Roman bronze Romulus and Remus fibula

In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, whose narrative recounts the founding myth of Rome and the Roman Kingdom. The twins were born in Alba Longa to their mother, Rhea Silvia, the daughter of their deposed grandfather, the former King Numitor.

Seeing the infants as a threat, King Amulius (Numitor’s brother), ordered the twins to be abandoned on the bank of the river Tiber and left to die. The twins were rescued by a she-wolf, who suckled them in a cave known as the Lupercal (located at the southwest foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome). Upon learning of their past, they kill Amulius and reinstate Numitor as king of Alba.

Following an argument between the two twins, Romulus commits fratricide against Remus and founds the city of Rome.