Romulus: Makers of History

In Short

Jacob Abbott traces the historical and mythological lineage of Rome from its ancient Greek roots to the mysterious end of its first king. Beginning with Cadmus's invention of letters and the fall of Troy, the narrative follows Aeneas’s voyage to Latium, the tragic birth of the twins Romulus and Remus, and the bloody rise of their frontier city. Abbott unpicks legend from likelihood, showing how a band of fugitives, outlaws, and herdsmen consolidated power through trickery, warfare, and statecraft. It endures as an unpretentious, remarkably clear doorway into classical antiquity.

The Story

The narrative opens centuries before Rome's founding, establishing the foundational migration of Eastern culture into the West. It begins with Cadmus searching for his lost sister Europa, an ordeal that leads him to found Thebes and introduce written language to Greece. Abbott outlines how literacy evolved over centuries from crude inscriptions to continuous narrative, setting the stage for the preserved legends of the Trojan War. When Troy falls to the Greeks through the stratagem of the wooden horse, the Trojan hero Aeneas escapes the burning city with his family and sacred images, guided by his mother, the goddess Aphrodite.

Aeneas's long, perilous wanderings across the Mediterranean eventually bring his people to the shores of Latium in Italy. There, a skirmish ignited by the accidental shooting of a favored royal stag leads to war with the local tribes, forcing the Trojans to secure their place through blood and alliance. Four hundred years later, Aeneas’s lineage produces Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin whose secret birth to twin sons triggers a dynastic crisis. Her uncle Amulius, having usurped the throne of Alba, orders the infants thrown into the Tiber to protect his rule.

Rescued from the river and raised by the shepherd Faustulus, the twins Romulus and Remus grow into formidable leaders of the local forest youth. Upon discovering their royal heritage, they launch a rebellion, slay Amulius, and restore their grandfather Numitor to power. Wanting a realm of their own, they set out to build a new city on the Palatine hill. A bitter dispute over the city's location and auspicious signs culminates in Remus’s death, leaving Romulus as sole ruler.

To populate his newborn city, Romulus opens an asylum that attracts outlaws, runaway slaves, and desperate wanderers. Lacking wives for his men, he devises a scheme: he unearths a mysterious underground altar and proclaims a grand festival. When the neighboring populations arrive, the Romans seize the young women—most notably the Sabines—and drive the men away. The outrage sparks the Sabine War. After several desperate battles, including the duel between Romulus and the Sabine champion Curtius, the abducted women intervene between their fighting husbands and fathers. The conflict ends in a unified kingdom. Romulus reorganizes society, establishes the Senate, and rules for decades until he vanishes during a sudden storm, leaving behind a legacy that blends divine myth with pragmatic statecraft.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Cadmus abandons the search for his sister and follows a sacred cow across Greece to found Thebes, introducing the foundational art of written letters to the Western world.

Troy falls in flames The Greeks deceive the Trojans with a massive wooden horse, leading to the destruction of the city and forcing Aeneas to flee with his family into the unknown.

A stray arrow sparks war After years of wandering, Aeneas’s son Ascanius accidentally shoots a cherished pet stag in Latium, igniting a bitter conflict with the native Latins that secures a Trojan settlement.

A mother’s secret cost The vestal virgin Rhea Silvia gives birth to twin boys, exposing them to the wrath of the usurper Amulius, who orders the infants cast into the Tiber.

The city is marked After overthrowing Amulius, Romulus marks out the sacred boundaries of Rome with a copper plow, securing his sole rule following a deadly clash with his brother Remus.

The festival trap Lacking women to sustain the colony, Romulus invites neighboring tribes to a grand festival and orchestrates the forcible abduction of the Sabine maidens.

Peace on the battlefield As the Sabine army attacks Rome to reclaim their daughters, the women throw themselves between the clashing armies, halting the bloodshed and uniting the two peoples under Romulus.

The People

• Cadmus: An exiled Phoenician prince driven by an oracle to found Thebes; his journey introduces the alphabet to Greece, laying the groundwork for recorded history.
• Aeneas: A Trojan prince protected by his divine mother Aphrodite; he endures the loss of his homeland and leads his displaced people across the Mediterranean to establish a new lineage in Latium.
• Rhea Silvia: A vestal virgin and descendant of Aeneas whose forbidden pregnancy yields Romulus and Remus; her imprisonment by the tyrant Amulius sets the founding of Rome in motion.
• Romulus: The fierce, calculating founder and first king of Rome; driven by ambition and survival, he transforms a ragtag band of outlaws into an organized, formidable military state.
• Remus: Romulus’s twin brother who shares in the overthrow of Amulius; his rivalry with Romulus over the founding of the city ends in his early death.
• Acron: The energetic king of Caenina; recognizing the potential threat of the rising city, he leads the first military coalition against Romulus, only to fall in single combat.

In Its Own Voice

"The writer has spared no pains to gain access in all cases to the original sources of information, and has confined himself strictly to them." Abbott establishes his commitment to recording early history without romanticizing or inventing details.

"The arrow pierced the poor fugitive in the side, and inflicted a dreadful wound." An accidental hunting tragedy illustrates how the smallest spark can ignite devastating regional wars.

"Vast numbers of the people were of the humblest and most degraded condition, consisting of ignorant peasants, some stupid, others turbulent and ungovernable..." Abbott describes the volatile, fugitive population that Romulus had to shape into an enduring empire.

What It's Really About

The book examines how great civilizations are born out of violence, necessity, and sheer survival. Abbott peels back the polished sheen of imperial grandiosity to reveal Rome’s humble origins as an asylum for desperate men. Central to the work is the relationship between historic truth and legendary myth; it explores how early societies used divine intervention and heroic tradition to explain their institutions, sanctify their laws, and justify their aggressive expansion. Beneath the battle narratives lies an investigation into political organization—how chaotic, lawless populations are forged into an orderly society through law, religious ritual, and pragmatic leadership.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers who want a clear, direct, and unpretentious path into ancient history. Abbott writes with a lucid, measured cadence that cuts through dense classical prose, making complex ancient traditions immediately accessible. Rather than delivering a dry academic treatise, he treats the history as an unfolding story, balancing narrative momentum with critical skepticism about the ancient sources.

The reader must navigate 19th-century attitudes regarding civilization, gender, and social class, along with an explicit focus on moralizing historical events. The early chapters move deliberately through background traditions before reaching Romulus himself. Yet, what stays with the reader is Abbott's calm, objective eye—his ability to present bloody battles, sacred omens, and political trickery with equal clarity, exposing the rough, unvarnished machinery of how empires begin.