It is said that it was on this day, in the year 753 BC, that the twin sons of the god Mars, Romulus and Remus (seen above suckling a she wolf) founded Rome. They did this by each standing on a seperate hill top and watching a flock of birds for an omen. The birds chose Romulus to be king but this didn't go down well and the brothers quarrelled and Romulus eventually killed Remus in a dispute over what the new city should be called. Odd to think that had a flock of birds flown in a different direction that day, the eternal city would probably have been named Reme.
Romulus then went on to found the Senate and the legions, and being short of citizens, he went to a neighbouring tribe, the Sabines, and nicked all their women.
The title of this post comes from Tacitus and refers to an old wall on Palatine hill, said to be the oldest part of Rome, and built by Romulus himself. It makes me laugh, not least because most of us are the hero's of our own lives, but we don't have to kill our siblings or abduct the neighbours wife just to build walls.
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