[File:Cr 20-1-Reverse.jpg|thumb|Romulus and Remus. Silver [[drachm|didrachm]] (6.44 g), {{circa|269}}–266 BC]]
[[File:Bracteate she-wolf NMAT KP208-243 (cropped).jpg|thumb|She-wolf suckling two infants ("Romulus and Remus"), with pseudo-Roman characters. [[Panjakent|Penjikent]], 5th century AD, [[National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan]] (KP 208–243).<ref>{{cite book |title=Tadjikistan : au pays des fleuves d'or |date=2021 |publisher=Musée Guimet, Snoek |location=Paris, Gand |page=133 |isbn=<!--978-94-6161-627-2-->978-9461616272}}</ref> Motif [[:File:Bunjikat_Remus_and_Romulus.jpg|also known further east]], from [[Principality of Ushrusana|Ushrusana]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laet |first1=Sigfried J. de |title=History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century |date=1 January 1994 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-102813-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&pg=PA947 |language=en}}</ref>]]
Modern scholarship approaches the various known stories of Romulus and Remus as cumulative elaborations and later interpretations of Roman [[origin myth]]. Particular versions and collations were presented by Roman historians as an authoritative, official history trimmed of contradictions and untidy variants, to justify contemporary developments, genealogies and actions in relation to [[Mos maiorum|Roman morality]]. Other narratives appear to represent popular or folkloric tradition; some of these remain inscrutable in purpose and meaning. Wiseman sums the whole as the [[mythography]] of an unusually problematic foundation and early history.<ref>Wiseman ''Remus''.</ref><ref>{{cite book | first = Arnoldo | last = Momigliano | contribution = An interim report on the origins of Rome | title = Terzo contributo alla storia degli studi classici e del mondo antico | volume = 1 | publisher = Edizioni di storia e letteratura | place = Rome | year = 2007 | pages = 545–98 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tq53aX69lv0C&q=Diocles+of+peparethus&pg=PA550| isbn = 9788884983633 }}. A critical, chronological review of historiography related to Rome's origins.</ref>

The three canonical accounts of Livy, Dionysius, and Plutarch provide the broad literary basis for studies of Rome's founding mythography. They have much in common, but each is selective to its purpose. Livy's is a dignified handbook, justifying the purpose and morality of Roman traditions of his own day. Dionysius and Plutarch approach the same subjects as interested outsiders, and include founder-traditions not mentioned by Livy, untraceable to a common source and probably specific to particular regions, social classes or oral traditions.<ref>{{cite book | first = Arnoldo | last = Momigliano | title = The classical foundations of modern historiography | publisher = University Presses of California, Columbia and Princeton | year = 1990 | page = 101 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Djv5ttMz-HYC&q=Diocles+of+peparethus&pg=PA101| isbn = 9780520078703 }}. Modern historiographic perspectives on this source material.</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Dillery | editor-first = Andrew | editor-last = Feldherr | title = The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Historians | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2009 | pages = 78–81 ff | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7AYWt9bQe9UC&q=Diocles+of+peparethus&pg=PT97| isbn = 9781139827690 }}.</ref> A Roman text of the late Imperial era, ''[[Origo gentis Romanae]]'' (The origin of the Roman people), is dedicated to the many "more or less bizarre", often contradictory variants of Rome's foundation myth, including versions in which Remus founds a city named Remuria, five miles from Rome, and outlives his brother Romulus.<ref>Cornell, pp. 57–8.</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Origo Gentis Romanae | last = Banchich | others = trans. by Haniszewski, et al. | publisher = Cansius College | year = 2004 | url = http://www.roman-emperors.org/origogentis.pdf }}. Translation and commentaries.</ref>

Roman historians and Roman traditions traced most Roman institutions to Romulus. He was credited with founding Rome's armies, its system of rights and laws, its state religion and government, and the system of [[Patronage in ancient Rome|patronage]] that underpinned all social, political and military activity.<ref>Rodriguez Mayorgas p.93</ref> In reality, such developments would have been spread over a considerable span of time. Some were much older and others much more recent. To most Romans, the evidence for the veracity of the legend and its central characters seemed clear and concrete, an essential part of Rome's sacred topography. One could visit the [[Lupercal]], where the twins were suckled by the she-wolf, or offer worship to the deified Romulus-Quirinus at the "''[[Casa Romuli|shepherd's hut]]''", or see it acted out on stage, or simply read the ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]''.

