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Mythographia

    Source Verification: Remus

    Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

    What the Sources Attest

    What was Remus known for?

    Remus is known as the twin of Romulus who lost the founding of Rome to him. Livy makes them sons of the Vestal Rhea Silvia, who named Mars as their father. Suckled by a she-wolf and raised by the herdsman Faustulus, the twins restored their grandfather Numitor to the throne of Alba. Remus then disputed the site and rule of the new city with his brother. He lost the contest of the birds and died at the founding.

    Source: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.6

    Is Remus a Greek god?

    No. Remus belongs to Roman legend, not Greek, and he is a mortal hero rather than a god. Livy makes him a son of the Vestal Rhea Silvia, who named Mars as the father, and he dies at the founding of Rome. His twin fared differently: Livy says Romulus vanished in a storm and was hailed as a god. Ovid's Fasti honours Remus only as a ghost, at the Remuria.

    Source: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.4

    What happened to Remus?

    He died at the founding of Rome, but the sources disagree on how. Livy first says Remus fell in a brawl between the twins' followers after the augury. His more common version has Romulus kill him for jumping the new walls. Plutarch names either Romulus or his companion Celer as the killer. Ovid's Fasti blames Celer alone, acting on Romulus's order to kill anyone who crossed the wall. Dionysius of Halicarnassus prefers death in the battle and says Remus was buried at Remoria.

    Source: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.7

    Why was Rome named after Romulus and not Remus?

    Because Romulus won, or claimed to win, the contest of the birds. Livy says that as twins neither could claim seniority, so they asked the gods through augury who would name and rule the city. Remus saw six vultures first and Romulus saw twelve afterwards. After Remus died, Livy says, Romulus ruled alone and the city took his name. Plutarch and Dionysius of Halicarnassus both report that Romulus cheated by claiming birds he had not yet seen.

    Source: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.6

    What was the Lemuria?

    The Lemuria was a Roman festival of the dead held on three nights in May, and Ovid's Fasti ties its name to Remus. At midnight a householder threw black beans behind him nine times, to ransom himself and his family from the ghosts. Ovid says Romulus founded the day as the Remuria after Remus's ghost asked for honour. Over time the harsh first letter softened into Lemuria. Temples were shut and weddings avoided during these days.

    Source: Ovid, Fasti 5.419-492

    Where Accounts Differ

    • who killed Remus
    • whether Romulus cheated in the augury
    • where Remus took the auspices
    • whether Remus leapt a wall or a trench
    • whether the Lemuria was named after Remus
    • whether Remus belonged to Aeneas's family
    • Who killed Remus differs by source. Livy (1.7) gives an unnamed death in the brawl after the augury, then the more common report that Romulus killed him for leaping the walls. Plutarch (Romulus 10) names Romulus or his companion Celer. Ovid (Fasti 4.837-852) names Celer alone, acting on Romulus's standing order. Dionysius (1.87) prefers death in the battle and gives Celer's mattock as the alternative.
    • The augury is told as fair or as rigged. Livy (1.7) leaves it a dispute between priority and number, and Ovid (Fasti 4.817-818) says the pact held and Romulus won the city. Plutarch (Romulus 9) records that some said Romulus lied about his twelve vultures, and Dionysius (1.86) says Romulus summoned Remus before seeing any birds at all.
    • Remus's station varies. Livy (1.6) and Ovid (Fasti 4.815-816) put him on the Aventine. Plutarch (Romulus 9) names his precinct there the Remonium. Dionysius (1.85-86) says he favoured a site called Remoria and watched from the Aventine or, in other accounts, from Remoria.
    • What Remus leapt differs. Livy (1.7) says the newly raised walls, Plutarch (Romulus 10) the trench dug for the wall, Ovid (Fasti 4.839-843) the low walls after an order covering walls and trench, and Dionysius (1.87) the finished wall after Remus had conceded the rule.
    • The link between Remus and the Lemuria rests on Ovid (Fasti 5.445-484), who derives Lemuria from a Remuria founded by Romulus. It is given here as Ovid's aetiology, not as an established derivation.
    • Dionysius (1.73) reports Roman accounts that made Romulus and Remus sons or grandsons of Aeneas, in which Remus founded a Rome named after himself. The Loeb translator renders the Greek name as Remus in that passage.
    • Livy and Plutarch are cited from the Perseus translations and checked by the site's citation validator. Ovid's Fasti and Dionysius's Roman Antiquities are not in the live citation registry. The Fasti line numbers were checked by hand against the Latin text on Perseus, and Dionysius's chapters against Earnest Cary's Loeb translation on LacusCurtius.

    Sources

    Primary sources
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.4
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.5
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.6
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.7
    • Plutarch, Life of Romulus 6
    • Plutarch, Life of Romulus 7
    • Plutarch, Life of Romulus 8
    • Plutarch, Life of Romulus 9
    • Plutarch, Life of Romulus 10
    • Plutarch, Life of Romulus 11
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.73
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.79
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.80
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.81
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.82
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.85
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.86
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.87
    • Ovid, Fasti 2.359-380
    • Ovid, Fasti 4.809-856
    • Ovid, Fasti 5.419-492