17th Century Flanders Tapestry - The Rape Of The Sabine Women - 200lx185h - No. 1580

"The Rape of the Sabine Women" (or "The Abduction of the Sabine Women") is a founding episode of Roman mythology, very often depicted in art and literature. The mythological story According to the legend reported by Livy and Plutarch, after the founding of Rome by Romulus (around 753 BC), the young city lacked women to ensure its longevity. Romulus then invited the neighboring peoples to a festival in honor of Neptune. The Sabines, a neighboring people, came with their families. At Romulus's signal, the Romans abducted the young Sabine women to make them their wives. This episode is often referred to as a kidnapping, but it was less a matter of immediate physical violence than a political ploy to force an alliance. The Sabines went to war against Rome to recover their daughters, but the latter, already married and mothers, interposed themselves between their Roman husbands and their Sabine fathers to prevent massacre. Thanks to them, a reconciliation was concluded, leading to the union of the two peoples. Symbolic meaning This myth illustrates the birth of Rome through the forced and then pacified union of two peoples. It also symbolizes fusion through marriage as a tool for political cohesion. The Sabines became mediators, guarantors of peace, a founding feminine role in Roman history.