itor, king and leader of the Kingdom of Alba Longa, had sons and two grandsons. Numitor had a brother named Amulius, who in due time killed him and his sons to seize power and be the supreme reign. Amulius took Numitor’s infant grandsons, Romulus and Remus, to the Tiber River to abandon them to die. A she-wolf found the twins and suckled them until they could be taken in by herdsmen. Once Romulus and Remus became adults, they killed Amulius to restore the rightful heir of their grandfather’s throne and establish a city. Romulus then kills his own twin brother Remus to begin and establish the city of Rome. A Capitoline Wolf was sculptured to be the symbol of Rome. Due to the expensive material the Capitoline Wolf is sculptured of, this represents how important the sculpture is and how important culture was considered to the Roman.

Hollow-cast bronze is the material used to sculpt the Capitoline Wolf. Before the Etruscan civilization, art was sculpted from stone, marble, clay, pottery, and other forms. The forms listed were more accessible and less expensive than bronze. Clay can be handmade with one’s own resources versus bronze consisting of different hammered sheets combined to one another to produce reliefs. Hollow-cast bronze cost $50 a pound. The sculptor multiplies the $50 by each pound needed to sculpt the piece to know how much money will be invested into the sculpture. Because the material used is expensive and not easily accessible, this represents how important the Capitoline Wolf is. Also due to the material usage, it shows how important culture was considered to ancient Romans. Because the Capitoline Wolf is the representation of Rome and is made of expensive material, this makes a bigger representation of how Romans view their own culture.   

Roman mythology lead to the creation of Rome. The establishment of Rome and the sculpture representing Rome, the Capitoline Wolf, holds power within its own representation and symbolization due to the material used to create the sculpture. The Capitoline Wolf is designed of hollow-cast bronze material, which happens to be not easily accessible and expensive. Because of the material used to create the Capitoline Wolf, this represents how important the sculpture is and how important Roman culture was considered. Roman culture is considered important, superior, and prime to Romans due to the material used to express their art and culture. And this concept is grasped through the material usage of the Capitoline Wolf.

Further reading:

[1]

  1. ^ "Khan Academy". Khan Academy. Retrieved 2017-10-11.