Romulus ( / ˈ r ɒ m j ʊ l ə s / , Classical Latin : [ˈroːmʊɫʊs] ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome . Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these traditions incorporate elements of folklore , and it is not clear to what extent a historical figure underlies the mythical Romulus, the events and institutions ascribed to him were central to the myths surrounding Rome's origins and cultural traditions.
80-576: The myths concerning Romulus involve several distinct episodes and figures, including the miraculous birth and youth of Romulus and his twin brother , Remus ; Remus' murder and the founding of Rome; the Rape of the Sabine Women , and the subsequent war with the Sabines ; a period of joint rule with Titus Tatius ; the establishment of various Roman institutions; the death or apotheosis of Romulus, and
160-536: A Vestal . When Rhea became pregnant, she asserted that she had been visited by the god Mars. Amulius imprisoned her, and upon the twins' birth, ordered that they be thrown into the Tiber . But as the river had been swollen by rain, the servants tasked with disposing of the infants could not reach its banks, and so exposed the twins beneath a fig tree at the foot of the Palatine Hill . In the traditional account,
240-470: A she-wolf happened upon the twins, and suckled them until they were found by the king's herdsman, Faustulus , and his wife, Acca Larentia . The brothers grew to manhood among the shepherds and hill-folk. After becoming involved in a conflict between the followers of Amulius and those of their grandfather Numitor, Faustulus told them of their origin. With the help of their friends, they lured Amulius into an ambush and killed him, restoring their grandfather to
320-661: A temple to Jupiter Feretrius . Antemnae and Crustumerium were conquered in turn. Some of their people, chiefly the families of the abducted women, were allowed to settle in Rome. Following the defeat of the Latin towns, the Sabines, under the leadership of Titus Tatius , marshalled their forces and advanced upon Rome. They gained control of the citadel by bribing Tarpeia , the daughter of the Roman commander charged with its defense. Without
400-597: A bearded warrior wielding a spear as a god of war, the embodiment of Roman strength and a deified likeness of the city of Rome. He had a Flamen Maior called the Flamen Quirinalis , who oversaw his worship and rituals in the ordainment of Roman religion attributed to Romulus's royal successor, Numa Pompilius . There is however no evidence for the conflated Romulus-Quirinus before the 1st century BC. Ovid in Metamorphoses XIV ( lines 805-828 ) gives
480-487: A description of the deification of Romulus and his wife Hersilia , who are given the new names of Quirinus and Hora respectively. Mars, the father of Romulus, is given permission by Jupiter to bring his son up to Olympus to live with the Olympians . One theory regarding this tradition proposes the emergence of two mythical figures from an earlier, singular hero. While Romulus is a founding hero, Quirinus may have been
560-664: A family history of fraternal twins have a higher chance of producing fraternal twins themselves, as there is a genetically linked tendency to hyper- ovulate . There is no known genetic link for identical twinning. Other factors that increase the odds of having fraternal twins include maternal age, fertility drugs and other fertility treatments, nutrition, and prior births. Some women intentionally turn to fertility drugs in order to conceive twins. The vast majority of twins are either dizygotic (fraternal) or monozygotic (identical). In humans dizygotic twins occur more often than monozygotic twins. Less common variants are discussed further down
640-459: A god of the harvest, and the Fornacalia a festival celebrating a staple crop ( spelt ). Through the traditional dates from the tales and the festivals, they are each associated with one another. A legend of the murder of such a founding hero, the burying of the hero's body in the fields (found in some accounts), and a festival associated with that hero, a god of the harvest, and a food staple is
720-497: A greater chance of dizygotic multiple births. In the United States it has been estimated that by 2011 36% of twin births resulted from conception by assisted reproductive technology . The risk of twin birth can vary depending on what types of fertility treatments are used. With in vitro fertilisation (IVF), this is primarily due to the insertion of multiple embryos into the uterus. Ovarian hyperstimulation without IVF has
