97- Usurpation!

With the reign of Proca in the rear view mirror, we turn our attention to his two sons- Numitor and Amulius. A murderous plot and a usurpation leads to a young woman being condemned to a life as a Vestal Virgin. However, that doesn't stop her getting pregnant somehow. Oh well, let's put those twin boys in the Tiber...

Time period: 796- 771 BCE

Relevant individuals:

• Proca, 17th King of Alba Longa
• Amulius, 18th King of Alba Longa
• Romulus, grandson of Numitor
• Remus, brother of Romulus
• Numitor, heir of Proca
• Rhea Ilia, daughter of Numitor

Sources for this episode:

• Appian (1972), Appian’s Roman History in Four Volumes (Volume I). London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.
• Cassius Dio (1961), Dio’s Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.
• Diodorus of Sicily (1993), The Library of History Books IV.59- VIII. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.
• Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
• The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (2025), Vestal Virgins (online) (Accessed 15/08/2025).
• Eutropius (1760), Eutropius; Epitome of the Roman History. London: Printed for W. Johnston et al.
• Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Sélincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Ovid (1968), The Metamorphoses of Ovid. Translated by M. M. Innes. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Plutarch (1938), Plutarch’s Lives (Volume I). London and New York: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. And E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc.
• Sextus Aurelius Victor (2004), Origo Gentis Romanae: The Origin of the Roman Race. Translated by K. Haniszewski, L. Karas, K. Koch, E. Parobek, C. Pratt and B. Serwicki. Canisius College Translated Texts 3. Canisius College, Buffalo, New York.
• Author unknown (date unknown), Nuremberg Chronicle: being the Liber Chronicarum of Dr. Hartmann translated in English. Morse Library, Beloit College.