Who were Romulus and Remus?

According to Roman legend Romulus and Remus were grandsons of Numitor, King of Alba, who was deposed by his brother, Amulius. Numitor’s daughter was forced to become a Vestal Virgin, but Mars, the god of war, fell in love with her and she gave birth to twin sons. Amulius commanded that the infants be drowned and they were thrown into the River Tiber in a basket of reeds. However, the basket was eventually washed ashore, and the babies were suckled by a she-wolf. They were later discovered by the king’s shepherd who took them home and brought them up as his own sons.

When Romulus and Remus were grown up they rose against the king, killed him and restored the throne to their grandfather. They decided to found a town and Romulus began to build a city on the Palatine Hill. His brother jeered at him, and in the ensuing quarrel Remus was killed. Romulus built the city and named it Roma (Rome).