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, particularly in the manner of Remus's death. Ancient historians had no doubt that Romulus gave his name to the city. Most modern historians believe his name a [[back-formation]] from the name Rome; the basis for Remus's name and role remain subjects of ancient and modern speculation. The myth was fully developed into something like an "official", chronological version in the Late Republican and early Imperial era; Roman historians dated the city's foundation to between 758 and 728 BC, and [[Plutarch]] reckoned the twins' birth year as 771 BC. A tradition that gave Romulus a distant ancestor in the semi-divine [[Troy|Trojan]] prince [[Aeneas]] was further embellished, and Romulus was made the direct ancestor of [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Rome's first Imperial dynasty]]. Possible historical bases for the broad mythological narrative remain unclear and disputed.<ref>The archaeologist [[Andrea Carandini]] is one of very few modern scholars who accept Romulus and Remus as historical figures, based on the 1988 discovery of an ancient wall on the north slope of the Palatine Hill in Rome. Carandini dates the structure to the mid-8th century BC and names it the ''[[Murus Romuli]]''. See Carandini, ''La nascita di Roma. Dèi, lari, eroi e uomini all'alba di una civiltà'' (Torino: Einaudi, 1997) and Carandini. ''Remo e Romolo. Dai rioni dei Quiriti alla città dei Romani (775/750 – 700/675 a. C. circa)'' (Torino: Einaudi, 2006)</ref> The image of the she-wolf suckling the divinely fathered twins became an iconic representation of the city and its founding legend, making Romulus and Remus pre-eminent among the [[List of fictional feral children|feral children of ancient mythography]].

===Historicity===
[[File:Maria Saal Dom Grabrelief Romulus und Remus 27122013 774.jpg|thumb|left|287x287px|A Roman relief from the [[Maria Saal#Cathedral|Cathedral of Maria Saal]] showing Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf]]
Current scholarship offers little evidence to support any particular version of the Roman foundation myth, including a historical Romulus or Remus.<ref>Rodriguez Mayorgas p.91</ref> Starting with Fabius Pictor, the written accounts must have reflected the commonly held history of the city to some degree.<ref>Rodriguez Mayorgas p.90</ref> The archaeologist [[Andrea Carandini]] is one of very few modern scholars who accept Romulus and Remus as historical figures, and dates an ancient wall on the north slope of the Palatine Hill to the mid-8th century BC and names it the ''[[Murus Romuli]]''.<ref>See Carandini, ''La nascita di Roma. Dèi, lari, eroi e uomini all'alba di una civiltà'' (Torino: Einaudi, 1997) and Carandini. ''Remo e Romolo. Dai rioni dei Quiriti alla città dei Romani (775/750 – 700/675 a. C. circa)'' (Torino: Einaudi, 2006)</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiseman |first1=T. P. |author1-link= T. P. Wiseman |title=Reading Carandini |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |date=2001 |volume=91 |pages=182–193 |doi=10.2307/3184776 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3184776 |access-date= |issn=0075-4358|jstor= 3184776 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Iconography==
Ancient pictures of the Roman twins usually follow certain [[Iconography|symbolic]] traditions, depending on the legend they follow: they either show a shepherd, the she-wolf, the twins under a fig tree, and one or two birds ([[Livy]], [[Plutarch]]); or they depict two shepherds, the she-wolf, the twins in a cave, seldom a fig tree, and never any birds ([[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]).

The twins and the she-wolf were featured on what might be the earliest silver coins minted in Rome.<ref>Crawford, p. 31</ref>

The [[Franks Casket]], an Anglo-Saxon ivory box (early 7th century AD), shows Romulus and Remus in an unusual setting, two wolves instead of one, a grove instead of one tree or a cave, four kneeling warriors instead of one or two gesticulating shepherds. According to one interpretation, and as the [[Anglo-Saxon runes|runic]] inscription ("far from home") indicates, the twins are cited here as the ''Dioscuri'', helpers at voyages such as [[Castor and Pollux|Castor and Polydeuces]]. Their descent from the Roman god of war predestines them as helpers on the way to war. The carver transferred them into the Germanic holy grove and has [[Odin]]'s second wolf join them. Thus the picture served—along with five other ones—to influence "[[wyrd]]", the fortune and fate of a warrior king.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://deposit.d-nb.de/ep/netpub/84/95/68/987689584/_data_stat/english/left02.html |title=Romulus and Remus |website=Franks Casket |access-date=20 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308052737/http://deposit.d-nb.de/ep/netpub/84/95/68/987689584/_data_stat/english/left02.html |archive-date=8 March 2013 }}; see also "The Travelling Twins: Romulus and Remus in Anglo-Saxon England"</ref>