800-506: A more likely explanation. A high twinning rate has also been observed in other places of the world, including: The widespread use of fertility drugs causing hyperovulation (stimulated release of multiple eggs by the mother) has caused what some call an "epidemic of multiple births ". In 2001, for the first time ever in the US , the twinning rate exceeded 3% of all births. Nevertheless, the rate of monozygotic twins remains at about 1 in 333 across
880-460: A pair of monozygotic twins reproduces with another pair or with the same person), rather than first cousins. Identical twins do not have the same fingerprints however, because even within the confines of the womb, the fetuses touch different parts of their environment, giving rise to small variations in their corresponding prints and thus making them unique. Monozygotic twins always have the same genotype . Normally due to an environmental factor or
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#1732764848385960-841: A pattern recognized by anthropologists . Called a " dema archetype", this pattern suggests that in a prior tradition, the god and the hero were in fact the same figure and later evolved into two. Possible historical bases for the broad mythological narrative remain unclear and disputed. Modern scholarship approaches the various known stories of the myth as cumulative elaborations and later interpretations of Roman foundation myth . Particular versions and collations were presented by Roman historians as authoritative, an official history trimmed of contradictions and untidy variants to justify contemporary developments, genealogies and actions in relation to Roman morality . Other narratives appear to represent popular or folkloric tradition; some of these remain inscrutable in purpose and meaning. T.P. Wiseman sums up
1040-500: A plan to acquire women from other settlements. He announced a momentous festival and games , and invited the people of the neighboring cities to attend. Many did, in particular the Sabines , who came in droves. At a prearranged signal, the Romans seized and carried off the marriageable women among their guests. The aggrieved cities prepared for war with Rome, and might have defeated Romulus had they been fully united. But impatient with
1120-545: A rate of about 3 in every 1000 deliveries worldwide. The likelihood of a single fertilization resulting in monozygotic twins is uniformly distributed in all populations around the world. This is in marked contrast to dizygotic twinning, which ranges from about six per thousand births in Japan (almost similar to the rate of identical twins, which is around 4–5) to 15 and more per thousand in some parts of India and up to over 20 in some Central African countries. The exact cause for
1200-428: A separate egg and each egg is fertilized by its own sperm cell. Since identical twins develop from one zygote, they will share the same sex, while fraternal twins may or may not. In very rare cases fraternal (and semi- or half-identical ) twins can have the same mother and different fathers ( heteropaternal superfecundation ). In contrast, a fetus that develops alone in the womb (the much more common case in humans)
1280-406: A separate fetus, rather than by the embryo splitting while hatching from the zona pellucida (the gelatinous protective coating around the blastocyst). Monozygotic twins may also be created artificially by embryo splitting. It can be used as an expansion of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to increase the number of available embryos for embryo transfer . Monozygotic twinning occurs in birthing at
1360-542: A series of artworks based on the Roman foundation myth. The artists contributing works included a sculpture of Hercules with the infant twins by Gabriele Fiorini, featuring the patron's own face. The most important works were an elaborate series of frescoes collectively known as Histories of the Foundation of Rome by the Brothers Carracci: Ludovico , Annibale , and Agostino . The subject for
1440-461: A source. Other significant sources include Ovid 's Fasti , and Virgil 's Aeneid . Greek historians had traditionally claimed that Rome was founded by Greeks, a claim dating back to the logographer Hellanicus of Lesbos of 5th-century BC, who named Aeneas as its founder. Roman historians connect Romulus to Aeneas by ancestry and mention a previous settlement on the Palatine Hill , sometimes attributing it to Evander and his Greek colonists. To
1520-541: A study in 2012 found that it is possible for a polar body to result in a healthy fetus. In 2003, a study argued that many cases of triploidy arise from sesquizygotic (semi-identical) twinning which happens when a single egg is fertilized by two sperm and splits the three sets of chromosomes into two separate cell sets. The degree of separation of the twins in utero depends on if and when they split into two zygotes. Dizygotic twins were always two zygotes. Monozygotic twins split into two zygotes at some time very early in
