Dionysius of Halicarnassus arrived in Rome after the civil wars ended during the reign of Emperor Augustus. He spent twenty-two years studying Latin and literature before composing his history.
Roman Antiquities spans twenty books covering Roman history from mythic times around 1300 BC to the First Punic War in 264 BC. Book I begins with mythic early history and ends with Remus's death while Books II through IX cover the monarchy republic and conflicts up to 462 BC.
Only the first nine books of Roman Antiquities survive intact while the remaining eleven exist only as fragments found in excerpts by Roman emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. Angelo Mai discovered an epitome of these lost books in a Milan manuscript during the nineteenth century.
Commentaries on the Attic Orators covers Lysias Isaeus Isocrates and Dinarchus alongside works on Demosthenes and Thucydides. These writings show he thoroughly studied best Attic models before applying their lessons to his own historical narrative.
Romulus and Remus were born to vestal Ilia Silvia descended from Aeneas of Troy and tossed into the Tiber river where they were rescued by a she-wolf nursing them in Lupercal lair then adopted by Faustulus. Their followers fought resulting in Remus death buried at site now called Remoria after which Romulus made sacrifices receiving good omens before ordering fortifications housing construction.