Myth of Romulus and Remus for modern people

The founding myth of the City of Rome centers on the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. This myth encompasses the circumstances of their birth, their coming of age, and the death of Remus by his brother. What makes this myth remarkable, for me, is that this is essentially the creation myth for ancient Romans. The myths of Romans usually focused on civic ethics or piety toward the Gods. (Any myth that detailed the creation of the world was usually adapted from the Greeks.) This founding myth presents the belief of the Romans that they were called to a greater destiny in the world. However, they were unsparing in highlighting that Romulus murdered his brother or that the original Romans were criminals.

 The elements of this myth are twins with a divine parentage: in their case, Mars, the God of War. Their royal grandfather is overthrown, and their mother is made a Vestal Virgin. The twins are sent out to be killed by their great uncle, but are saved through magical intervention. A wolf rescues them and nurses them until they are found. A childless couple, Faustulus and his wife adopts the twins and raise them as shepherds. When the brothers are grown, they get into trouble with the king’s men. When they were taken before their great uncle, who happens to be the king, Romulus kills him, and reinstates their grandfather and frees their mother. Afterwards, the brothers leave to find their own fortune. Along the way, they argue over where to establish their new city. Goaded into fury by Remus, Romulus kills his brother. Filled with remorse, he buries Remus with great pomp, and then founds The City of Rome.

 Because of my brain injury, writing fiction is difficult. Imagining characters and constructing a plot is hard. However, I can read fiction, and my favorite genre is crime noir. I decided to rewrite the myth of Romulus and Remus in that form. Comparing this Roman myth to pulp fiction, it sounds like something from the stories of American organized crime. Keeping the original Roman names, I rewrote the myth as crime noir.

 In the City of Alba Longa, the Numitor Crime Family ruled the criminal underworld. The head of the Family, Don Numitor was so powerful that he had a seat on the National Commission, which ruled the criminal underworld of the nation. The head of the Commission (the Boss of Bosses) was Don Maroni (Mars, the God of War). In addition, Don Maroni was interested in Rhea Silvia, Don Numitor’s daughter.

 Meanwhile, Amulius seized control of the Family from his unsuspecting brother. After his coup,

Amulius confined Numitor to his home, and forced his niece into a convent. To ensure that Rhea Silvia remained at the convent, Don Amulius bribed the Mother Superior.

 After Don Maroni found out where Rhea Silvia was, he also bribed the Mother Superior to ensure that his visits were unimpeded. In a few months, Rhea Silva became pregnant. Therefore the Mother Superior asked Don Amulius to come and fetch his niece. After he arrives, she informs him that the father of his niece’s children is none other than Don Maroni. Not willing to offend the Boss of Bosses, Don Amulius imprisons her with her father in their house.

 However, Don Amulius regarded her children to be a different matter. He would tell Don Maroni, that the two boys died at birth. Meanwhile, he ordered one of his men to “take care” of them. The goon dumped the twins into the Tiber River. They floated downstream until a stray dog paddled out and pulled them to land. Since she had lost her puppies, the mangy dog nursed the boys as her own. Then, a passing farmer heard their cries, rescued them, and took the babies to his farm. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised Romulus and Remus as their own sons.

 Like many young men, Romulus and Remus longed to leave the farm and go into the city. During a trip to Alba Longa, Romulus and Remus got into trouble. Don Amulius’ men dragged them to the “Padrino,” Don Amulius, since Remus had killed their Capo (Crew Boss). However, Romulus escaped, and formed a gang of toughs to storm Don Amulius’ office to rescue his brother. In the melee that followed, he killed Don Amulius.

 The Underboss of the Amulius Family recognized the two brothers as the children of Rhea Silva and Don Maroni. Because of this, he offered them the position of Don of the Family. But, Romulus decided that his grandfather be reinstated instead, and their mother freed. After reuniting with their mother, and learning who their father was, Romulus and Remus set out to start their own crime family, in another city.

 Empowered by being the sons of Don Maroni, the two brothers gathered an impressive group of criminals. As they searched for a suitable city, Romulus and Remus fought with each other. Arriving at a likely town, their arguing became more intense about who would be boss of the new crime family. After Romulus claimed that he received a sign from their father, he decided that this small town is the place to start their Family. Moreover, he announced that he would be the Don. Chagrined at being ignored by his brother, Remus taunted him for being so stupid to set up “business” in such a small town. Enraged, Romulus killed him. After ruing the murder of his brother, Romulus gave Remus a magnificent funeral. Then, he became Don Romulus, the head of the Rome Family, his new crime organization.