1600-554: A unit known as a century , and ten cavalry. Each Romulean tribe thus provided about one thousand infantry, and one century of cavalry; the three hundred cavalry became known as the Celeres , "the swift", and formed the royal bodyguard. Choosing one hundred men from the leading families, Romulus established the Roman senate . These men he called patres , the city fathers; their descendants came to be known as " patricians ", forming one of
1680-478: A very high risk of multiple birth. Reversal of anovulation with clomifene (trade names including Clomid ) has a relatively less but yet significant risk of multiple pregnancy. A 15-year German study of 8,220 vaginally delivered twins (that is, 4,110 pregnancies) in Hesse yielded a mean delivery time interval of 13.5 minutes. The delivery interval between the twins was measured as follows: The study stated that
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#17327648483851760-446: Is a back-formation from the name of the city. Roman historians dated the city's foundation to between 758 and 728 BC, and Plutarch reports the calculation of Varro 's friend Tarutius that 771 BC was the birth year of Romulus and his twin. The tradition that gave Romulus a distant ancestor in the semi-divine Trojan prince Aeneas was further embellished, and Romulus was made the direct ancestor of Rome's first Imperial dynasty . It
1840-411: Is called a singleton , and the general term for one offspring of a multiple birth is a multiple . Unrelated look-alikes whose resemblance parallels that of twins are referred to as doppelgänger . The human twin birth rate in the United States rose 76% from 1980 through 2009, from 9.4 to 16.7 twin sets (18.8 to 33.3 twins) per 1,000 births. The Yoruba people have the highest rate of twinning in
1920-446: Is fertilized to form one zygote (hence, "monozygotic") which then divides into two separate embryos . The chances of having identical twins is relatively rare – around 3 or 4 in every 1,000 births. Regarding spontaneous or natural monozygotic twinning, a 2007 theory related to in vitro fertilization (IVF) proposes that monozygotic twins may be formed when a blastocyst contains two inner cell masses (ICM), each of which will lead to
2000-419: Is the most common type of twin. Dizygotic twins, like any other siblings, will practically always have different sequences on each chromosome, due to chromosomal crossover during meiosis . Dizygotic twins share on average 50 percent of each other's genes, the same as siblings that are conceived and born at different times. Like any other siblings , dizygotic twins may look similar , particularly as they are
2080-518: Is unclear whether or not the tale of Romulus or that of the twins are original elements of the foundation myth, or whether both or either were added. Ennius (fl. 180s BC) refers to Romulus as a divinity in his own right, without reference to Quirinus . Roman mythographers identified the latter as an originally Sabine war-deity, and thus to be identified with Roman Mars . Lucilius lists Quirinus and Romulus as separate deities, and Varro accords them different temples. Images of Quirinus showed him as
2160-488: The Campus Martius . Livy says that Romulus was either murdered by the senators, torn apart out of jealousy, or was raised to heaven by Mars, god of war. Livy believes the last theory regarding the legendary king's death, as it allows the Romans to believe that the gods are on their side, a reason for them to continue expansion under Romulus' name. Romulus acquired a cult following, which later became assimilated with
2240-683: The Yoruba to 10% for Linha São Pedro, a tiny Brazilian settlement which belongs to the city of Cândido Godói . In Cândido Godói, one in five pregnancies has resulted in twins. The Argentine historian Jorge Camarasa has put forward the theory that experiments of the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele could be responsible for the high ratio of twins in the area. His theory was rejected by Brazilian scientists who had studied twins living in Linha São Pedro; they suggested genetic factors within that community as
2320-462: The blastocysts have fused. Monochorionic twins share the same placenta , and thus have a risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome . Monoamniotic twins are always monozygotic . The survival rate for monoamniotic twins is somewhere between 50% and 60%. Monoamniotic twins, as with diamniotic monochorionic twins, have a risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome . Also, the two umbilical cords have an increased chance of being tangled around
