CHALLENGE #19 – ANSWERED – Name those kids…

October 23, 2020 PT

Good day! Lets start this CHALLENGE off with a little historic, background information. The strange statue in my picture is a replica of a very old and famous Italian sculpture. Trust me, any good Italian knows this statue. In the 1930s, Benito Mussolini gifted a couple replicas of this sculpture to cities in the United States. I think Mussolini’s hope was to gain a little good will with the USA so that we would not join World War II and kick his ass. Perhaps next time, he should send a gift that is a little less creepy. So, with that bit of historic lead in, I ask you to….

Name the kids in the creepy statue…

And for extra credit…Name one of the US cities to have one of Mussolini’s strange gifts…

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As several of you Roman mythologists were able to identify, the kids are Romulus and Remus. These kids were the rightful heirs to the throne, but their evil uncle overthrew their grandfather then abandoned them on the banks of the Tiber River. Thankfully, Romulus and Remus were saved from starvation by a friendly, and more importantly, lactating wolf. They were then raised by a kindly shepherd’s family. When they grew up, they learned of their uncle’s evil deeds. Somehow, they overthrew their uncle and reinstated their grandfather to the throne. Later, the new capitol city of Rome was named for Romulus. I have no idea why they left Remus out of this whole city naming thing.

The statue is called “Capitoline Wolf.” It is an ancient statue symbolizing Rome for over 500 years. There have been many replicas made of this statue over the centuries. This particular replica was commissioned by Benito Mussolini in the 1930s. He was trying to gather a little good will within the USA. The location of this statue is Eden Park in the Cincinnati area. Cincinnati was chosen as its named after the legendary Roman hero, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. There is also another replica in Rome, Georgia…for obvious reasons.

Thank you to everyone that read the current CHALLENGE. And special thanks to those that took the effort to ANSWER the CHALLENGE. PT