Works used.
 Garcia, Brittany, “Romulus and Remus.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. 4 October 2013. Web. http://www.ancient.eu/Romulus_and_Remus/.
“Roman Mythology,” Myths Encyclopedia. 2015. Web. http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pr-Sa/Roman-Mythology.html.
 “Roman Mythology,” United Nations of Roma Victrix History. 2015. Web. http://www.unrv.com/culture/mythology.php.
 Watson, Donald, “Roman Mythology.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. 10 December 2014. Web. http://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Mythology/.

Mythical Animals: The Peryton

From Wikipedia

Little known in modern times, the Peryton was an animal feared by ancient peoples, for these beasts often hunted humans out of spite. Resembling a winged deer, the Peryton had the antlers, head, and legs of a deer. In addition, this beast possessed the wings and body of a bird. Furthermore, some Europeans thought that Perytons were relatives of the Stymphalids, the man-eating birds of Arcadia.

 Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina, 1899 - 1986) documented in his “The Book of Imaginary Beings” (1969) that the Peryton had originally came from Atlantis. When that continent sank, these beasts fled east beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the mountains of Greece and North Africa. Since they perceived that Atlantis, their home, was destroyed by humans, the Perytons sought their revenge by murdering people.

 Whenever a Peryton hunted, the beast would cast the shadow of a human on the ground. Since it was not vulnerable to human weapons, a Peryton could easily kill a person. However once the beast did so, its shadow was transformed into that of a winged deer. According to Dr. Karl Shuker, (U.K., 1959 - ) a zoologist and cryptozoologist, a Peryton lost its invulnerability after slaying a person. Moreover, the beast could only kill one human in its lifetime.

 Roman accounts tell that a sibyl prophesied that the Perytons would bring about the end of Rome. During the Punic Wars (264 BCE to 146 BCE), these beasts fought for Carthage against the Romans. From their home in North Africa near the city, Perytons regularly attacked Roman ships in the Mediterranean Sea. 

During the Second Punic War in 218 BCE, Hannibal had attacked Rome. As he laid siege against the city, Hannibal waited for more reinforcements to arrive from Carthage. Meanwhile the Roman general Publicus Scipio Africanus sailed to North Africa to stop them. As he sailed, the Perytons attacked his fleet killing many Roman legionaries. To stop the on-going carnage, Scipio ordered the survivors to raise their large square shields (scutum) towards the sun. The reflection from these shields blinded the Perytons, which then fled to the mountains of North Africa where they are reputed to be living today. 

  Various scholars have claimed that Borges made up his stories about the Perytons. According to them, Borges’ sources were bogus, and the Peryton was a figment of the writer’s imagination.  Borges, himself, claimed that his information came from a 16th century Rabbi’s essay, who cited an ancient Greek scholar. Borges said that the only known copy of this Rabbi’s treatise was destroyed in World War II. Many think that this is very suspicious and highly coincidental.

 However, Dr. Shuker points out the abundance of portrayals of winged deer in various cultures. He thinks that Borges had other sources for his information about the Peryton. Dr. Shuker points to the statues in Segovia, Spain, and at the palace grounds of Linlithgow Palace in Scotland as evidence. 

 Meanwhile, Caspar Henderson (U.K., 1963 - ), author of  “Book of Barely Imagined Beings: A 21st Century Bestiary,” asked, “which dreams are wholly fantastical and which are vision or distortions of what is real or has the potential to be so?” Henderson observed that life is inventive and creatures today are as fantastic as the ones that Borges wrote about. Therefore, the Peryton exists whether we want to believe Borges or not.

 Works Used:

Allan, Tony, “The Mythic Bestiary,” Duncan Baird: London, 2008.

Henderson, Caspar, “Rereading The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges,” “The Guardian,” 23 November 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/nov/23/caspar-henderson-rereading-jorge-luis-borges, .

Nigg, Joseph, “The Book of Dragons and Other Mythical Beasts,” Quarto: London, 2002.

Shuker, Karl, “‘And Hast Thou Slain the Peryton?’ – An Antlered Atlantean,” ShukerNature, 21 November 2011, http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2011/11/and-hast-thou-slain-peryton-antlered.html, .

Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon and Ash DeKirk, “A Wizard’s Bestiary,” New Page Press: Franklin Lakes, NJ, 2007.