THE ORIGINS OF ROME.

THE LEYEND OF ROMULUS AND REMUS

1. Pre-reading vocabulary: Learn these words before you read the text. lt will help you
understand the text better.

DEFIN¡TION TRANSTATION

Eventually Finally
F,-o.hns}6

Bank The land along the side of a river

Cod*
Reign To be the king or queen of a country
Re,r,.do

Dethrone To remove a king or queen from the

throne E=l*,.,;-
Question To feel doubt about something
D"!Er^lo**.
Heirs A person who receives the properties of
another person died Fle".Je"o
Priestesses Feminine of priest
9c"e-d"l.sh
Menace To do something that give the impression
that could cause harm At.e¡,elc-

Drowning To die because you are underwater and

cannot breathe, Akgom,.'.\a
Take pi§ To fell compassion for someone
- "/
,Co*rpag,g^

She-wolf The feminine of wolf

L"b"
Lair A place where a wild animal lives, often
underground
Shepherd Someone whose job is to look after sheep
L,slo.
Augury A sign of what might happen in the future
Arte,ry'o

Whereas Word used to compare things that are

different fr,l|enl*s ?"e
 Honor To show great respect to a person,
thing efc l-lonu¡r

THE TEYEND OF ROMUTUS AND REMUS

The history of Aeneas

The story started far away from Rome, in Troy. After the myth of the Gotden Apple, an epic
war took place between Greek and Trojans and, eventually, the Trojans were defeated.

One of his most important heroes, Aeneas escaped from the city, thanks to the help of his
divine mother Aphrodite, and reached the ltalian Peninsula, where get married with the princess
Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus. That's how Aeneas became king. The myth of Aeneas gives
Rome a divineorigin.

Ascanio, son of Aeneas. founded the ci§ of Alba Longa on the right bank of the river Tiber.
Many of Aeneas decedents reigned peacefully.

Romulus and Remus

When Nimitor was king of Alba Longa, his brother Amulius took the power, dethroned him,
and put him in prison.

To avoid that anyone could question his positíon, Amulio killed the male heirs of Nimitor and
forcing his daughter, Rhea Silvia, to become a priestesses (a VestalVirgin) so she couldn't have
a baby that menace the new king.

Mars, the god of War, felt in love with Rhea Silvia and she gave birth to twins, Romulus and
Remus. Amulius condemned the babies to death by drowning in the river Tiber, but.the
servant in charge took pity on them and instead placed the twins into a basket and pushed
them down the River Tiber.

The boys were found by a she-wolf called Lupa who nursed them in her lair until they were
found by a shepherd and his wife who took care if them.

When Romulus and Remus became adult discovered their origins, killed King Amulius
and reinstated Nimitor as king of Alba Longa.

Foundation of Rome

After that, Romulus and Remus looked for a place where founded their own cíty. When they
were tray¡ng to find the perfect location for it the two brothers discussed. Remus wished to
start the ci§ on the Aventine Hill, while Romulus preferred the Palatine Hill.

ln order to decide which brother was right, they agreed to consult augury. Both of them tried
to see as many birds as possible, the winner would be the chosen one for the gods and would
decide the place.

Remus claimed to have seen six birds, whereas his brother had seen twelve. Even though
Romulus had seen more birds, Remus argued that he had seen them first. That's why, when
Romulus started to build the wall of the city, Remus decided to jump over (someth¡ng that was
considered as an insult). Angered by his brothels action, Romulus killed him.

Sad to see what he had done, Romulus decided to callthe new city Roma honored his brother.
According to the legend, this took place in 753 BC.

QUESTIONS

1. The founders of Rome have two gods related with its origins. Name them.
t1as.-,^,*J §ar,,'rd:}'
2. At the beginning of the story two brother fought for the control of the city Alba Longa.
Who was the legal king? Who won the confrontation?
Tte l¡gol \<lg wos N,^^,fur tr+ A.r\- wo..{t* cont*.L{,o"'
3. Why didn't Amulius kill Rhea Silvia?
§..o.*e *L" do^'| L",rB,| lL"-
4. What did Amulius pretend to happen to the twins of Rhea Silvia. How were they salved?
To be J"rr'..ng \r{- lL
se..nt tot " lte^ o^ o hoe[..Lt Lesa,ve
5. Who is Lupa? Explain her role in this story.
ft ,¡*s o *[*-*o\S ü^t D..,t-rlvs «d Qem.rs.
",l.sd
6. When Romulus and Remus discovered their real origin... What did they do?
Tl*f ü\t A^^rl,,l5 o^J g,ve trL. $**\o ü.1\o.,
7. How was the location of Rome decided?
By r.,!,o ses rñorcb..lt \Lt \t il*'
8. How was the name of Rome decided?
Be"r^.re Ro-.¡l¡s uns srfil "§ *\ol \.d"
",\t
Re-..§
"^l p* h'.' r,a¡^e L lt ",Iy
9. What is the name of the river next to Rome?
t rDer