Classical Mythology, 7th Edition - obinfonet: dia logou

ROMAN MYTHOLOGY AND SAGA 655
Ennius, however, gave a different version of Remus' death, which was followed
by Livy and Ovid. Romulus began to build his city on the Palatine, and
when the walls had risen a little way, Remus scornfully leaped over them and
was killed by his brother because he had acted as an enemy, for a friend enters
a city by the gate.
ROMULUS AND THE SABINES
Romulus now set about establishing his kingdom and laying the foundations of
Rome's political structure. In order to increase the population, he declared the
area between the two parts of the Capitoline Hill an asylum (i.e., a sanctuary
where any man could be assured of freedom from violence or prosecution). To
this place men came from many directions to become Rome's future citizens.
There was a shortage of women, however, and attempts to remedy this situation
led to a long series of incidents involving the Romans and the Sabines.
In the first place, the surrounding tribes refused requests from Roman embassies
for young women to be wives for Roman men. Romulus decided therefore
to use deceit and force. Men and women from the Sabine tribes were invited
to attend the festival games of the Consualia. At a given signal, the Roman
men seized the young Sabine women, whose relatives fled. Such an act could
not go unavenged, and the Sabines, under the leadership of Titus Tatius, organized
themselves for war on the Romans. In the first encounter, Romulus killed
Romulus and Remus, by Alexander Calder (1898-1976). Wire sculpture, 1928; 31 X 112 in.
This large construction is a witty reinterpretation of the famous Etruscan bronze "Capitoline
Wolf" in Rome suckling the mythical founders of Rome. (Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum, New York. Photograph by Robert E. Mates. © The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation,
New York. © 1998 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/AD AGP, Paris.)
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