Marble Altar found at Ostia

"...the leader of the new group of settlers on the banks of the Tiber was a man from Alba, and a man of high birth, connected with the royal house of the Sylvii. The various and sometimes absurd versions of the event agree always on these two points, and we cannot be blamed if we accept them as historical truth. The legend of Rhea Sylvia, the vestal virgin, the daughter of the kings, led into temptation by Mars, inspired many artists, whose masterpieces have come down to us intact. I shall mention one only, of comparatively recent discovery, a marble altar found at Ostia, in the office of the corporation of the Sacomarii, on the west side of the Area Cereris (the square surrounding the temple of Ceres)..."

Ancient Rome
in the light of recent excavations

Author: Rodolfo Lanciani
Editor:Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York
Published: 1890


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