==In popular culture==
* ''[[Duel of the Titans]]'', ({{Langx|it|Romolo e Remo}}), a 1961 film starring [[Steve Reeves]] and [[Gordon Scott]] as the two brothers.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DaugBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 |title=Imagining Ancient Cities in Film: From Babylon to Cinecittà |first1=Marta |last1=Garcia Morcillo |first2=Pauline |last2=Hanesworth |first3=Óscar |last3=Lapeña Marchena |publisher=[[Routledge]] |date=11 February 2015 |page=169 |isbn=9781135013172}}</ref>
*''[[The First King: Birth of an Empire]]'' (''Il Primo Re''), a 2019 Italian historical film by [[Matteo Rovere]] depicting the foundation of Rome. The film's script features a reconstructed [[Old Latin]] language.
* ''[[Romulus (TV series)|Romulus]]'', a 2020 Italian TV series by Matteo Rovere about the founding of Rome. It also features a reconstructed Old Latin language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10405220/|title = Romulus (TV Series 2020– ) – IMDb|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref>

==Depictions in art==
{{further|Capitoline Wolf statues in cities}}

<gallery mode="packed" caption="''« Les Sabines » by [[Jacques-Louis David]] ([[musée du Louvre]])''" heights="200">
The Intervention of the Sabine Women - David (Louvre INV 3691).jpg
F0440 Louvre JL David Sabines INV3691 detail02 rwk.jpg|{{center|Romulus}}
</gallery>

[[File:Origini di roma in narrazione continua, da pompei V 4, 13, s.n..JPG|thumb|A fresco from [[Pompeii]] depicting the foundation of Rome. [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]] riding in his chariot; [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] descending from the sky to [[Rhea Silvia]] lying in the grass; [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] shows to [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] the she-wolf suckling the twins; in the lower corners of the picture: river-god [[Tiberinus (god)|Tiberinus]] and water-goddess [[Juturna]]. 35–45 AD]]
The myth has been an inspiration to artists throughout the ages. Particular focus has been paid to the rape of Ilia by Mars and the suckling of the twins by the she-wolf.

===Palazzo Magnani===
[[File:Carracci, Remo ladri armenti, Palazzo Magnani, Bologna.png|thumb|''Remus and the Cattle Thieves'' (attributed to one or more of the Carraccis)]]
In the late 16th century, the wealthy [[Magnani]] 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 Carracci|Ludovico]], [[Annibale Carracci|Annibale]], and [[Agostino Carracci]].

===Fresco of Palazzo Trinci===
[[File:Loggia di romolo e remo 04 nascita di romolo e remo.JPG|thumb|The birth of Romulus and Remus]]
The ''Loggia di Romolo e Remo'' is an unfinished, 15th-century [[fresco]] by [[Gentile da Fabriano]] depicting episodes from the legend in the [[Palazzo Trinci]].

==See also==
* [[Asena]], a similar legend concerning the origin of the [[Turkic peoples|Turks]]
* [[Castor and Pollux]]
* [[The Golden Bough (mythology)|The Golden Bough]], a tale concerning Aeneas and Rome
* [[Greco-Roman world]]
* [[Hengist and Horsa]], legendary brothers from the tale of the 5th-century AD [[Jutes|Jutish]] invasion of Britain.
* [[Lares]]
* [[*Manu and *Yemo|Manu and Yemo]], a [[Proto-Indo-European mythology|Proto-Indo-European]] story believed to be the origin of this myth
*[[Romulus of Fiesole]], a 1st-century saint who was also abandoned in the wild and nursed by a she-wolf.
*[[Senius and Aschius]], the legendary twin founders of [[Siena]]
*[[Cain and Abel]], first sons of [[Adam and Eve]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==

