According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa, and the war god Mars. Before the birth of the twins, Rhea Silvia dreamt of her future sons in the form of two palms trees with majestic fronds raising up to the sky. The usurper Amulius ordered for the infants to be drowned in the Tiber River to dispose of any potential claimants to the throne, however the trough in which they were placed floated and stranded near the site of the future Rome. There, a she-wolf suckled them until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus. Reared by him and his wife, the twins grew up and restored their grandfather to the throne, and eventually founded a town of their own. After quarrelling about the exact site, Romulus settled on the Palatine Hill and began building a wall, though Remus jumped over it, at which the furious Romulus killed him, becoming the first king of the newly founded Rome.
To find out more about intaglios please visit our relevant blog post: Engraved Gemstones in Ancient Rome
