Subject: Folk Legend

Informant: Guido was born in Rome, Italy in a traditional Italian family. He currently studies business in California and plays rugby for his college team.

Original Script: Romulus and Remus were two brothers abandoned by their mother on the Tiber river and raised by a wolf. They are eventually adopted by a Shepard and go on to found Rome, the most prominent city in all of Italy.

Background information by informant: The story has many important themes of Roman culture, especially the theme of persistence which was extremely crucial for the cities development and impact in society during that period.

Context of performance: The two brothers and the wolf are a major symbol in Roman culture. Everyone knows their story and any gift shop has artifacts that symbolize the wolf mother and her children.

Thoughts: It is interesting to note how much impact a legend can have on a certain culture. The story of Romulus and Remus describes not only the incipience of Rome, but also the symbolic significance of the mother in Roman culture. It is not necessarily someone that is related to an individual by blood, but one that provides attention, love, and affection to their children. The legend personifies this through the character of the Shepard.