The Lupa nursed the infant twins Romulus and Remus at the Lupercal cave after they were cast into the Tiber, keeping them alive until the shepherd Faustulus discovered them.
Acca Larentia was the wife of the shepherd Faustulus, and later Roman writers called her the true lupa who suckled Romulus and Remus — playing on the Latin double meaning of lupa as both she-wolf and prostitute.
⚠ Livy (1.4) and Plutarch (Life of Romulus 4) both note the rationalist tradition identifying the she-wolf as Acca Larentia, a woman of loose morals whom the shepherds called lupa.
The she-wolf Lupa nursed the abandoned twins Romulus and Remus in the Lupercal cave, her wild mercy in that dark grotto giving the sacred site its name and Rome its most enduring founding image.
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and improve your experience. Learn more