There are several theories as to how Rome was founded. One theory is that Aeneas was the father of Rome. Aeneas is the hero whose adventures and tales are described in the epic poem of Virgil. The poem discusses the origins and divine destiny of Rome. In another famous epic poem, Homer's The Iliad, it was predicted that Aeneas the Trojan would have a great future. The God Poseidon rescues Aeneas from the battlefield, prophesying that he and his descendants will be kings. Aeneas is also associated with Rome by Hellanicus, a Greek historian in the fifth century BC, who wrote that Aeneas founded Rome and called it Rhome (Greek for "strength").
Other Greek writers, however, attribute the foundation of Rome not to Aeneas, but to other Trojans and Greeks. For example, in one version, Rome was founded by a son of the famous Odysseus and Circe. In this theory Aeneas reappears later on as the father or grandfather of the city of Rome.
Another famous myth is that of Romulus and Remus. They were supposedly Aeneas' children or grandchildren. In this myth, the king of Latium, Italy, is banished by his evil brother. The king's daughter gives birth to twins, 
Romulus and Remus, places them in a wicker basket, and sets them afloat on the Tiber River. The two are found and adopted by a female wolf and then are raised by a shepherd who finds them. They grow up to avenge their father. They start a city on the Palatine Hills welcoming people in difficulty. However, according to the Greek scholar Erasthosthenes of Cyrene, in his universal chronology, the fixed date of the Fall of Troy from which Aeneas emerges is 1184 BC. The accepted date for the founding of Rome became 753 BC. Thus, there was no way Aeneas, his children, or his grandchildren, could have founded Rome.
To fill the gap between these two dates another theory was proposed. It states that Aeneas, arriving in Latium, founded a city called Lamnium on land given to him by the local king Latinus. Aeneas ruled with his wife, Lavinia, daughter of Latinus. After Aeneas' death in a war with a local prince, his son Ascamus founded Alba Longa, which he handed over to his brother Silvius. Thus, Silvius conveniently filled the gap in the storyline until the birth of Romulus and Remus.