2400-401: The 1788 Prix de Rome was the death of Tatius ( La mort de Tatius ). Garnier won the contest. Twin brother Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy . Twins can be either monozygotic ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote , which splits and forms two embryos , or dizygotic ('non-identical' or 'fraternal'), meaning that each twin develops from
2480-660: The Aventine based on priority, Romulus the Palatine based on number. The conflict escalated, and Romulus or one of his followers killed Remus. In a variant of the legend, the augurs favoured Romulus, who proceeded to plough a square furrow around the Palatine Hill to demarcate the walls of the future city ( Roma Quadrata ). When Remus derisively leapt over the "walls" to show how inadequate they were against invaders, Romulus struck him down in anger. In another variant, Remus
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2560-414: The Romans, Rome was the institutions and traditions they credit to their legendary founder, the first "Roman". The legend as a whole encapsulates Rome's ideas of itself, its origins and moral values. For modern scholarship, it remains one of the most complex and problematic of all foundation myths. Ancient historians had no doubt that Romulus gave his name to the city. Most modern historians believe his name
2640-552: The Romulus myths were an exercise in mockery, they were a signal failure. The episodes which make up the legend, most significantly that of the rape of the Sabine women , the tale of Tarpeia , and the death of Tatius have been a significant part of ancient Roman scholarship and the frequent subject of art, literature and philosophy since ancient times. In the late 16th century, the wealthy Magnani family from Bologna commissioned
2720-484: The Sabine advance. Romulus vowed to build a temple to Jupiter Stator , to keep his line from breaking. The bloodshed finally ended when the Sabine women interposed themselves between the two armies, pleading on the one hand with their fathers and brothers, and on the other with their husbands, to set aside their arms and come to terms. The leaders of each side met and made peace. They formed one community, to be jointly ruled by Romulus and Tatius. The two kings presided over
2800-463: The Sabine women, and the only one already married. He also mentions that some authorities make Hersilia the wife of Hostus Hostilius , rather than Romulus. Two children are attributed to Romulus in Plutarch: a daughter, Prima, and a son, Avillius, but here Plutarch notes that his source, Zenodotus of Troezen, is widely disputed. Livy , Dionysius , and Plutarch rely on Quintus Fabius Pictor as
2880-474: The Tiber from Rome, also raided Roman territory, foreshadowing that city's role as the chief rival to Roman power over the next three centuries. Romulus defeated Veii's army, but found the city too well defended to besiege, and instead ravaged the countryside. After a reign of thirty-seven years, Romulus is said to have disappeared in a whirlwind during a sudden and violent storm, as he was reviewing his troops on
2960-410: The advantage of the citadel, the Romans were obliged to meet the Sabines on the battlefield. The Sabines advanced from the citadel, and fierce fighting ensued. The nearby Lacus Curtius is said to be named after Mettius Curtius, a Sabine warrior who plunged his horse into its muck to stymie his Roman pursuers as he retreated. At a critical juncture in the fighting, the Romans began to waver in the face of
3040-514: The article. Fraternal twins can be any of the following: Among non-twin births, male singletons are slightly (about five percent) more common than female singletons. The rates for singletons vary slightly by country. For example, the sex ratio of birth in the US is 1.05 males/female, while it is 1.07 males/female in Italy. However, males are also more susceptible than females to die in utero , and since
3120-473: The babies. Because of this, there is an increased chance that the newborns may be miscarried or suffer from cerebral palsy due to lack of oxygen. When the division of the developing zygote into 2 embryos occurs, 99% of the time it is within 8 days of fertilization. Mortality is highest for conjoined twins due to the many complications resulting from shared organs. A 2006 study has found that insulin-like growth factor present in dairy products may increase
