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65-710: Julius Sacrovir was a member of the gens Julia . Alongside Julius Florus, a leader of the Treveri , he led the Aedui tribe in Gaul in a revolt against the Romans . After being defeated in battle Sacrovir fled to, and was killed in Augustodunum . Sacrovir, Florus, and other Gauls rebelled against the Romans in 21 AD due to their prohibitions of Gaulic druidism , and their bankrupting of Gaulic nobles through large confiscations of wealth. Their plan

130-505: A Vestal . 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 . In

195-645: 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 in 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

260-583: 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, Numa Pompilius . There is however no evidence for the conflated Romulus-Quirinus before the 1st century BC. Ovid in Metamorphoses XIV ( lines 805-828 ) gives

325-483: 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

390-542: A few of the Julii might have settled in Rome in the reign of the first king; but considering the entirely fabulous nature of the tale, and the circumstance that the celebrity of the Julia gens in later times would easily lead to its connection with the earliest times of Roman story, no historical argument can be drawn from the mere name occurring in this legend. In the later Empire, the distinction between praenomen, nomen, and cognomen

455-453: A god of the harvest, and the Fornacalia a festival celebrating a staple crop ( spelt ). 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

520-440: A mythical personage named Iulus or Iullus , even before he was asserted to be the son of Aeneas; and it is entirely possible that Iulus was an ancient praenomen, which had fallen out of use by the early Republic, and was preserved as a cognomen by the eldest branch of the Julii. The name was later revived as a praenomen by Marcus Antonius , the triumvir, who had a son named Iulus . Classical Latin did not distinguish between

585-843: 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. 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 sums up

650-497: 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 Sabines , who came in droves. At a prearranged signal, the Romans seized and carried 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

715-525: 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 , and Agostino . The subject for

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780-461: 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 Palatine Hill , sometimes attributing it to Evander and his Greek colonists. To

845-548: 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

910-447: 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

975-451: Is impossible to disprove it absolutely, as we know next to nothing of the ancient Moorish language; but it has no inherent probability in it; and the statement of Servius is undoubtedly false, that the grandfather of the dictator obtained the surname on account of killing an elephant with his own hand in Africa, as there were several of the Julii with this name before his time. An inquiry into

1040-518: 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. 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

1105-482: 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

1170-574: The Aeneas story with a local cult hero, said to have been the son of Jupiter. Irrespective of the historicity of the Iulus of Roman myth, there is little reason to doubt that Iullus was an ancient personal name, perhaps even a praenomen, and that Julius is a patronymic surname built upon it. Iullus seems to be the original and better attested spelling, although the trisyllabic form Iulus became common after Vergil introduced it in his Aeneid . During

1235-645: The Aventine based on priority, Romulus the Palatine based on number. 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 ( Roma Quadrata ). 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

1300-454: The Gauls. Sacrovir would later raise an army of around fifty thousand men to take back the city of Augustodunum, which was the capital of his tribe. In response Roman general Acillius Aviola raised a Cohort of six hundred soldiers and went to subdue the Gauls. He was successful in several provinces . Another commander named Visellius Varo quelled an insurrection at Tours . Gaius Silius , who

1365-485: The Julia gens first obtained the surname of Caesar , but the first who occurs in history is Sextus Julius Caesar, praetor in BC 208. The origin of the name is equally uncertain. Spartianus , in his life of Aelius Verus , mentions four different opinions respecting its origin: Of these opinions, the third, which is also given by Festus , seems to come nearest the truth. Caesar and caesaries are both probably connected with

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1430-472: The Julii first came to Rome in the reign of Tullus Hostilius, the name occurs in Roman legend as early as the time of Romulus . It was Proculus Julius who was said to have informed the sorrowing Roman people, after the strange departure of Romulus from the world, that their king had descended from heaven and appeared to him, bidding him tell the people to honor him in future as a god, under the name of Quirinus . Some modern critics have inferred from this, that

1495-415: 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

1560-544: The Romulus myths were an exercise in mockery, they were a signal failure. 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. In the late 16th century, the wealthy Magnani family from Bologna commissioned

1625-486: The Sabine advance. Romulus vowed to build 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. The two kings presided over

1690-459: The Sabine women, and the only one already married. He also mentions that some authorities make Hersilia the wife of Hostus Hostilius , rather than Romulus. Two children are attributed to Romulus in Plutarch: a daughter, Prima, and a son, Avillius, but here Plutarch notes that his source, Zenodotus of Troezen, is widely disputed. Livy , Dionysius , and Plutarch rely on Quintus Fabius Pictor as

