Rhea Silvia

For the crater on Vesta, see Rheasilvia.
"Rhea Sylvia" redirects here. For the 2018 EP by the American band Thou, see Rhea Sylvia (EP).
Rhea Silvia
Statue in the Fonte Gaia
AbodeTiber
Genealogy
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.


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