April 21, 753 BC: noted wolf-baby settles Rome

Aventine. Caelian. Capitoline. Esquiline. Palatine. Quirinal. Viminal. On this day in 753 BC, a disagreement over two of these led to fratricide – and the beginning of a great city.

As infants, Romulus and Remus, twin descendants of Aeneas, were placed in a basket and cast down the Tiber. A she-wolf found and nursed them; later, a shepherd discovered them and raised him as his own. As adults, they inadvertently took revenge on the king responsible for their treatment, and instead of taking the crown of Alba Longa, decided to start their own city 12 miles away.

Of the Seven Hills at their chosen site, Romulus preferred the central Palatine; Remus, the Aventine to the southwest. Both men said the spirits were in their favor based on augury, the observation of birds to determine the will of the gods. When Romulus began digging a trench around his chosen hill, Remus taunted him, and soon met his fate. (Some say he was killed by divine intervention, but, c’mon.)

Men flocked to the new encampment, but few women did the same. This surely became a problem after a few days, so Romulus and crew headed to Sabine, where they abducted (“raped” is a poor translation) its females. The war between Rome and Sabine ended only when the women stepped between the feuding armies.

For more, see The Ancient History Encyclopedia.