The Foundations of Rome

...the legend of the Founding of the single greatest empire to face the Earth...

800 b.c.

In order to tell this story we must go a long was back, to the days of ancient Greece.

The Trojan war began with the marriage of two Greek gods. All the gods were invited except Erism the goddess of quarrel. She became very angry. As the wedding continued, Eras threw a golden apple through the window with the message "For the Most Beautiful goddess.". Three goddesses thought it was theirs.

Hera, wife of the King of the gods

Pallas Athena, goddess of war

and

They decided to ask for opinions on the subject. They sent Hermes to Troy, to ask Paris, son of Priamus, king of Troy who was the most beautiful. He thought for a long time. Hera was nervous, so she bribed Priamus to pick her-"When you choose me, you will become the mightiest man on Earth"

Paris was mortal and mortality is good for bribes.

The other two goddesses knew unless they acted, Paris would choose Hera. Aphrodite's bribe however, weighed upon Paris's heart- "I'll give you the most beautiful woman on earth"

There was no more negotiation. Helena was the most beautiful woman on earth. However Helena was married to Greek King Melanus. 

Paris went ahead and wooed the married woman.

For ten years, the Greek made war on Troy.

One night, ten men snuck in the gates of Troy, inside a wooden Horse.

They opened the gates of Troy to the Greeks and the Greeks burned down Troy.

One of the survivors was Amulius,  brother of Numitor king of the ancient Italian city of Alba longa. Amulius became jealous of his brother power and over threw him. Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silva was forced to a priestess of Vesta and thus forbidden to marry.

Mars however, the God of war, fell in love with her and she gave birth to twins.

Amulius feared that the ill-begotten niece's daughters would rise up in anger against him. So He placed the newborns into a trough and thrown into the Tiber River. At that time,  the river was in flood, and as the waters fell, the trough carrying Romulus and Remus came ashore.

On the shore, a she wolf captured the boys. The she wolf, instead of harming the boys, nursed them with her milk. Also, while under the she wolf's care, the boys we fed food by a woodpecker.

The she wolf and woodpecker were sacred symbols of Mars.

Eventually the twins were found by Faustulus, the King's Shepard. He took them to his wife, and the couple adopted them. They named the children Romulus and Remus. They grew strong. The twins lead a band of warriors.

Because of their war mongering, King Amulius brought them before Numitor. Unbeknownst to Numitor, it was his grandchildren he was trying. As Numitor continued to investigate how unlike a Shepard the boys were, he realized who the twins were.

The twins formulated a plot to overthrow King Amulius and replace him with the rightful King Numitor. Together they rose against him and defeated him, restoring the Kingdom to their Grandfather.

753 b.c.

Soon after, the men decided to start a town of their own to rule. A place worthy of such notables as themselves. They decided on the place the she wolf had nursed them. Romulus began building walls. As he did, Remus jeered at him for having such small walls. In Jest, Remus jumped over them to prove they were too low.

In anger, Romulus killed his brother.

Romulus continued work on the new city, naming it Rome, after himself. It's first citizens were outlaws and fugitives. Romulus gave a portion of the palitine hills, named Capitoline Hill. Unfortunately, there was not enough wives for all of the men. Romulus, growing a city could not suffer such a foreseeable setback. Romulus enticed Sabine women to a festival. While the attention of the Sabine men was held, Romulus' men rushed in and carried off  the women.

This is the famous "Rape (carrying off) of the Sabine Women"

The Sabine king was however furious. Their king Titus Tatius made war on Romulus. When the fighting reached it's peak, some of the women who'd grown fond of their Roman husbands, rushed through no man's land and begged both sides to make peace. So the battle was stopped, and Both Romulus and Titus Tatius ruled until Titus Tatius was killed in battle.

For the rest of his life, Romulus ruled alone, proving himself an effective leader, in war and peace.

Romulus did not die, however.

He was carried up into the heavens by a violent storm.