3200-448: The bodyguard of the kings of Rome and the earliest cavalry unit in the Roman military . Traditionally established by Romulus , the legendary founder and first King of Rome , the celeres comprised three hundred men, ten chosen by each of the curiae . The celeres were the strongest and bravest warriors among the early Roman nobility, and were the bravest and most loyal soldiers in the army. The celeres may also have originated in
3280-464: The celeres were led by the tribunus celerum , or tribune of the celeres, who doubled as the king's lieutenant and head of the royal household, holding a position analogous to that of the magister equitum under the Roman Republic . However, Dionysius of Halicarnassus states that the celeres fought mounted only where the ground was favourable, dismounting to fight on foot where the ground
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3360-450: The chance of dizygotic twinning. Specifically, the study found that vegan mothers (who exclude dairy from their diets) are one-fifth as likely to have twins as vegetarian or omnivore mothers, and concluded that "Genotypes favoring elevated IGF and diets including dairy products, especially in areas where growth hormone is given to cattle, appear to enhance the chances of multiple pregnancies due to ovarian stimulation." From 1980 to 1997,
3440-458: The city itself. Romulus sought the assent of the people to become their king. With Numitor's help, he addressed them and received their approval. Romulus accepted the crown after he sacrificed and prayed to Jupiter , and after receiving favourable omens. Romulus divided the populace into three tribes , known as the Ramnes , Titienses , and Luceres , for taxation and military purposes. Each tribe
3520-620: The cult of Quirinus , perhaps originally the indigenous god of the Sabine population. As the Sabines had not had a king of their own since the death of Titus Tatius, the next king of Rome, Numa Pompilius , was chosen from among the Sabines. Various sources state that Romulus had a wife, Hersilia . In Livy, following the defeat of the Caeninenses and the Antemnates, the Sabine women begged Hersilia to intercede with her husband on behalf of their families so that they would be received into
3600-406: The deactivation of different X chromosomes in female monozygotic twins, and in some extremely rare cases, due to aneuploidy , twins may express different sexual phenotypes , normally from an XXY Klinefelter syndrome zygote splitting unevenly. Monozygotic twins, although genetically very similar, are not genetically exactly the same. The DNA in white blood cells of 66 pairs of monozygotic twins
3680-413: The death rate in utero is higher for twins, it leads to female twins being more common than male twins. Zygosity is the degree of identity in the genome of twins. Dizygotic ( DZ ) or fraternal twins (also referred to as "non-identical twins", "dissimilar twins", "biovular twins", and, informally in the case of females, "sororal twins") usually occur when two fertilized eggs are implanted in
3760-408: The differences detected in this study would have occurred during embryonic cell-division (after the point of fertilization). If they occur early in fetal development, they will be present in a very large proportion of body cells. Another cause of difference between monozygotic twins is epigenetic modification , caused by differing environmental influences throughout their lives. Epigenetics refers to
3840-405: The early stages of embryonic development. A 1981 study of a deceased XXX twin fetus without a heart showed that although its fetal development suggested that it was an identical twin, as it shared a placenta with its healthy twin, tests revealed that it was probably a polar body twin. The authors were unable to predict whether a healthy fetus could result from a polar body twinning. However,
3920-687: The epigenetic difference of three-year-old twins. Twins who had spent their lives apart (such as those adopted by two different sets of parents at birth) had the greatest difference. However, certain characteristics become more alike as twins age, such as IQ and personality. In January 2021, new research from a team of researchers in Iceland was published in the journal Nature Genetics suggesting that identical twins may not be quite as identical as previously thought. The four-year study of monozygotic (identical) twins and their extended families revealed that these twins have genetic differences that begin in
4000-504: The fourth century BC when the Romans adopted cavalry from the Samnites . The name of celeres was generally believed to have arisen from their celeritas , or swiftness, but Valerius Antias maintained that their first commander was named "Celer", perhaps the same Celer mentioned by Ovid as the foreman of the first fortification built around the Palatine Hill ; it was he, rather than Romulus himself, who slew Remus after he overleapt
