The foundation of Rome on 21 April 753 BC
One of the most important events in Ancient Rome is the foundation of Rome on 21 April 753 BC. The city of Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC, on the banks of the Tiber in central Italy, by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who sprang from the Trojan prince Aeneas and were grandsons of the Latin King Numitor of Alba Longa. Amulius, King Numitor's brother, deposed him while Rhea Silvia, Numitor's daughter, gave birth to the twins. The twins were regarded as half-divine since Rhea Silvia had been raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of battle.
The twins then established their own city, but Romulus murdered Remus in a fight over the location of the Roman Kingdom, however, some stories claim the quarrel was over who would rule or give his name to the city. Romulus was the inspiration for the city's name. In order to attract visitors, Rome became a haven for the poor, exiled, and undesired. This created an issue because Rome grew to have a large male population but no women. Romulus went to neighboring towns and tribes to gain marriage privileges, but he was turned down since Rome was so full of undesirables. According to legend, the Latins invited the Sabines to a feast and took their unmarried maidens, resulting in the Latins' fusion with the Sabines.
According to another legend, reported by Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Prince Aeneas led a company of Trojans on a sea trip to find a new Troy after the first was destroyed at the end of the Trojan War. They arrived on the shores of the Tiber River after a long journey in heavy waves. The men wanted to return to the sea not long after they arrived, but the women who were traveling with them did not. One woman, Roma, proposed that the women burn the ships at sea to prevent them from departing. The men were first irritated with Roma, but they quickly realized that they were in the perfect location to settle. They called the town after the woman who set fire to their ships.
This mythology is related by the Roman poet Virgil in his classical epic poem the Aeneid, in which the Trojan prince Aeneas is destined by the gods to create a new Troy. The women in the epic likewise refuse to return to the sea, but they are not abandoned on the Tiber. After arriving in Italy, Aeneas, who desired to marry Lavinia, was obliged to fight her former lover, Turnus. According to the poem, Aeneas was the ancestor of the Alban rulers, and consequently, Romulus, the founder of Rome, was his descendant.
