istressed, and never refused the
petitions of the afflicted that fled to him. The chief and most solemn
sacrifice which they celebrate to him is kept on the eighth day of
Pyanepsion, on which he returned with the Athenian young men from Crete.
Besides which, they sacrifice to him on the eighth day of every month,
either because he returned from Troezen the eighth day of Hecatombaeon,
as Diodorus the geographer writes, or else thinking that number to be
proper to him, because he was reputed to be born of Neptune, because
they sacrifice to Neptune on the eighth day of every month. The number
eight being the first cube of an even number, and the double of the
first square, seemed to be am emblem of the steadfast and immovable
power of this god, who from thence has the names of Asphalius and
Gaeiochus, that is, the establisher and stayer of the earth.

ROMULUS

From whom, and for what reason, the city of Rome, a name so great in
glory, and famous in the mouths of all men, was so first called, authors
do not agree.

But the story which is most believed and has the greatest number of
vouchers in general outline runs thus: the kings of Alba reigned in
lineal descent from Aeneas, and the succession devolved at length upon
two brothers, Numitor and Amulius. Amulius proposed to divide things
into two equal shares, and set as equivalent to the kingdom the treasure
and gold that were brought from Troy. Numitor chose the kingdom; but
Amulius, having the money, and being able to do more with that than
Numitor, took his kingdom from with great ease, and, fearing lest his
daughter might have children who would supplant him, made her a Vestal,
bound in that condition forever to live a single and maiden life. This
lady some call Ilia, others Rhea, and others Silvia; however, not long
after, contrary to the established laws of the Vestals, she had two
sons of more than human size and beauty, whom Amulius, becoming yet more
alarmed, commanded a servant to take and cast away; this man some call
Faustulus, others say Faustulus was the man who brought them up. He put
the children, however, in a small trough, and went towards the river
with a design to cast them in; but seeing the waters much swollen
and coming violently down, was afraid to go nearer, and, dropping the
children near the bank, went away. The river overflowing, the flood at
last bore up the trough, and, gently wafting it, landed them on a
smooth piece of ground, which t