4080-480: The globe. In a study on the maternity records of 5750 Hausa women living in the Savannah zone of Nigeria , there were 40 twins and 2 triplets per 1000 births. Twenty-six percent of twins were monozygotic. The incidence of multiple births, which was about five times higher than that observed in any western population, was significantly lower than that of other ethnic groups, who live in the hot and humid climate of
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#17327648483854160-481: The growing city of Rome for a number of years, before Tatius was slain in a riot at Lavinium , where he had gone to make a sacrifice. Shortly before, a group of envoys from Laurentum had complained of their treatment by Tatius' kinsmen, and he had decided the matter against the ambassadors. Romulus resisted calls to avenge the Sabine king's death, instead reaffirming the Roman alliance with Lavinium, and perhaps preventing his city from splintering along ethnic lines. In
4240-514: The latter part of the fourth century BC. This hypothesis is rejected by other scholars, such as Tim Cornell (1995), who notes that by this period, the story of Romulus and Remus had already assumed its standard form, and was widely accepted at Rome. Other elements of the Romulus mythos clearly resemble common elements of folk tale and legend, and thus strong evidence that the stories were both old and indigenous. Likewise, Momigliano finds Strasburger's argument well-developed, but entirely implausible; if
4320-536: The level of activity of any particular gene. A gene may become switched on, switched off, or could become partially switched on or off in an individual. This epigenetic modification is triggered by environmental events. Monozygotic twins can have markedly different epigenetic profiles. A study of 80 pairs of monozygotic twins ranging in age from three to 74 showed that the youngest twins have relatively few epigenetic differences. The number of epigenetic differences increases with age. Fifty-year-old twins had over three times
4400-406: The lowest mortality risk at about 9 percent, although that is still significantly higher than that of singletons. Monochorionic twins generally have two amniotic sacs (called Monochorionic–Diamniotic "MoDi"), which occurs in 60–70% of the pregnancies with monozygotic twins, and in 0.3% of all pregnancies. Monochorionic-Diamniotic twins are almost always monozygotic, with a few exceptions where
4480-525: The number of twin births in the United States rose 52%. This rise can at least partly be attributed to the increasing popularity of fertility drugs and procedures such as IVF, which result in multiple births more frequently than unassisted fertilizations do. It may also be linked to the increase of growth hormones in food. About 1 in 90 human births (1.1%) results from a twin pregnancy. The rate of dizygotic twinning varies greatly among ethnic groups , ranging as high as about 45 per 1000 births (4.5%) for
4560-414: The occurrence of complications "was found to be more likely with increasing twin-to-twin delivery time interval" and suggested that the interval be kept short, though it noted that the study did not examine causes of complications and did not control for factors such as the level of experience of the obstetrician, the wish of the women giving birth, or the "management strategies" of the procedure of delivering
4640-473: The pregnancy. The timing of this separation determines the chorionicity (the number of placentae) and amniocity (the number of sacs) of the pregnancy. Dichorionic twins either never divided (i.e.: were dizygotic) or they divided within the first 4 days. Monoamnionic twins divide after the first week. In very rare cases, twins become conjoined twins . Non-conjoined monozygotic twins form up to day 14 of embryonic development, but when twinning occurs after 14 days,
4720-400: The preparations of the Sabines, the Latin towns of Caenina , Crustumerium , and Antemnae took action without their allies. Caenina was the first to attack; its army was swiftly put to flight, and the town taken. After personally defeating and slaying the prince of Caenina in single combat, Romulus stripped him of his armour, becoming the first to claim the spolia opima , and vowed to build
4800-408: The rate of monozygotic twins) to 14 and more per thousand in some African countries. Dizygotic twins are also more common for older mothers, with twinning rates doubling in mothers over the age of 35. With the advent of technologies and techniques to assist women in getting pregnant, the rate of fraternals has increased markedly. Monozygotic ( MZ ) or identical twins occur when a single egg
