THE RAPE OF THE SABINE WOMEN & THE JOINT RULE OF ROMULUS & TITUS TATIUS

by Sasha Alex Lessin, Ph.D. (Anthropology, UCLA) & Janet Kira Lessin

ROMULUS CREATED THE FIRST ROMAN SENATE

Romulus created the first Roman legion of men willing to defend the city. From among the wealthiest elders, he formed a class of leaders known as Patricians—men who held both political and religious power. When they assembled, their council became the Senate.

Yet Rome lacked women. The Senate sent emissaries to neighboring kingdoms to arrange marriages, but the monarchs distrusted the Romans. None wanted their daughters to bear Roman heirs who might later claim succession to their thrones.

THE FESTIVAL PLOT

The shortage of women frustrated Romulus’ plans to populate his new kingdom. In 750 BCE, three years after Rome’s founding, he devised another strategy. He invited the Sabines, along with other tribes—the Caeninenses, Crustumini, and Antemnates—to attend games in honor of Consualia (known to the Greeks as Poseidon, and to the Sumerians as Enki, the Anunnaki geneticist said to have developed grains for Earth).

The sun blazed over the arena, casting sharp shadows across the Forum. Crimson and gold banners rippled in the wind as Romans mingled with visiting families. Fathers, mothers, and daughters filled the seats, unaware of what was to come.

Trumpets blared—the games began.

From his platform, Romulus watched not the races, but the daughters of Rome’s guests. At his side, an officer whispered, “Shall we begin?” Romulus gave a single nod, pulled his cloak over his head, and raised his arm.

Chaos erupted. Roman youths, planted throughout the crowd, leapt into action. They seized young women by wrists and waists, carrying them off as screams filled the air.

“Unhand my daughter!” cried a Sabine father, restrained by Roman guards.

“This is no theft,” a Roman youth shouted, dragging away a bride-to-be. “It is union!”

Romulus thundered above the tumult: “Do not fear! You are not captives, but brides! Rome offers you honor, family, and a place in our destiny!”

THE SABINES SWEAR REVENGE

The Sabines, led by King Titus Tatius, swore vengeance. Battles raged, but Rome held firm behind its defenses.

Then came betrayal. Tarpeia, daughter of the Capitoline guard, agreed to open the gates in exchange for golden bracelets. The Sabines entered—but despising her treachery, they crushed her beneath their shields.

On the battlefield, Sabines and Romans clashed in brutal combat. Neither side could claim victory, and both faced ruin.

THE INTERVENTION OF THE SABINE WOMEN

**THE SABINE WOMEN INTERVENE** On the battlefield, Sabine women carrying children rush between the Roman and Sabine armies, their pleas halting the fighting.

Amid the slaughter, the abducted women—now mothers of Roman children—ran between the armies. Infants in their arms, they pleaded with fathers and brothers not to kill their Roman husbands, and with their husbands not to slay their kin.

**MOTHER WITH CHILD** A Sabine mother raises her baby toward the warriors, her tear-streaked face begging both sides to stop the slaughter.

“Strike us down first,” they cried, “before you make us widows and our children orphans.”

Their courage stilled the fury of both hosts.

**THE CIRCLE OF PEACE** A circle of Sabine women stand together beneath a dramatic sky, holding laurel branches and children, illuminated by light from above. They symbolize the end of conflict.

**MOTHER OF PEACE** A Sabine mother, illuminated by light, holds her child close and raises a laurel branch as a timeless symbol of peace and courage.

ROMULUS & TITUS TATIUS RULE TOGETHER

**THE JOINT RULE OF ROMULUS & TITUS TATIUS**
**Romulus and Titus Tatius rule side by side, uniting Romans and Sabines under one throne, with the Senate doubled in size.**

Peace was struck. The Romans and Sabines united as one people. Titus Tatius joined Romulus on the throne, ruling jointly for five years. The Senate doubled in size to include Sabine elders, and temples to Concordia were built to honor the alliance. Rome, once a small settlement on the Palatine, spread across its hills and grew stronger than ever.

But unrest lingered. Some Romans grumbled, “We share too much power with our new in-laws.”

Soon after, Titus Tatius was murdered at Lavinium.

Romulus stood over his body and declared, “Tatius was my brother in kingship. His blood mingles with ours; his line binds forever to Rome. Let there be no vengeance—let there be only Rome.”

From then on, Romulus ruled alone.

THE VANISHING OF ROMULUS

**THE ASCENT OF ROMULUS At the end of his reign, Romulus vanished in a storm and was remembered as the god Quirinus.**

At a public sacrifice on the Field of Mars in 716 BCE, a violent storm swept over the crowd. Lightning split the sky, winds howled across the plain—and when calm returned, Romulus was gone.

Some whispered that jealous senators murdered him, hiding his body beneath their cloaks. Others swore he was taken up into the sky by his divine father, Mars, whom some equated with Ninurta.

Soon after, the noble Proculus Julius proclaimed before the people:

“At dawn, Romulus appeared to me, radiant and divine. He said: ‘Go, tell the Romans—by heaven’s will, Rome shall be the head of the world. My spirit watches over you. From this day forth, call me Quirinus.’”

The people believed. Altars to Quirinus rose on the Quirinal Hill. Their founder, the wolf-born king, the taker of brides, the uniter of Romans and Sabines, had vanished in a storm and been remembered as a god.

Thus ended the reign of Romulus—Rome’s first king, and its first god.

📚 REFERENCES

- Livy, Ab Urbe Condita (Book 1:6–16)

- Plutarch, Life of Romulus

- Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities (Book 2)

- Cornell, T. J., The Beginnings of Rome (1995)

- Wiseman, T. P., Remus: A Roman Myth (1995)

🔑 KEYWORDS

Romulus, Titus Tatius, Sabine Women, Rape of the Sabines, Roman mythology, Roman Senate, Tarpeia, Roman kings, Quirinus, ancient Rome, foundation myths, Roman history, Enki, Consualia, abduction myth, Roman-Sabine alliance, myth of Rome, god Quirinus, Capitoline Hill, Roman kingship