The she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus on the back of the Ostia altar

The back of the Ostia altar gave it a second name and a second life: it shows the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, which is why the monument is also called the altar of the twins. This subject, too, is bound up with the name of Mars, who, according to the legend, was the father of Romulus and Remus. Their mother, the Vestal Rhea Silvia, was put to death for breaking her vow of chastity: by one version of the legend she was buried alive, in keeping with the custom of executing Vestals, by another she was thrown into the Tiber, like her infant sons. Beside the she-wolf is depicted Tiberinus, the god of the River Tiber, who saved the brothers and handed them over to the she-wolf (in one version of the legend, Tiberinus saved Rhea Silvia as well, making her his wife). This side of the altar, as it relates directly to the founding of Rome, escaped the attacks of marauders

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

The she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus on the back of the Ostia altar

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

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