Плутарх - Plutarch's Lives - Volume I

II. Some say that Roma, who gave the name to the city, was the daughter of Italus and Leucaria, or of Telephus the son of Hercules, and the wife of Aeneas, while others say that she was the daughter of Ascanius the son of Aeneas. Others relate that Romanus, the son of Odysseus and Circe, founded the city, or that it was Romus, the son of Hemathion, who was sent from Troy by Diomedes; or Romis the despot of the Latins, who drove out of his kingdom the Tyrrhenians, who, starting from Thessaly, had made their way to Lydia, and thence to Italy. And even those who follow the most reasonable of these legends, and admit that it was Romulus who founded the city after his own name, do not agree about his birth; for some say that he was the son of Aeneas and Dexithea the daughter of Phorbas, and with his brother Romus was brought to Italy when a child, and that as the river was in flood, all the other boats were swamped, but that in which the children were was carried to a soft bank and miraculously preserved, from which the name of Rome was given to the place. Others say that Roma, the daughter of that Trojan lady, married Latinus the son of Telemachus and bore a son, Romulus; while others say that his mother was Aemilia the daughter of Aeneas and Lavinia, by an intrigue with Mars; while others give a completely legendary account of his birth, as follows:

In the house of Tarchetius, the king of the Albani, a cruel and lawless man, a miracle took place. A male figure arose from the hearth, and remained there for many days. Now there was in Etruria an oracle of Tethys, which told Tarchetius that a virgin must be offered to the figure; for there should be born of her a son surpassing all mankind in strength, valour, and good fortune. Tarchetius hereupon explained the oracle to one of his daughters, and ordered her to give herself up to the figure; but she, not liking to do so, sent her servant–maid instead. Tarchetius, when he learned this, was greatly incensed, and cast them both into prison, meaning to put them to death. However, in a dream, Vesta appeared to him, forbidding him to slay them. In consequence of this he locked them up with a loom, telling them that when they had woven the piece of work upon it they should be married. So they wove all day, and during the night other maidens sent by Tarchetius undid their work again. Now when the servant–maid was delivered of twins, Tarchetius gave them to one Teratius, and bade him destroy them. He laid them down near the river; and there they were suckled by a she–wolf, while all sorts of birds brought them morsels of food, until one day a cowherd saw them. Filled with wonder he ventured to come up to the children and bear them off. Saved from death in this manner they grew up, and then attacked and slew Tarchetius. This is the legend given by one Promathion, the compiler of a history of Italy.

III. But the most credible story, and that has most vouchers for its truth, is that which was first published in Greece by Diokles of Peparethos, a writer whom Fabius Pictor has followed in most points. There are variations in this legend also; but, generally speaking, it runs as follows:

The dynasty established by Aeneas at Alba Longa, came down to two brothers, Numitor and Amulius. Amulius offered his brother the choice between the sovereign power and the royal treasure, including the gold brought from Troy. Numitor chose the sovereign power. But Amulius, possessing all the treasure, and thereby having more power than his brother, easily dethroned him, and, as he feared his brother's daughter might have children who would avenge him, he made her a priestess of Vesta, sworn to celibacy for ever. This lady is named by some Ilia, by others Rhea or Silvia. After no long time she was found to be with child, against the law of the Vestals. Her life was saved by the entreaties of Antho, the king's daughter, but she was closely imprisoned, that she might not be delivered without Amulius's knowledge. She bore two children of remarkable beauty and size, and Amulius, all the more alarmed at this, bade an attendant take them and expose them. Some say that this man's name was Faustulus, while others say that this was not his name, but that of their rescuer. However, he placed the infants in a cradle, and went down to the river with the intention of throwing them into it, but seeing it running strong and turbulently, he feared to approach it, laid down the cradle near the bank and went away. The river, which was in flood, rose, and gently floated off the cradle, and carried it down to a soft place which is now called Cermalus, but anciently, it seems, was called Germanus, because brothers are called germani.

IV. Near this place was a fig–tree, which they called Ruminalius, either from Romulus, as most persons imagine, or because cattle came to ruminate in its shade, or, more probably, because of the suckling of the children there, for the ancients called the nipple rouma . Moreover, they call the goddess who appears to have watched over the children Roumilia, and to her they sacrifice offerings without wine, and pour milk as a libation upon her altar.

It is said that while the infants were lying in this place, the she–wolf suckled them, and that a woodpecker came and helped to feed and watch over them. Now these animals are sacred to the god Mars; and the Latins have a peculiar reverence and worship for the woodpecker. These circumstances, therefore, did not a little to confirm the tale of the mother of the children, that their father was Mars, though some say that she was deceived by Amulius himself, who, after condemning her to a life of virginity, appeared before her dressed in armour, and ravished her. Others say that the twofold meaning of the name of their nurse gave rise to this legend, for the Latins use the word lupa for she–wolves, and also for unchaste women, as was the wife of Faustulus, who brought up the children, Acca Laurentia by name. To her also the Romans offer sacrifice, and in the month of April the priest of Mars brings libations to her, and the feast is called Laurentia.

V. The Romans also worship another Laurentia, for this reason: The priest of Hercules, weary with idleness, proposed to the god to cast the dice on the condition that, if he won, he should receive something good from the god, while if he lost, he undertook to provide the god with a bountiful feast and a fair woman to take his pleasure with. Upon these conditions he cast the dice, first for the god, and then for himself, and was beaten. Wishing to settle his wager properly, and making a point of keeping his word, he prepared a feast for the god, and hired Laurentia, then in the pride of her beauty, though not yet famous. He feasted her in the temple, where he had prepared a couch, and after supper he locked her in, that the god might possess her. And, indeed, the god is said to have appeared to the lady, and to have bidden her go early in the morning into the market–place, and to embrace the first man she met, and make him her friend. There met her a citizen far advanced in years, possessing a fair income, childless, and unmarried. His name was Tarrutius. He took Laurentia to himself, and loved her, and upon his death left her heiress to a large and valuable property, the greater part of which she left by will to the city. It is related of her, that after she had become famous, and was thought to enjoy the favour of Heaven, she vanished near the very same spot where the other Laurentia lay buried. This place is now called Velabrum, because during the frequent overflowings of the river, people used there to be ferried over to the market–place; now they call ferrying velatura . Some say that the road from the market–place to the circus, starting from this point, used to be covered with sails or awnings by those who treated the people to a spectacle; and in the Latin tongue a sail is called velum . This is why the second Laurentia is honoured by the Romans.