“Too bad you left that amulet at home today,” whispered Romulus. “You’ve no phallus at your neck to protect the one between your legs!”
“Stop trying to cover yourself,” said Remus, shaking with laughter. “A good strapping with one of these will make you more potent than ever! You’ll have the power of the wolf between your legs!”
At last the twins relented, and the three of them returned to their pursuit of screaming girls.
As the twins had predicted, the incident became the talk of all Roma. That evening, Potitius’s father gathered the immediate family—Potitius, his mother, and sisters—to discuss it.
“Three youths, naked except for wolfskins concealing their cowardly faces, running all over the Seven Hills, terrifying everyone they met—such behavior is an outrage!”
“Did no one try to stop them?” said Potitius’s mother.
“A few elders dared to berate them for their behavior; the scoundrels ran circles around the poor fellows, howling like animals, scaring them half to death. A few of the younger men gave chase, but the troublemakers outran them.”
“But what did they look like, husband? Was there nothing to distinguish them?”
“I didn’t see them myself. Did any of you?”
Potitius averted his eyes and said nothing. He nervously bit his lip when one of his sisters, who was a little younger than himself, meekly spoke up. “I saw them, father. I was visiting a friend over on the Viminal when they came tearing through the village, howling and growling.”
Her father’s face stiffened. “Did they molest you in any way?”
She blushed. “No, Father! Except…”
“Speak, daughter!”
“Each of them carried a thing in his hand; I think it must have been a long, narrow strip of wolf hide. They snapped them in the air, like little whips. And they…”
“Go on.”
“Whenever they came to a girl or a young woman, they struck her with it.”
“Struck her?”
“Yes, Father.” She blushed more furiously than ever. “On her bottom.”
“And did they strike you, daughter—on your bottom?”
“I—I don’t really remember, Father. It was all so frightening, I can’t recall.”
Liar! Potitius wanted to say. He remembered the moment quite clearly. So, he was sure, did his sister. It was Remus who had slapped her bottom, and, far from being frightened, she had run after them, giggling and trying to give Remus’s naked bottom a slap in return. Despite his nervousness, Potitius had to force the grin from his face.
Potitius’s father shook his head. “As I said, an outrage! What’s even more outrageous is the fact that not everyone thinks as we do about this matter.”
“What do you mean, Father?” asked Potitius.
“I was just talking to the elder Pinarius. He seems to be amused by the incident! He says it’s only the older people who find such behavior scandalous. He says that all the young men envy these savage wolflings, and all the young women admire them. You don’t envy them, do you, Potitius?”
“Me? Of course not, Father.” Nervously, Potitius touched the amulet at his neck. He had put on the necklace as soon as he returned home that evening, wanting Fascinus to be near him. To be sure, he was not exactly lying to his father; a man could not envy himself.
“And you, daughter—you don’t admire these troublemakers, do you?”
“Of course I don’t, Father. I despise them!”
“Good. Others may praise these savages, but in this family, there are standards to be upheld. The Potitii set an example for all of Roma. So should the Pinarii, but I fear that our cousins may have forgotten their special standing among the people.” He shook his head. “The identities of two of these wolflings is only too obvious—those scoundrels Romulus and Remus. But who was the third wolfling? What innocent youth did the swineherd’s boys lure into playing this disgusting game with them?” He stared directly at Potitius, who turned pale. “Do you think, my son…do you think it might have been your cousin, young Pinarius?”
Potitius swallowed a lump in his throat. “No, Father. I’m quite sure that it wasn’t Pinarius.”
His father grunted and gave him a shrewd look. “Very well. Enough of this matter. I have something much more important to discuss. It involves you, my son.”
“Yes, Father?” said Potitius, relieved at the change of subject.
The elder Potitius cleared his throat. “As priests of Hercules, we play a very important role among the people. Our judgment in matters of the divine is greatly respected. But there is much that we could still learn when it comes to reading the will of gods and numina. Tell me, my son: When a farmer’s well runs dry, whom does he call upon to pacify the spiteful numen that blocked the spring? When a fisherman wants to find a new fishing spot, whom does he call to mark boundaries in the river and say a prayer to placate the water numina? When a bolt of lightning kills an ox, whom does the oxherd consult to determine whether the blasted flesh is cursed and should be consumed by fire upon an altar, or blessed and should be eaten with rejoicing?”
“If they can afford it, people call for an Etruscan diviner—what the Etruscans call a haruspex.”
“Exactly. Our good neighbors to the north, the Etruscans, are very wise in the ways of divination—and Etruscan haruspices make a very good living at it. But divination is simply a skill, like any other. It can be taught, and it can be learned. There is a school of divination in the Etruscan town of Tarquinia. I am assured that it is the finest of all such schools. I have arranged for you to study there, my son.”
Potitius was silent for a long moment. “But Father, I don’t speak Etruscan.”
“Of course you do.”
“Only enough to barter with Etruscan traders in the market.”
“Then you shall learn to speak Etruscan fluently, and then you shall learn all the Etruscans can teach you about divination. When your studies are done, you will return to Roma as a haruspex, and you will become an important man among the people.”
Potitius felt torn between excitement and a fear of leaving family and friends. “How long will I be gone?”
“I’m told that your studies will take three years.”
“Such a long time! When do I leave, Father?”
“Tomorrow.”
“So soon!”
“The sooner the better. As today’s incident of the wolflings demonstrated all too clearly, there are bad influences among us. I have every faith in your character, my son. Nonetheless, I think it would be best to remove you from those influences, and the sooner the better.”
“But Father, you don’t think—”
“I think that Romulus and Remus must be very persuasive young men. I think their harmful influence might draw even the most upstanding youth into serious trouble. It is my duty as your father to see that such a thing does not happen to you, my son. You will go to Tarquinia. You will obey your instructors in all matters. You will master the Etruscan arts of divination. I suspect you have an aptitude for such things, and the learning will come easily to you. And you will think no more about Romulus and Remus. The swineherd’s brats are good for only one thing—making trouble. They came from nothing and they shall amount to nothing!”
754 B.C.
About his love of learning and his natural aptitude for divination, Potitius’s father proved correct. About the fate of twins, he could not have been more mistaken.