Rhea Silvia or Ilia

Descendia de Eneias por Numitor, seu pai, rei de Alba Longa. Numa das lendas seu tio Amulio obrigou-a a ser sacerdotisa de Vesta. Marte raptou-a e violou-a num bosque. Desta ligação nasceram Rómulo e Remo. Amulio aborrecido mandou matar mãe e filhos. O servo encarregado da execução abandonou-os junto ao Tibre. O rio casou com Rea e entregou os gémeos ao cuidado da loba (prostituta) Luperca. Outras versões aparecem em Tito Lívio (História, I), Ovídio (Amores, III) e Virgílio (Eneida, V).


She was a descendant of Aeneas, on her father’s side, Numitor, king of Alba Longa. According to one legend, Amulio, her uncle, forced her to be a priestess of Vesta. Mars kidnapped her and raped her in the woods. Romulus and Remus were born out of this connection. Amulio was so upset that he ordered the mother and children’s death. The servant in charge of the execution left them adrift on the river Tiber. The River married Rhea and gave the twins to the care of the wolf (prostitute) Luperca. Other versions of the story appear in Livy (History, I), Ovid (Amores, III) and Virgil (Aeneid, V).

Unknown-'Rhea Silvia'-mosaic from Ostia Roma-Palazzo Altieri

Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Pisanello (ca 1375-ca 1453) (workshop)-''Sarcophagus figures of Mars and Rhea Silvia'-ca 1430 Milano-Biblioteca Ambrosiana

Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521)-'Mars and Rhea Silvia'-pen, brown ink Firenze-Galleria degli Uffizi (Gabinetto di Disegni e Stampe)

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)-'Mars and Rhea Silvia'-oil on canvas transfered from wood-(1616-1617) Wien-Liechtenstein Museum

Jacques Blanchard (1600-1638)-'Mars and the Vestal Virgin'-oil on canvas-ca 1630 Sydney-Art Gallery of New South Wales