Tarchetius

A mythical king of Alba, who in some traditions is connected with the founders of Rome. Once a phallus was seen rising above one of his flocks. In compliance with an oracle he ordered one of his daughters to approach the phallus; but she sent one of her maid servants, who became pregnant, and gave birth to the twins Romulus and Remus. Tarchetius caused them to be exposed, but they were suckled by a she-wolf and brought up by a shepherd, and when they had grown up to manhood they dethroned Tarchetius.

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References

Sources

  • Plutarch. Romulus, 2.
  • Smith, William. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly.

This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain.