Romulus was born in a place called Alba Longa and was the first king and founder of Rome. King Amulius saw Romulus and his twin brother Remus as a threat to his rule and they were abandoned at the bank of the river Tiber to die. They were able to survive when a she-wolf suckled them in a nearby cave known as the Lupercal.
Eventually, a shepherd and his wife found and adopted Romulus and Remus. They grew up tending flocks and became natural leaders with people in the community helping and supporting them. When they were young adults, they were caught up in an argument between their grandfather, Numitor, and king Amulius. Remus was sentenced to prison, but Romulus freed him and they joined forces with their grandfather and killed Amulius, restoring their grandfather to the throne.
After this, Romulus and Remus returned to the hills overlooking the Tiber and they tried to decide where to build Rome. During this, they had an argument which resulted in Remus being killed. Romulus then plowed a square on top of Palatine hill and began building Rome. He reigned from 753-716 BC until his death. Romulus was then succeeded by a man named Numa Pompilius.
Numa Pompilius was the second king of Rome. He was elected by the senate because Romulus had no clear successor. He was picked because he was not a warlike or demanding man. He was not from Rome. He wanted only peace during his reign and there was no war while he ruled. He built a temple to Janus the two faced god. The temple was simple but it did have one impressive part. The doors on the temple were closed when there was peace and opened during war. The entire reign of Numa the doors stayed closed. The only other time that the doors stayed closed like that was when Julius Cesar became emperor. Numa is remembered for organizing the calendar and setting up a person in charge of the sacrifices and worship to the gods. He reigned forty-three years and died in 673 BC. I hope you liked my essay.
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