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This stamp depicts the famous Capitoline statue of Romulus and Remus and their wolf-mom. These twin baby boys were sons of Mars, the god of war, and Rhea Silvia.  Rhea’s uncle, for complicated reasons, threw the babies into the Tiber River and imprisoned their mother.

Another version of the legend has Rhea Silvia thrown into the river with her boys and she becomes the wife of the river god. In any case, the boys bob around in the water for a while, get tossed ashore, and are found by a she-wolf. The lady wolf raises the twins until the proverbial shepherd comes along and takes over the task. The boys grow up and start to build their own city, but sibling rivalry rears its ugly head! Romulus has his own ideas about the way things should go, quarrels with Remus and kills him. Romulus names his city Rome.

One version of this foundation myth has Romulus and Remus as sons of Mars and Ilia, who was the daughter of our very own Aeneas and his newly-acquired ladylove, Lavinia. Does anyone besides me prefer Turnus to our Trojan prince?

Here’s Hollywood’s take on the story! Eeekkk! These ancient tales! Divine parentage, abandonment, exposure, feral children!

Today’s podcast is the final installment of The Aeneid. Enjoy!