4880-444: The same age. However, dizygotic twins may also look very different from each other (for example, be of opposite sexes). Studies show that there is a genetic proclivity for dizygotic twinning. However, it is only the mother who has any effect on the chances of having such twins; there is no known mechanism for a father to cause the release of more than one ovum . Dizygotic twinning ranges from six per thousand births in Japan (similar to
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#17327648483854960-469: The second twin. There have also been cases in which twins are born a number of days apart. Possibly the worldwide record for the duration of the time gap between the first and the second delivery was the birth of twins 97 days apart in Cologne, Germany, the first of which was born on November 17, 2018. Celeres The celeres ( Latin: [ˈkɛɫ̪ɛre:s] , Ancient Greek : κελέριοι ) were
5040-455: The southern part of the country. The incidence of multiple births was related to maternal age but did not bear any association to the climate or prevalence of malaria . Twins are more common in people of African descent. The predisposing factors of monozygotic twinning are unknown. Dizygotic twin pregnancies are slightly more likely when the following factors are present in the woman: Women undergoing certain fertility treatments may have
5120-414: The splitting of a zygote or embryo is unknown. IVF techniques are more likely to create dizygotic twins. For IVF deliveries, there are nearly 21 pairs of twins for every 1,000. Monozygotic twins are genetically nearly identical and they are the same chromosomal sex unless there has been a mutation during development. The children of monozygotic twins test genetically as half-siblings (or full siblings, if
5200-401: The state rather than slain by Roman arms. In Dionysius, Hersilia was herself one of the Sabine women, and the only one who was already married at the time of her abduction. Dionysius explains that she was either mistaken for a virgin, or, he thinks more probably, that she was the mother of one of those abducted, and refused to abandon her daughter. Plutarch also relates that Hersilia was one of
5280-570: The succession of Numa Pompilius . According to Roman mythology , Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia by the god Mars . Their maternal grandfather was Numitor , the rightful king of Alba Longa , through whom the twins were descended from both the Trojan hero Aeneas , and Latinus , the king of Latium . Before the twins' birth, Numitor's throne had been usurped by his brother, Amulius , who murdered Numitor's son or sons, and condemned Rhea Silvia to perpetual virginity by consecrating her
5360-495: The throne. The princes then set out to establish a city of their own. They returned to the hills overlooking the Tiber , near where they had been exposed as infants, but disagreed on the site of their new city. Each took up station on a different hill, and awaited an omen to decide between them. Remus sighted six vultures over the Aventine Hill, then Romulus saw a flight of twelve above the Palatine Hill. Remus argued for
5440-436: The twins will likely be conjoined. Furthermore, there can be various degrees of shared environment of twins in the womb, potentially leading to pregnancy complications . It is a common misconception that two placentas automatically implies dizygotic twins, but if monozygotic twins separate early enough, the arrangement of sacs and placentas in utero is in fact indistinguishable from that of dizygotic twins. DiDi twins have
5520-544: The two major social classes at Rome. The other class, known as the " plebs " or "plebeians", consisted of the servants, freedmen, fugitives who sought asylum at Rome, those captured in war, and others who were granted Roman citizenship over time. To encourage the growth of the city, Romulus outlawed infanticide, and established an asylum for fugitives on the Capitoline Hill . Here freemen and slaves alike could claim protection and seek Roman citizenship. The new city
5600-466: The uterus wall at the same time. When two eggs are independently fertilized by two different sperm cells , fraternal twins result. The two eggs, or ova , form two zygotes , hence the terms dizygotic and biovular . Fraternal twins are, essentially, two ordinary siblings who happen to develop in the womb together and who are born at the same time, since they arise from two separate eggs fertilized by two separate sperm , just like ordinary siblings. This
