Antemnae was atown andRomancolony ofancient Latium inItaly. It was situated two miles north ofancient Rome on a hill (nowMonte Antenne) commanding the confluence of theAniene and theTiber.[1][2] It lay west of the laterVia Salaria and now lies within a park inmodern Rome.
The name was said to have derived fromAnte Amnes.[3]
Antemnae was regarded as older than Rome.[a] InRome's founding myths, its people, sometimes regarded asSabines,[6] were among those who attended the festival ofNeptune Equester organized byRomulus to supply wives for the Roman men. The abduction—known as theRape of the Sabine Women—was said to have prompted an invasion by the Antemnates. The Romans repulsed them and then conquered their town. TheFasti Triumphales placed Romulus's triumph for the victory in 752 BC. As it was the home of Romulus's own wifeHersilia (laterdeified as "Hora"), she convinced her husband to make the localsRoman citizens, effectively granting itcolony status.[7]
The settlement was subsequently of little importance,[1] although it was the site of theSamnites' surrender toSulla in 82 BC during thecivil war between the Cinna-Marius faction and Sulla, and of one ofAlaric's encampments in the year before theVisigoth'ssack of Rome in AD 410.[1]
In the 19th century, no ruins were known to have survived,[1] but an excavation undertaken during the construction ofItaly'sForte Antenne discovered wells, several huts, acistern, and traces of the defensive walls of the ancient town around 1880. The remains of avilla from the end of theRepublic were also found.[8]
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41°56′16″N12°30′00″E / 41.9379°N 12.5000°E /41.9379; 12.5000
