The Ancient Romans believed in divination. This was the belief that you can determine the will of the gods by observation. In particular, they observed birds. A priest called an augur would watch the flight of birds to decide whether a proposed action should take place. The founding of Rome involved an augury. The brothers Romulus and Remus disagreed on where to locate their city. Romulus wanted one hill along the Tiber River and Remus preferred another. They decided to solve the dispute by asking the gods for an augury. Both went to the top of the hill they preferred and prayed all night. Right at dawn, Remus saw 6 eagles flying over the hill. Soon after, his brother saw 12 eagles. Then they got into an argument as to whose augur was better. Their followers voted for Romulus’ augur because he saw more eagles. And that is why Rome was founded with the Palentine Hill at its center.
Sometimes the gods sent the sign via a bird helping a Roman. In 386 BC, a Gallic goliath issued a challenge that was accepted by a military tribune named Marcus Valerius. The two met between the armies. Before their swords clashed, a raven landed on Marcus’ shoulder which was clearly a sign of divine approval. Not only that, but when the men began exchanging blows, the raven attacked the enemy’s face. This helped Marcus to win and he got the nickname “corvus” meaning crow.
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