44/122 The _Timavus_ was a small river near where Trieste now is. Ascanius or Iulus is the son of Aeneas. The legend was that Rhea Silvia, a priestess of Mars, bore the twins Romulus and Remus. The two children were exposed and left to die, but were found and nursed by a she-wolf. This prophecy refers not to C.Julius Caesar but to his nephew Augustus, as is shown by the references to the east (the battle of Actium) and to the closing of the 'gates of Janus.' For an account of the latter, see Book VII. |