===Primary sources===
*{{cite book|author=Dionysius of Halicarnassus|access-date=19 November 2016|title=Roman Antiquities|url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/dionysius_halicarnassus-roman_antiquities/1937/pb_LCL319.3.xml?mainRsKey=RapDr1&result=1&rskey=kwodaD|doi=10.4159/DLCL.dionysius_halicarnassus-roman_antiquities.1937|year=1937|isbn=9780674993525}} {{Subscription required|via=[[Loeb Classical Library|digital Loeb Classical Library]]}}
*{{cite book |author=Livy|access-date=7 November 2016|title=History of Rome 1|url=http://www.loebclassics.com/view/livy-history_rome_1/1919/pb_LCL114.59.xml?result=1&rskey=YrZTGC|doi=10.4159/DLCL.livy-history_rome_1.1919|year=1919|isbn=9780674991262}} {{Subscription required|via=[[Loeb Classical Library|digital Loeb Classical Library]]}}
*{{cite book |author= Plutarch | title = The Parallel Lives | chapter = The life of Romulus | publisher = Loeb | editor = Thayer | chapter-url = https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/plutarch/lives/romulus*.html | place = Chicago}}.
*{{cite book |author=Ovid|editor1-first=G. P|editor1-last=Goold|access-date=25 November 2016|title=Fasti |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/ovid-fasti/1931/pb_LCL253.295.xml?rskey=idh5gf&result=6&mainRsKey=oKhCH5|doi=10.4159/DLCL.ovid-fasti.1931|year=1931 |isbn= 9780674992795}} {{Subscription required|via=[[Loeb Classical Library|digital Loeb Classical Library]]}}

===Secondary sources===
*{{cite book|last=Crawford|first=Michael Hewson|title=Coinage and Money Under the Roman Republic: Italy and the Mediterranean Economy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=84_G_8q6WQcC|access-date=30 November 2016|year=1985|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-05506-3}}
*{{cite journal|last=Rodríguez Mayorgas|first=Ana|title=Romulus, Aeneas and the Cultural Memory of the Roman Republic|journal=Athenaeum|volume=98|issue=1|date=2010|pages=89–109|access-date=14 December 2016|url=http://eprints.sim.ucm.es/24264/1/RodriguezMayorgas.pdf}}
*{{cite journal|last=Tennant|first=PMW |date=1988|title=The Lupercalia and the Romulus and Remus Legend|url=http://www.casa-kvsa.org.za/1988/AC31-08-Tennant.pdf |journal=Acta Classical|volume=XXXI |pages=81–93 |issn=0065-1141 |access-date=19 November 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510133423/http://www.casa-kvsa.org.za/1988/AC31-08-Tennant.pdf |url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book |last=Wiseman|first=Timothy Peter |author1-link=T.P. Wiseman|title=Remus: A Roman Myth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7LPNHRUlWacC|access-date=30 November 2016|date=25 August 1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York, NY, USA|isbn=978-0-521-48366-7}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Albertoni |first1=Margherita |display-authors=etal |title=The Capitoline Museums: Guide |date=2006 |publisher=Electa |location=Milan}}. For information on the Capitoline She-Wolf.
* {{cite book |last1=Beard |first1=Mary |last2=North |first2=John A. |last3=Price |first3=S. R. F. |author1-link=Mary Beard (classicist) |title=Religions of Rome |date=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=0-521-31682-0 |edition=illustrated, reprint|volume= 1 }}
* {{cite book|last=Cornell|first=T.|title=The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=01g78OVXuQ8C|date=1995|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-75495-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Mazzoni|first=Cristina|title=She-Wolf: The Story of a Roman Icon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4cq1XH0L3GUC|access-date=2 December 2016|date=29 March 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-19456-3}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Tomažinčič |first1=Špela |title=Remo Cum Fratre Quirinus: Metamorphoses of the Roman Foundation Myth from Its Beginnings to Horace |journal=Keria: Studia Latina et Graeca |date=26 July 2008 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=7–31 |doi=10.4312/keria.10.1.7-31 |url=https://journals.uni-lj.si/keria/article/view/3819 |access-date= |publisher=University of Ljubljana Press |language=sl |issn=2350-4234|doi-access=free }}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* Plutarch, ''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Romulus*.html the Life of Romulus]''
* Romulus and Remus (Romwalus and Reumwalus) and two wolves on the Franks Casket: [https://www.franks-casket.de/english/left00.html Franks Casket, Helpers on the way to war]
*[https://rdc.reed.edu/c/arapacis/s Romulous and Remus on the Ara Pacis Augustae]

{{Kings of Rome}}
{{Plutarch}}
{{Roman religion}}
{{Roman myth (mortal)}}
{{Ancient Rome topics}}
{{Authority control|additional=Q1242632}}

[[Category:Romulus and Remus| ]]
[[Category:Origin myths]]
[[Category:8th-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:People from Alba Longa]]
[[Category:European people whose existence is disputed]]
[[Category:She-wolf (Roman mythology)]]
[[Category:Divine twins]]
[[Category:Groups of ancient Romans]]
[[Category:Mythological Italian people]]