Gods, Goddesses, and Ancient Legends
The myth of Romulus and Remus is more than Rome’s origin story. It is a theological statement about why Rome existed at all — and why the Romans believed the gods had willed it into being from the start.
Rome had three gods who together defined what Rome was. Most people know Jupiter and Mars. The third was Quirinus — and almost no one knows what he governed.
Romulus killed his brother to found Rome, abducted the Sabine women to populate it, ruled for thirty-seven years, and then vanished in a storm. The Romans deified him. They also suspected the senators had torn him apart.