("Romulus" and "Remus" redirect here. For other uses, see Romulus (disambiguation) and Remus (disambiguation).) Romulus /ˈrɒmjᵿləs/ and Remus /ˈriːməs/ are the twin brothers and main characters of Rome's foundation myth. Their mother is Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa. Before their conception, Numitor's brother Amulius had seized power, killed Numitor's male heirs and forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin, sworn to chastity. Rhea Silvia conceives the twins by the god Mars. Once the twins are born, Amulius has them abandoned to die in the Tiber river. They are saved by a series of miraculous interventions: the river carries them to safety, a she-wolf finds and suckles them, and a woodpecker feeds them. A shepherd and his wife find them and foster them to manhood