Rhea Silvia

Rhea Silvia
Statue in the Fonte Gaia
AbodeTiber
Personal information
ParentsNumitor (in Livy's account)
ConsortMars, Tiberinus
ChildrenRomulus and Remus
Rhea Silvia portrayed on a Sarcophagus

Rhea (or Rea) Silvia (Latin: [ˈreːa ˈsɪɫu̯ia]), also known as Ilia,[1] (as well as other names)[a] was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome.[3][4] This event was portrayed numerous times in Roman art[5] Her story is told in the first book of Ab Urbe Condita Libri of Livy[6] and in Cassius Dio's Roman History.[7] The Legend of Rhea Silvia recounts how she was raped by Mars while she was a Vestal Virgin, resulting in the twins,[4] as mentioned in the Aeneid[8] and the works of Ovid.

  1. ^ Dio, Cassius (1914). Dio's Roman History. Translated by Earnest, Cary; Foster, Herbert Baldwin. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 13.
  2. ^ Erasmo, Mario (2001). Archaic Latin Verse. Classical Texts, Focus Classical Library. Focus Pub. p. 79. ISBN 9781585100439.
  3. ^ Livy (1960). The History of Early Rome. Translated by de Selincourt, Aubrey; Scorzelli, Raffaele. New York: Heritage Press. pp. 9–11.
  4. ^ a b Livy I.4.2
  5. ^ Gersht, Rivka; Mucznik, Sonia. "Mars and Rhea Silvia" (PDF). pp. 116–123.
  6. ^ Livy (1960). The History of Early Rome. Translated by de Selincourt, Aubrey; Scorzelli, Raffaele. New York: Heritage Press. pp. 9–11.
  7. ^ Dio, Cassius (1914). Dio's Roman History. Translated by Cary, Earnest; Foster, Herbert. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 13.
  8. ^ Mathisen, Ralph W. (2019). Ancient Roman Civilization: History and sources. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 246.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).


© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search