1755-463: The Sanskrit kêsa , "hair", and it is quite in accordance with the Roman custom for a surname to be given to an individual from some peculiarity in his personal appearance. The second opinion, which seems to have been the most popular one with the ancient writers, arose without doubt from a false etymology . With respect to the first, which was the one adopted, says Spartianus, by the most learned men, it

1820-473: 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. After a reign of thirty-seven years, Romulus is said to have disappeared in a whirlwind during a sudden and violent storm, as he was reviewing his troops on

1885-410: 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

1950-511: The century and a half between the last records of the Julii Iuli and the first appearance of the Julii Caesares, we encounter a Lucius Julius Libo , consul in BC 267. Chase translates his surname as "sprinkler", deriving it from libare , and suggests that it might originally have signified the libation pourer at religious ceremonies. It is not certain whether the name was personal, or whether

2015-458: 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

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2080-418: The consul inherited it from his father and grandfather, of whom all we know is that they were named Lucius. Some scholars have supposed that Libo was descended from the Julii Iuli, and that Lucius, the father of Sextus Julius Caesar, was his son; but the evidence is very slight. The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology says this of the cognomen Caesar : It is uncertain which member of

2145-609: 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, Numa Pompilius , was chosen from among the Sabines. Various sources state that Romulus had a wife, Hersilia . In Livy, following the defeat of the Caeninenses and the Antemnates, the Sabine women begged Hersilia to intercede with her husband on behalf of their families so that they would be received into

2210-610: The death or apotheosis of Romulus, and the succession of Numa Pompilius . 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 , through whom the twins were descended from both the Trojan hero Aeneas , and Latinus , 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

2275-410: The divine origin of his race, as, for instance, in the funeral oration which he pronounced when quaestor over his aunt Julia , and in giving Venus Genetrix as the word to his soldiers at the battles of Pharsalus and Munda ; and subsequent writers and poets were ready enough to fall in with a belief which flattered the pride and exalted the origin of the imperial family. Though it would seem that

2340-408: The early generations of the family. The earliest of the Julii appearing in legend bore the praenomen Proculus , and it is possible that this name was used by some of the early Julii, although no later examples are known. In the later Republic and imperial times, Vopiscus and Proculus were generally used as personal cognomina. The gens was always said to have descended from and been named after

2405-471: The emperor Tiberius dedicated to the gens Julia in the town, and in which he placed the statue of Augustus. Some of the Julii may have settled at Bovillae after the fall of Alba Longa. As it became the fashion in the later times of the Republic to claim a divine origin for the most distinguished of the Roman gentes, it was contended that Iulus, the mythical ancestor of the race, was the same as Ascanius ,

2470-424: The etymology of this name is of some interest, as no other name has ever obtained such celebrity — "clarum et duraturum cum aeternitate mundi nomen." It was assumed by Augustus as the adopted son of the dictator, and was by Augustus handed down to his adopted son Tiberius . It continued to be used by Caligula , Claudius , and Nero , as members either by adoption or female descent of Caesar's family; but though

2535-419: The family became extinct with Nero, succeeding emperors still retained it as part of their titles, and it was the practice to prefix it to their own name, as for instance, Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus . When Hadrian adopted Aelius Verus, he allowed the latter to take the title of Caesar ; and from this time, though the title of Augustus continued to be confined to the reigning prince, that of Caesar

2600-482: 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 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

2665-668: The latter of which does not occur in ancient writers. Due to the activity of Julius Caesar in Gaul over many years, a number of natives of the Gallic provinces adopted Julius as their gentilicum, and have no other connection to the Republican Julii. Examples of their descendants include Julius Florus , and Gaius Julius Civilis . Other Julii are descended from the numerous freedmen , and it may have been assumed by some out of vanity and ostentation. Iullus , also written as Iulus and Jullus ,

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2730-519: 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

2795-422: The leading Alban houses, which Tullus Hostilius removed to Rome upon the destruction of Alba Longa . The Julii also existed at an early period at Bovillae , evidenced by a very ancient inscription on an altar in the theatre of that town, which speaks of their offering sacrifices according to the lege Albana , or Alban rites. Their connection with Bovillae is also implied by the sacrarium , or chapel, which

2860-510: The letters "I" and "J", which were both written with "I", and for this reason the name is sometimes written Julus , just as Julius is also written Iulius . The many Julii of imperial times, who were not descended from the gens Julia, did not limit themselves to the praenomina of that family. The imperial family set the example by freely mingling the praenomina of the Julii with those of the gens Claudia , using titles and cognomina as praenomina, and regularly changing their praenomina to reflect

2925-534: The myths surrounding Rome's origins and cultural traditions. 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 ; a period of joint rule with Titus Tatius ; the establishment of various Roman institutions;