5680-415: The wall. According to some accounts they were infantry; while according to others they included both or were only cavalry. Unlike most soldiers of the period, who served only in times of war, the celeres were a permanent force, attending the king at all times, including times of peace. They are generally regarded as a cavalry unit, for the Roman kings traveled and fought on horseback, and in his absence
5760-581: The whole issue as the mythography of an unusually problematic foundation and early history. The unsavoury elements of many of the myths concerning Romulus have led some scholars to describe them as "shameful" or "disreputable". In antiquity such stories became part of anti-Roman and anti-pagan propaganda. More recently, the historian Hermann Strasburger postulated that these were never part of authentic Roman tradition, but were invented and popularized by Rome's enemies, probably in Magna Graecia , during
5840-738: The world, at 45–50 twin sets (90–100 twins) per 1,000 live births, possibly because of high consumption of a specific type of yam containing a natural phytoestrogen which may stimulate the ovarys to release an egg from each side. In Central Africa , there are 18–30 twin sets (or 36–60 twins) per 1,000 live births. In South America , South Asia , and Southeast Asia , the lowest rates are found; only 6 to 9 twin sets per 1,000 live births. North America and Europe have intermediate rates of 9 to 16 twin sets per 1,000 live births. Multiple pregnancies are much less likely to carry to full term than single births, with twin pregnancies lasting on average 37 weeks, three weeks less than full term. Women who have
5920-458: The years following the death of Tatius, Romulus is said to have conquered the city of Fidenae , which, alarmed by the rising power of Rome, had begun raiding Roman territory. The Romans lured the Fidenates into an ambush, and routed their army; as they retreated into their city, the Romans followed before the gates could be shut, and captured the town. The Etruscan city of Veii , nine miles up
6000-420: Was analyzed for 506,786 single-nucleotide polymorphisms known to occur in human populations. Polymorphisms appeared in 2 of the 33 million comparisons, leading the researchers to extrapolate that the blood cells of monozygotic twins may have on the order of one DNA-sequence difference for every 12 million nucleotides, which would imply hundreds of differences across the entire genome. The mutations producing
6080-432: Was filled with colonists, most of whom were young, unmarried men. While fugitives seeking asylum helped the population grow, single men greatly outnumbered women. With no intermarriage taking place between Rome and neighboring communities, the new city would eventually fail. Romulus sent envoys to neighboring towns, appealing to them to allow intermarriage with Roman citizens, but his overtures were rebuffed. Romulus formulated
6160-508: Was in his capacity as tribune that he convened the comitia curiata to abrogate the king's imperium , while Tarquin was away, besieging Ardea . There was no equivalent body under the early Republic; Roman magistrates were accompanied by the lictors , who had also been established by Romulus , while generals chose the troops they trusted most to protect them. Toward the end of the Republic, veteran soldiers were selected to serve in
6240-527: Was killed during a melée, along with Faustulus. The founding of Rome was commemorated annually on April 21, with the festival of the Parilia . Romulus' first act was to fortify the Palatine with the Murus Romuli , in the course of which he made a sacrifice to the gods. He laid out the city's boundaries with a furrow that he ploughed, performed another sacrifice, and with his followers set to work building
6320-415: Was presided over by an official known as a tribune , and was further divided into ten curia , or wards, each presided over by an official known as a curio . Romulus also allotted a portion of land to each ward, for the benefit of the people. Nothing is known of the manner in which the tribes and curiae were taxed, but for the military levy, each curia was responsible for providing one hundred foot soldiers,
6400-411: Was unsuitable for cavalry. Numa Pompilius , the second King of Rome, established certain religious rites that the commanders of the celeres were required to perform. The celeres remained the king's bodyguard until the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC. The last tribune of the celeres was Lucius Junius Brutus , the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus , the seventh and last King of Rome, and it
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