The Story of

Romulus and Remus

A long, long time ago, in Alba
Longa in Italy, King Numitor
lived. He was not king for long
because his younger brother,
Amulius, wanted to be king and
managed to get the throne.

To make sure that nobody else

would take the throne back
off him, he had Numitor’s sons
killed and made his daughter,
Rhea Silvia, become a Priestess
of Vesta meaning she was not allowed to have children so
there was no one who could be king in the future.

However, his plan went wrong because Rhea Silvia had

twins with Mars, the Roman God of War as the father.
Amulius was scared of Mars, so he did not kill Rhea Silvia
for breaking the rules instead he put her in prison and told
a servant to take the twin boys and leave them in the River.

Amulius did not know that when the servant came to the
River he felt sorry for the boys, and let them float down the
river in their basket where he hoped they would be rescued.

The boys were saved when a wolf found them and took them to safety where she
protected and cared for them. The wolf looked
after the twins until a shepherd came one day
and took them home to be looked after by him
and his wife. They called the boys Romulus
and Remus.

The shepherd and his wife cared for the two

boys as if they were their own sons and
Romulus and Remus became shepherds like
their father.

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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

One day, Romulus and Remus met some

of the king’s shepherds and the men got
into a fight. Remus was caught and taken
back to King Amulius, who did not know
who he was.

Meanwhile, Romulus decided to go and

rescue Remus. He travelled to Alba Longa,
killed the king and saved his brother.

The people of the city were not angry with

the boys because they found out who
they were. Instead, they wanted to crown
them both as kings but the boys did not
want to be kings because they wanted to
build their own city somewhere else. So
they went in search of a place.

They eventually found a place but they argued about on which hill the city
should be built. Romulus wanted Palatine Hill but Remus wanted Aventine Hill
so they decided to wait for a sign from the gods to tell them which hill they
should use.

The sign from the gods was a group of birds but each brother believed they had
won so the problem was not solved. Romulus decided to start building a wall
around Palatine Hill, but Remus was jealous and started a fight where Remus
was killed.

Romulus was now free to build his

city, which was finished on the 21st
April 753BC. He made himself king
and named the city ‘Rome’ after
himself. This was the start of one
of the most powerful cities in the
world for the next thousand years.

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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

Questions
1. Name Romulus and Remus’ birth mother.



2. Who was the city of ‘Rome’ named after?




3. Number these events in the order they come in the story:

The servant put the twin boys in the river

Romulus kills Remus in a fight

The boys are offered to be joint kings of Alba Longa

Amulius becomes king

4. Finish this sentence:

Mars was the…



5. Name the hill on which Remus wanted to build his city.




6. On what date did Rome finish being built?




7. How come there was only one brother who built a city?



8. Do you think the servant of Amulius did the right thing? Give reasons for your answer.



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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

Answers
1. Name Romulus and Remus’ birth mother.
Romulus and Remus’ birth Mother was called Rhea Silvia.

2. Who was the city of ‘Rome’ named after?

The city of Rome was named after Romulus.

3. Number these events in the order they come in the story:

The servant put the twin boys in the river 2

Romulus kills Remus in a fight 4

The boys are offered to be joint kings of Alba Longa 3

Amulius becomes king 1

4. Finish this sentence:

Mars was the…
(Roman) God of War
(also accept the father of Romulus and Remus)

5. Name the hill on which Remus wanted to build his city.

Remus wanted to build his city on Aventine Hill.

6. On what date did Rome finish being built?

Rome finished being built on 21st April 753BC.

7. How come there was only one brother who built a city?
There was only one brother left to build a city as the other brother (Remus) had been
killed (by Romulus).

8. Do you think the servant of Amulius did the right thing? Give reasons for your answer.
Open-ended but must be backed up with a reason referring to the story.

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 The Story of
Romulus and Remus
Nearly three thousand years ago, in a
place called Alba Longa in Italy, lived King
Numitor. All was fine until the king’s younger
brother, Amulius, wanted the throne for
himself and took it. Amulius also made sure
that nobody would take the throne back
off him, so he had Numitor’s sons killed
and made his only daughter, Rhea Silvia,
become a Priestess of Vesta, which meant
that she was not allowed to marry or have children because Amulius worried
that she might have a son one day who could become king.

However, the plan went wrong because Rhea Silvia fell in

love with Mars, the Roman God of War, and they had twin
sons. Breaking the rules of the Priestesses of Vesta usually
meant death, but Mars was a hugely powerful man and
Amulius was scared of him. Instead, he put Rhea Silvia
in prison and ordered a servant to take the twins and put
them in the River Tiber.

