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— CH. 1 · THE ROYAL DAUGHTER —

Rhea Silvia

~3 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
6 sections

  • Numitor, king of Alba Longa, had a daughter named Rhea Silvia. Her bloodline traced back to Aeneas, the Trojan hero who fled the burning city of Troy. Amulius, Numitor's younger brother, seized the throne and killed Numitor's son. He then forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin. These priestesses served Vesta and were sworn to lifelong celibacy. The law ensured that Numitor's line would have no heirs. This arrangement left the kingdom vulnerable to future claims on the crown.

  • Rhea Silvia went to a grove sacred to Mars to fetch water for her temple duties. She encountered the god Mars there while she was alone in the woods. He attempted to rape her as she ran into a cave to escape him. Somnus poured juice from a horn to put her to sleep during the encounter. Mars promised that their children would be great before he departed. Plutarch later claimed she believed this because she saw woodpeckers caring for her infants. Wolves also appeared to watch over the newborn twins near the riverbank.

  • Amulius ordered a servant to kill the twin boys after learning of their birth. The servant showed mercy instead and set them adrift on the overflowing river Tiber. They floated until they reached a pool by the bank where a she-wolf lived. That wolf had just lost her own cubs and suckled the human infants. Rhea Silvia remained imprisoned but was spared death due to intercession from Amulius' daughter Antho. Some traditions say she eventually threw herself into the Tiber waters to end her suffering.

  • Bas-reliefs on the Casali Altar depict Mars discovering Rhea Silvia in a grove. Engraved couched glass on the Portland Vase shows the same moment of discovery. A sarcophagus in the Palazzo Mattei features Mars striding over a sleeping Rhea Silvia. Somnus pours sleep juice from a horn while a personification of the river watches nearby. These artifacts prove that Romans widely accepted the story despite Livy's realist doubts. The Museo Nazionale Romano holds a relief showing Rhea Silvia asleep during conception.

  • Livy wrote about Rhea Silvia in the first book of his Ab Urbe Condita Libri. He doubted claims that Mars fathered the twins and preferred natural explanations. Ovid described how the river Anio took pity on her in his Fasti. Virgil included a prophecy in the Aeneid where Anchises foretold Romulus and Remus would be born by Mars. Plutarch recorded details about woodpeckers and wolves protecting the children. Dionysius of Halicarnassus noted that Romulus and Remus reinstated Numitor as king in 752 BCE before founding Rome.

  • David Drake wrote a science fiction story called To Bring the Light featuring a human Rhea Silvia. She lived as a sympathetic peasant in a shepherd community on Palatine Hill. Rick Riordan introduced her in The Mark of Athena as a character meeting Annabeth Chase. In this novel she appears alongside figures resembling Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck from Roman Holiday. Debra May Macleod published a historical fiction novel titled Rhea Silvia in 2022 making her the central character.

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Ancient Roman religion

Common questions

Who was Rhea Silvia and what was her family background?

Rhea Silvia was the daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa. Her bloodline traced back to Aeneas, the Trojan hero who fled the burning city of Troy.

How did Mars father the twins Romulus and Remus according to myth?

Mars encountered Rhea Silvia in a grove sacred to him while she fetched water for temple duties. He raped her as she ran into a cave to escape, and Somnus poured juice from a horn to put her to sleep during the encounter.

What happened to the newborn twin boys after Amulius ordered their death?

A servant showed mercy instead of killing the infants and set them adrift on the overflowing river Tiber. They floated until they reached a pool by the bank where a she-wolf suckled the human infants after losing her own cubs.

When did Dionysius of Halicarnassus say Romulus and Remus reinstated Numitor as king?

Dionysius of Halicarnassus noted that Romulus and Remus reinstated Numitor as king in 752 BCE before founding Rome.

Which modern authors have written stories featuring Rhea Silvia?

David Drake wrote a science fiction story called To Bring the Light featuring a human Rhea Silvia. Rick Riordan introduced her in The Mark of Athena as a character meeting Annabeth Chase. Debra May Macleod published a historical fiction novel titled Rhea Silvia in 2022 making her the central character.

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All sources

18 references cited across the entry

  1. 1bookDio's Roman HistoryCassius Dio — Harvard University Press — 1914
  2. 2bookArchaic Latin VerseMario Erasmo — Focus Pub. — 2001
  3. 3bookThe History of Early RomeLivy — Heritage Press — 1960
  4. 4webMars and Rhea SilviaRivka Gersht et al.
  5. 5bookAncient Roman Civilization: History and sourcesRalph W. Mathisen — Oxford University Press — 2019
  6. 6bookDio's Roman HistoryDio
  7. 7webThe History of RomeB.G. Niebuher — Cambridge, J. Taylor; etc., etc. — 3 April 1843
  8. 9bookRape in Antiquity: Rape and Livy's View of Roman HistoryJ.A. Arieti — Classical Press of Wales — 1997
  9. 10bookDio's Roman HistoryCassius Dio
  10. 12inlineLivy, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 1.
  11. 13journalThe Portland Vase againD.E.L. Haynes — 1968
  12. 14journalAn Augustan temple represented on a historical relief dating to the time of ClaudiusFred C. Albertson — 1987
  13. 15bookAmoresOvid
  14. 16bookCatullus. Tibullus. Pervigilium VenerisF. W. Cornish et al. — Harvard University Press — 1913
  15. 17journalTeaching About the Rape of Lucretia: A Student ProjectRosanna Lauriola — 2013
  16. 18bookLest Darkness Fall and Related StoriesDavid Drake — 2011
  17. 19bookThe Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, Book Three)Rick Riordan — Disney Book Group — 2 October 2012
  18. 20bookRhea Silvia: Book One in The First Vestals of Rome TrilogyDebra May Macleod et al. — Debra May Macleod — 2022-04-11