The Next Kings of Rome

Following the disappearance of Romulus, Numa Pompilius became the next king.

One of the first things which Numa did was build a temple to the god Janus.

Janus was the Roman god believed to have two faces (back and front) and was the god of doorways, luck and peace.

The temple doors were always to remain open, signifying that Rome was at war and to be closed in times of peace (only twice in Roman history were they ever closed).

Numa then revised the Roman calendar to twelve lunar months from the old system (which only had ten months).

He added the months of January and February to the calendar.

Because the Roman calendar was off by a few days, Numa “inserted” intercalary months every few years to balance out the calendar.

Numa, however, was concerned that Rome’s military history might influence its future.

Therefore, he devised a plan which turned Rome into a city of peace.

Numa realized that Rome had been founded as a city of war, so he sought to change this.

He wished for Rome to be known as a city of peace, so he sought to inspire them with the fear of the gods.

He created a story which said that he was in the habit of meeting a goddess named Egeria at night who gave him religious advice.

Numa established the cult of Vesta with its twelve Vestal Virgins whose chief duty was to protect the eternal flame of Rome.

Numa believed that as long as the flame was kept alive, then Rome would remain.

Numa also established the Salii, the leaping priests of Mars.

These male priests would leap through the streets carrying the sacred shields believed to have fallen from heaven.

Rome began to change and became known as a city of peace.

When Numa died, the story spread that the goddess Egeria had turned him into a well.

With Numa gone, the people once again panicked.

To be continued