all he movehis capital from Lavinium To Alba Longa, which he shall fortify To the uttermost; andthere a line of kings... Shall reign and reign till Ilia [Rhea Silvia], a priestess Of royalblood, bear twins begotten by Mars; And one of these, Romulus, fostered by a she-wolf,And joyfully wearing her tawny hide, shall rule And found a city for Mars, a new city, Andcall his people Romans, after his name. For them I see no measure nor date, I grant themDominion without end. Yes, even Juno... Even she will mend her ways and vie with me Incherishing the Romans, the master-race, The wearers of the Toga. So it is willed."(Nardo13) Finally, he wound up at the mouth of the Tiber River in Italy. He went inland up theriver, which was a miracle in itself, because the river is very swift. He found Latium, ruledby King Latinus, and married his daughter, Lavinia. With King Latinus' permission,Aeneas and Lavinia founded a city called Lavinium, where they ruled side by side for manyyears. When Aeneas died, his son Ascanius took over. Ascanius founded a new city, whichhe called Alba Longa, and made it his capital. Now we advance four centuries. The king ofAlba Longa is Numitor. He had a jealous brother named Amulius, who seized the throneand drove out Numitor. To prevent Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, from having childrenwho could claim the throne, Amulius made her a celibate priestess. While she was apriestess, Mars, the god of war, came and visited her and she had twin boys named Remusand Romulus (Burrell 7). When Amulius found out about the twins, he was furious. Heordered Rhea imprisoned and the boys drowned on the Tiber. The slave who was orderedto drown them felt pity for them, and instead sent them down the river in a basket. Whenthey landed, a she-wolf found them and nursed them because her cubs had just been killedand she was still fertile. Romulus and Remus were found by a shepherd named Faustulus,who took them home to his wife to raise them. A...