2990-421: The political winds of the empire. The family-names of the Julii in the time of the Republic are Caesar , Iulus , Mento , and Libo , of which the first three are undoubtedly patrician; but the only families which were particularly celebrated were those of Iulus and Caesar , the former at the beginning and the latter in the last century of the Republic. On coins the only names found are Caesar and Bursio ,

3055-400: 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 to build

3120-531: The son of Aeneas , and founder of Alba Longa . Aeneas was, in turn, the son of Venus and Anchises . In order to prove the identity of Ascanius and Iulus, recourse was had to etymology, some specimens of which the reader curious in such matters will find in Servius . Other traditions held that Iulus was the son of Aeneas by his Trojan wife, Creusa , while Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia , daughter of Latinus . The dictator Caesar frequently alluded to

3185-403: The state rather than slain by Roman arms. In Dionysius, Hersilia was herself one of the Sabine women, and the only one who was already married at the time of her abduction. Dionysius explains that she was either mistaken for a virgin, or, he thinks more probably, that she was the mother of one of those abducted, and refused to abandon her daughter. Plutarch also relates that Hersilia was one of

3250-491: The throne. The princes then set out to establish a city of their own. They returned to the hills overlooking the Tiber , near where they had been exposed as infants, but disagreed on the site of their new city. Each took up station on a different hill, and awaited an omen to decide between them. Remus sighted six vultures over the Aventine Hill, then Romulus saw a flight of twelve above the Palatine Hill. Remus argued for

3315-496: 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 . 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

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3380-541: The two major social classes at Rome. The other class, known as the " plebs " 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. 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 new city

3445-578: The whole issue as the mythography of an unusually problematic foundation and early history. The unsavoury elements of many of the myths concerning Romulus have led some scholars to describe them as "shameful" or "disreputable". 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 , during

3510-453: 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

3575-484: Was also granted to the second person in the state and the heir presumptive to the throne. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Smith, William , ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . {{ cite encyclopedia }} : Missing or empty |title= ( help ) Romulus Romulus ( / ˈ r ɒ m j ʊ l ə s / , Classical Latin : [ˈroːmʊɫʊs] )

3640-457: Was an officer in the Legio I Germanica , was the general who defeated Sacrovir in battle. Afterwards, he fled to Augustodunum, where he was later found and killed. Julius Sacrovir's defeat was commemorated by a triumphal arch . This ancient Roman biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Julia gens The Julii were of Alban origin, mentioned as one of

3705-432: 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

3770-483: Was gradually lost, and Julius was treated much like a personal name, which it ultimately became. The Latin form is common in many languages, but other familiar forms exist, including Giulio (Italian), Julio (Spanish), Jules (French), Júlio (Portuguese), Iuliu (Romanian) and Юлий ( Yuliy , Bulgarian and Russian). The Julii of the Republic used the praenomina Lucius , Gaius , and Sextus . There are also instances of Vopiscus and Spurius in

3835-519: Was killed during a melée, along with Faustulus. The founding of Rome was commemorated annually on April 21, with the festival of the Parilia . Romulus' first act was to fortify the Palatine with the Murus Romuli , 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

3900-458: Was originally known as Jobus , and then Julus . This calls to mind the use of Jove for Jupiter , and the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology suggests that Iulus might be a diminutive of Dius , which is also the root of Jupiter . Furthermore, Livy reports that after his death Aeneas was worshiped as Jupiter Indiges , "the local Jove". This suggests the early fusion of

3965-417: 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,

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4030-432: 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

4095-533: Was the son of Creüsa, while Iulus was the son of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, the king of Latium with whom Aeneas made peace after landing in Italy. In still different accounts, Iulus was the son not of Aeneas, but of Ascanius. Perhaps an indigenous origin of the name is suggested by the De Origo Gentis Romanae of Aurelius Victor, in which Iulus and Ascanius are identical. Described as the son of Jupiter, he

4160-421: Was the surname of the eldest branch of the Julii to appear in Roman history. The gens claimed descent from Iulus, who was in some manner connected with Aeneas, although the traditions differed with respect to the details. In some accounts, Iulus was the son of Aeneas and Creüsa, who came to Latium from the ruins of Troy , together with his father and others seeking a land in which to settle. In others, Ascanius

4225-506: Was to use Florus to rouse the Belgae , while Sacrovir roused the rest of the Gauls. Florus began the war by raising a regiment of Treviri horsemen, which he would use to massacre Roman merchants . His army was met by Julius Indus at the Ardennes Forest; during this battle Florus was killed. At the beginning Sacrovir wished to feign an alliance with the Romans. Leading to him fighting against

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