On April 21, 753 BC, according to tradition, the Eternal City of Rome was founded. Its creators were Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of the vestal virgin Rhea Silvia and the god Mars.
According to mythology, she was forced to dedicate herself to the goddess Vesta and to swear celibacy and virginity by her uncle Amulius, who dethroned her father Numitor from the throne of the city of Alba Longa and wanted to guarantee himself a lack of rivals. However, she was possessed by Mars and gave birth to twins. Amulius ordered a servant to kill the babies, but he took pity on them and released them in a basket on the Tiber River.
The children were found by the river god Tiberinus and suckled by a she-wolf, and later raised by the shepherd Faustulus. After they grew up, Romulus and Remus killed Amulius and returned their grandfather Numitor to the throne, after which they laid the foundations of a new settlement on the Palatine Hill.
The date April 21, 753 BC. is due to Varro, and the whole story is told in the most detail by the Roman historian Titus Livius. According to his story, Remus thoughtlessly jumped over the unfinished city wall, which was considered a bad omen, and Romulus hurried to kill him so as not to tempt fate.
Regretting his deed, he later named the city Rome (Roma) and declared himself its first king. Romulus attracted residents by inviting and receiving fugitives, criminal murderers and runaway slaves.
Very quickly, the city expanded to four more of the seven hills in the area: Capitoline, Aventine, Caelian and Quirinal. In order to replenish the predominantly male population of the city with women, the Romans abducted many women from the neighboring city of Sabine, and soon conquered it.
Romulus ruled for 38 years, and his end is as supernatural as the beginning of his reign - he simply disappeared without a trace, or so Plutarch claims. According to other sources, he was assassinated by the Senate.