[♠] ‘superor’ replaced with ‘superior’
Romāni, the inhabitants of Rome. See: [Roma].
Romānus, an officer under Theodosius.——Another, poisoned by Nero.——A son of Constans, &c.
Romilius Marcellus, a Roman centurion in Galba’s reign, &c. Tacitus, bk. 1, Histories.
Romŭla, a name given to the fig tree under which Romulus and Remus were found. Ovid., bk. 2, Fasti, li. 412.
Romulea, a town of the Samnites. Livy, bk. 10, ch. 17.
Rōmŭlĭdæ, a patronymic given to the Roman people from Romulus their first king, and the founder of their city. Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 638.
Romŭlus, a son of Mars and Ilia, grandson of Numitor king of Alba, was born at the same birth with Remus. These two children were thrown into the Tiber by order of Amulius, who usurped the crown of his brother Numitor; but they were preserved, and, according to Florus, the river stopped its course, and a she-wolf came and fed them with her milk, till they were found by Faustulus, one of the king’s shepherds, who educated them as his own children. When they knew their real origin, the twins, called Romulus and Remus, put Amulius to death, and restored the crown to their grandfather Numitor. They afterwards undertook to build a city, and to determine which of the two brothers should have the management of it, they had recourse to omens and the flight of birds. Remus went to mount Aventine, and Romulus to mount Palatine. Remus saw first a flight of six vultures, and soon after, Romulus 12; and therefore, as his number was greater, he began to lay the foundations of the city, hoping that it would become a warlike and powerful nation, as the birds from which he had received the omen were fond of prey and slaughter. Romulus marked with a furrow the place where he wished to erect the walls; but their slenderness was ridiculed by Remus, who leaped over them with the greatest contempt. This irritated Romulus, and Remus was immediately put to death, either by the hand of his brother or one of the workmen. When the walls were built, the city was without inhabitants; but Romulus, by making an asylum of a sacred grove, soon collected a number of fugitives, foreigners, and criminals, whom he received as his lawful subjects. Yet, however numerous these might be, they were despised by the neighbouring inhabitants, and none were willing to form matrimonial connections with them. But Romulus obtained by force what was denied to his petitions. The Romans celebrated games in honour of the god Consus, and forcibly carried away all the females who had assembled there to be spectators of these unusual exhibitions. These violent measures offended the neighbouring nations; they made war against the ravishers with various success, till at last they entered Rome, which had been betrayed to them by one of the stolen virgins. A violent engagement was begun in the middle of the Roman forum; but the Sabines were conquered, or, according to Ovid, the two enemies laid down their arms when the women had rushed between the two armies, and by their tears and entreaties raised compassion in the bosoms of their parents and husbands. The Sabines left their original possessions and came to live in Rome, where Tatius their king shared the sovereign power with Romulus. The introduction of the Sabines into the city of Rome was attended with the most salutary consequences, and the Romans, by pursuing this plan, and admitting the conquered nations among their citizens, rendered themselves more powerful and more formidable. Afterwards Romulus divided the lands which he had obtained by conquest; one part was reserved for religious uses, to maintain the priests, to erect temples, and to consecrate altars; the other was appropriated for the expenses of the state; and the third part was equally distributed among his subjects, who were divided into three classes or tribes. The most aged and experienced, to the number of 100, were also chosen, whom the monarch might consult in matters of the highest importance, and from their age they were called senators, and from their authority patres. The whole body of the people were also distinguished by the name of patricians and plebeians, patron and client, who by mutual interest were induced to preserve the peace of the state, and to promote the public good. Some time after Romulus disappeared as he was giving instructions to the senators, and the eclipse of the sun, which happened at that time, was favourable to the rumour which asserted that the king had been taken up to heaven, 714 B.C., after a reign of 39 years. This was further confirmed by Julius Proculus, one of the senators, who solemnly declared, that as he returned from Alba, he had seen Romulus in a form above human, and that he had directed him to tell the Romans to pay him divine honours under the name of Quirinus, and to assure them that their city was doomed one day to become the capital of the world. This report was immediately credited, and the more so as the senators dreaded the resentment of the people, who suspected them of having offered him violence. A temple was raised to him, and a regular priest, called Flamen Quirinalis, was appointed to offer him sacrifices. Romulus was ranked by the Romans among the 12 great gods, and it is not to be wondered that he received such distinguished honours, when the Romans considered him as the founder of their city and empire, and the son of the god of war. He is generally represented like his father, so much that it is difficult to distinguish them. The fable of the two children of Rhea Sylvia being nourished by a she-wolf, arose from Lupa, Faustulus’s wife, having brought them up. See: [Acca]. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bks. 1 & 2.—Livy, bk. 1, ch. 4, &c.—Justin, bk. 43, chs. 1 & 2.—Florus, bk. 1, ch. 1.—Plutarch, Romulus.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 3, ch. 2; bk. 5, ch. 3.—Pliny, bk. 15, ch. 18, &c.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 2, lis. 342, 605.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 14, lis. 616 & 845; Fasti, bk. 4, &c.—Horace, bk. 3, ode 3.—Juvenal, satire 18, li. 272.
Romŭlus Sylvius, or Alladius, a king of Alba.——Momyllus Augustulus, the last of the emperors of the western empire of Rome. His country was conquered A.D. 476, by the Heruli, under Odoacer, who assumed the name of king of Italy.
Romus, a son of Æneas by Lavinia. Some suppose that he was the founder of Rome.——A son of Æmathion sent by Diomedes to Italy, and also supposed by some to be the founder of Rome.