What Amulius did not know was when the servant came to
the river, he felt sorry for the boys, so he left them in their
basket and let them float down the river, where he hoped
they would be rescued.

The servant’s hopes were right, as a she-wolf

found the boys and pulled them to safety,
where she protected and cared for them. The
wolf looked after the twins until a shepherd
came along one day and took them home to be
cared for by him and his wife. They gave the
boys names: Romulus and Remus.

The shepherd and his wife loved and cared for

the two boys as if they were their own sons
and Romulus and Remus became shepherds
like their father.

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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

One day, while the boys were with their sheep,

they met some shepherds of King Amulius and
the men ended up fighting. Remus was caught
and taken back to King Amulius, who did not
recognise him.

Meanwhile, Romulus gathered a group of

shepherds to go and rescue Remus. Eventually,
Romulus managed to free Remus but not before
killing the king.

The people of the city were not angry with the

boys when they found out who they were but
instead wanted to crown them as joint kings. Surprisingly, the boys turned
down the offer because they wanted to build their own city.

After a journey, Romulus and Remus found

the place they wanted as their city. However,
they disagreed on which hill the city should
be built. Romulus wanted Palatine Hill
whereas Remus preferred Aventine Hill so
they decided to wait for a sign from the gods
to tell them which hill they should use.

The sign from the gods was a group of

vultures but each brother believed they had
won. Still not managing to agree, Romulus went on to build a wall around
Palatine Hill, but Remus was jealous and taunted his brother. They fought and
Remus was killed by Romulus.

Romulus, was now free to build his city, which was finished on the 21st April
753BC. He made himself king and named
the city ‘Rome’ after himself. This was the
beginning of one of the most powerful cities
in the world for the next thousand years.

Page 2 of 2
 The Story of Romulus and Remus

Questions
1. Name Romulus and Remus’ birth father and birth mother.



2. Who was the city of ‘Rome’ named after?




3. What did Rhea Silvia become after Amulius became king?




4. In the text, the author uses the word ‘taunted’.

Which word or words most closely match the word ‘taunted’? Tick one

complimented

cheered

teased

shouted at

5. Who was Mars?




6. What did the two brothers disagree over?




7. Who gave Romulus and Remus their names?




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 The Story of Romulus and Remus
8. What happened to the twins after the servant put them in the water?



9. How come there was only one brother who built a city?



10. Do you think the servant of Amulius did the right thing? Give reasons for your answer. 



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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

Answers
1. Name Romulus and Remus’ birth father and birth mother.
Romulus and Remus’ birth father and birth mother were Mars and Rhea Silvia.

2. Who was the city of ‘Rome’ named after?

The city of Rome was named after Romulus.

3. What did Rhea Silvia become after Amulius became king?

Rhea Silvia became a Priestess of Vesta after Amulius became king.

4. In the text, the author uses the word ‘taunted’.

Which word or words most closely match the word ‘taunted’? Tick on
complimented
cheered
teased
shouted at

5. Who was Mars?

Mars was the Roman God of War. (Or the father of Romulus and Remus.)

6. What did the two brothers disagree over?

The two brothers disagreed about on which hill they should build their new city.

7. Who gave Romulus and Remus their names?

The shepherd and his wife named the boys Romulus and Remus.

8. What happened to the twins after the servant put them in the water?
The twins floated down the river and were saved by a she-wolf after the servant put
them in the water.

9. How come there was only one brother who built a city?
There was only one brother left to build a city as the other brother (remus) had been
killed (by Romulus).

10. Do you think the servant of Amulius did the right thing? Give reasons for your answer.
Open-ended but must be backed up with a reason referring to the story.
 The Story of
Romulus and Remus
Long ago, before Christianity, in the
fine city of Alba Longa, Italy, lived
King Numitor. All was not well in Alba
Longa because the king’s younger
brother, Amulius, wanted the throne
for himself and took it from the king.
Amulius was adamant that nobody
should threaten his new position so
just to make sure, he had Numitor’s
sons killed and made his only daughter,
Rhea Silvia, become a Priestess of Vesta where she was not allowed to marry
or have children as Amulius was worried that she might have a son one day to
threaten his throne.

