A closer view of this mosaic showing the somewhat bizarre design depicting the infant twins Romulus and Remus (who are credited as being the founders of the city of Rome) suckling from
the udder of a ferocious looking animal.
According to the legends when they were still infants the twins were supposed to have been killed in a family dispute but instead were left in a cradle on the banks of the River Tiber (which
flows through the city of Rome), and were able to survive by being suckled by a she-wolf. Some sources suggest that they were actually cared for by a human lady whose name meant 'wolf'.
Later, when adults, a fight over women ends with one twin killing the other (which being a twin myself horrifies me)...
There is much more to the story than is detailed here, to learn more these pages may be of interest:-
http://www.unrv.com/culture/romulus-and-remus.php 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_and_Remus
E & OE. All images © copyright 2007 Simon P Smiler.
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