When people think of the founding of Rome, two names usually come to mind: Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers who were said to have been raised by a she-wolf before Romulus went on to found the city itself. Their story has been told for over two thousand years in books, paintings, films, and classrooms. Yet one important figure is often left in the shadows. Before there could be Romulus and Remus, there had to be their mother.
Her name was Rhea Silvia.
Though she appears only briefly in many ancient accounts, Rhea Silvia occupies a crucial place in Roman mythology. Without her, there would be no twins, no founding legend, and perhaps no Rome at all. Her story is one of royal blood, political intrigue, divine intervention, and resilience. In many ways, she can be seen as the true mother of Rome.
According to Roman tradition, Rhea Silvia, also known as Ilia, was the daughter of King Numitor of the prominent Silvii family, rulers of Alba Longa, a city in the Alban Hills near Lake Albano along the central-western region of the Italian peninsula. During his reign, King Numitor was deposed and exiled by his brother Amulius, who executed all of Rhea’s brothers and had her sent away to serve as a Vestal Virgin, a priestess devoted to upholding her chastity in service to the goddess of the hearth, Vesta.
The Vestal Virgins, or Vestales, were to remain chaste and pure during their service to the goddess and were considered very important to the Roman faith. These priestesses tended to the perpetual fires in the sacred hearth, presided over religious and public events, and prepared foods for rituals. They held significant power because of their close relationship with the goddess, maintaining Pax Deorum, or peace of the gods, which allowed a reciprocal relationship between humans and the divine.
According to legend, Rhea fell asleep in a grove that had been consecrated to the god of war Mars, who became infatuated with the young woman and decided to take advantage of the napping girl and raped her. Other accounts tell of Rhea and Mars meeting in the field and having a consensual affair. According to Plutarch, Rhea became pregnant by immaculate conception and, much to the fury of her uncle Amulius, gave birth to twin boys: Romulus and Remus.
Amulius captured Rhea from the Temple, and her children were seized from her. She was imprisoned and eventually killed. In some fables, she drowned herself after her boys were taken. However, according to most versions of the story, Rhea met her end when she was buried alive, the traditional punishment for a Vestal Virgin who broke her vow of chastity. Other versions describe her being drowned in the Tiber River, where a servant was then given the gruesome task of executing the children. The servant, however, took pity on them, put the pair in a basket, and sent them downriver, where they landed on the shore of an embankment near Palatine Hill.
The twins were rescued by a lupa, or she-wolf, who suckled them as if they were her own and protected them by taking them to her den, a cave at the southwestern base of Palatine Hill known as the lupercal, or wolf cave. The wolf mother cared for the boys until Faustulus, a shepherd, found them and took them in. Faustulus raised the twins with his wife, Acca Larentia, and eventually told them their true identity when they grew up. Romulus and Remus, who were also trained to fight, went to right the wrongs of the past and led an army to Alba Longa, killing Amulius and restoring their exiled grandfather, Numitor, to the throne.
To commemorate their victory, Romulus and Remus went back to Palatine Hill to build a metropolis of their own. Upon arriving, the pair got into an argument over where to construct their city, either on the Palatine Hill, as Romulus desired, or the Aventine Hill, where Remus wanted. The quarrel escalated into a fight, and Romulus killed Remus. Despite being devastated by his brother's death, Romulus founded his city on Palatine Hill, which became the epicenter of the Kingdom of Rome, named after him; he ruled as its first king. The establishment of Rome is traditionally dated to April 21st, 753 BCE.
Rhea Silvia did not have the chance to witness Rome's birth or endure the loss of one son at the hands of the other, but she did give birth to Rome’s founder and, as such, is often remembered as the “Mother of Rome.” She endured a difficult life and met a tragic end; however, according to one version of the myth, she ultimately found happiness in the afterlife. Rhea Silvia was made a goddess in her own right and married Tiberinus, the god of the River Tiber, a fitting, if somewhat ironic, ending if she had indeed drowned in its waters.
References:
Connors, Catherine. “Ennius, Ovid and Representations of Ilia.” Materiali e Discussioni per l’analisi dei Testi Classici, n. 32 (1994): pgs. 99–112.
Hraste, Daniel Nečas, and Krešimir Vuković. “Virgins and Prostitutes in Roman Mythology.” Latomus vol. 74, no. 2 (2015): pgs. 313–338.
Mercer, Theo. “Mars and Rhea Silvia: The Divine Union That Founded Rome.” Mythology.com: Gods, Goddesses, and Ancient Legends. Updated May 22nd, 2026. www.romanmythology.com.