However, the plan backfired as Rhea Silvia fell in love with Mars, the Roman
God of War, and they had twin sons. Usually, the punishment for going against
the rules of the Priestesses of Vesta was death, but Mars was a hugely powerful
man and Amulius feared him. Instead he imprisoned Rhea Silvia and ordered a
servant to take the twins and put them in the River Tiber.

Unbeknown to Amulius, when the servant arrived at the river, he could not
bring himself to throw the babies in so he left them in their basket and let them
float downstream, where he hoped they might be rescued.

Good fortune was on the side of the twins as a she-wolf found them and
pulled them to safety, where she protected and cared for them while a friendly
woodpecker helped them to find food. The
animals looked after the twins until a passing
shepherd found them and took them home to
be cared for by him and his wife. They named
the boys Romulus and Remus.

The shepherd and his wife loved and brought

up the two boys as their own, both becoming
shepherds like their father.

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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

One day, whilst the boys were with their sheep, they
came across some shepherds of King Amulius and
the men ended up fighting. Remus was captured and
taken back to King Amulius, who did not recognise
him as he believed they had died a long time ago.

Meanwhile, Romulus gathered a group of shepherds

to go and rescue Remus. Eventually, Romulus
managed to free Remus but in the process, killed
King Amulius.

You’d have thought that the city people would be

angry with the two boys, but they found out their real identities and offered to
crown them as joint kings. Surprisingly, the boys turned down the offer as they
wanted to build their own city.

They finally found the place they wanted as

their city – where Rome stands to this day.
However, it wasn’t plain sailing as the two
boys disagreed as to which hill the city should
be built on. Romulus favoured Palatine Hill,
whereas Remus preferred Aventine Hill so
they decided to wait for a sign from the God
Augury to tell them where to build.

The sign came in the shape of a number of

vultures, although Romulus saw six and Remus saw twelve so each brother
thought they had won. Not managing to see eye-to-eye, Romulus went on to
build a wall around Palatine Hill but Remus, being jealous, taunted his brother
and they ended up in a fight where Remus was killed by Romulus.

Romulus, being alone, was now free to build

his city as he wished. The city was finished
on the 21st April 753BC; Romulus made
himself king and named the city ‘Rome’ from
his own name. This was the beginning of the
growth of one of the most powerful cities in
the world for the next thousand years.

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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

Questions
1. Name Romulus and Remus’ birth father, birth mother, grandfather and great uncle.



2. Where did the city of ‘Rome’ get its name and on which hill is it situated?



3. In paragraph two, which word tells us that King Amulius’ plan did not work?



4. In the text, the author uses the word ‘adamant’.

Which word or words most closely match the word ‘adamant’? Tick one

angry

determined

not bothered

charming

5. Why did the people of Alba Longa think that Romulus and Remus should be kings?



6. Why was Rhea Silvia punished?




7. According to this story, how old will the city of Rome be in the year 2020?



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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

8. What sign did God Augury send Romulus and Remus?




9. How come there was only one brother who built a city?



10. Do you think the servant of Amulius did the right thing? Give reasons for your answer. 



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 The Story of Romulus and Remus

Answers
1. Name Romulus and Remus’ birth father, birth mother, grandfather and great uncle.
Romulus and Remus’s birth family are: father – Mars, mother – Rhea Silvia, grandfather
– King Numitor and great uncle – Amulius.

2. Where did the city of ‘Rome’ get its name and on which hill is it situated?
The city of Rome was named after Romulus and it is situated on Palatine Hill.

3. In paragraph two, which word tells us that King Amulius’ plan did not work?
The word in paragraph two that tell us the plan did not work is ‘backfired’.

4. In the text, the author uses the word ‘adamant’.

Which word or words most closely match the word ‘adamant’? Tick one
angry
determined
not bothered
charming

5. Why did the people of Alba Longa think that Romulus and Remus should be kings?
The people of Alba Longa thought that Romulus and Remus should be kings because
their grandfather, Numitor, was king and they should have been kings after
him anyway.

6. Why was Rhea Silvia punished?

Rhea Silvia was punished because she had some children against the law of the Priestesses
of Vesta.

7. According to this story, how old will the city of Rome be in the year 2020?
In 2020 the city of Rome will be 2773 years old.

8. What sign did God Augury send Romulus and Remus?

God Augury sent Romulus and Remus some vultures as a sign.

9. How come there was only one brother who built a city?
There was only one brother left to build a city as the other brother (Remus) had been
killed (by Romulus).

10. Do you think the servant of Amulius did the right thing? Give reasons for your answer.
Open-ended but must be backed up with a reason referring to the story.