Romulus and Remus
Romans told legends to explain Rome's beginnings. One told how a Latin king's cruel brother took the throne by force. When the rightful king's daughter gave birth to two twin boys, Romulus and Remus, the new king feared the boys would grow up to take back the throne. The legend says that the twins were a descendants of Aeneas, a hero of the Trojan War. The king ordered the babies drowned in the Tiber river. According to legend, a mother wolf saved the twins, and later, they won back the throne. The legend says that the twins set out to build a settlement along the Tiber River, near where they had been rescued years before. However, they argued about which hill to build it on, and Remus was killed. Romulus became the first ruler of the new city, which was named Rome in his honor.