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Romulus, after founding/building the Palatine,[1] also founded the Capitoline, which is the head of the city; in it he also placed the Palladium,[2] having taken it from the city of Silva.[3] It was called Satureion at first, but later Capitoline from the visible head of a freshly-slaughtered body buried in the foundations in the earth.[4]

*kapitw/lion: o( *(rwmu/los meta\ to\ kti/sai to\ *pala/tion e)/ktise kai\ to\ *kapitw/lion, o(/ e)sti kefalh\ th=s po/lews: e)n w(=| kai\ to\ *palla/dion e)pe/qeto labw\n a)po\ po/lews *si/lbhs. *satou/reion de\ pro/teron e)kalei=to, u(/steron de\ *kapitw/lion e)k th=s fanei/shs o)ruttome/nwn tw=n qemeli/wn e)n th=| gh=| kefalh=s sw/matos neosfagou=s.

See already kappa 329. The present material has parallels in Byzantine historiography. See, for example, John Malalas Chronographia VII.1 Thurn (132) (cf. Jeffreys et al. (91)) and John of Antioch fr. 57 Roberto.
[1] On the royal residence in Rome, see pi 49.
[2] On the Palladium, see pi 34.
[3] Possibly this is the Apulian city of Silvium on the Via Appia, Barrington Atlas map 45 grid D3.
[4] Latin caput: "head"; metaphorically "top", "summit", "leader", or "source" (river). The implausible story of the freshly severed human head is given by John of Antioch (op. cit.), but is not reported in the account of Malalas (op. cit.).

J. Thurn, ed., Ioannis Malalae Chronographia, (Berlin 2000)
E. Jeffreys, M. Jeffreys, and R. Scott, trans., The Chronicle of John Malalas, (Leiden 1986)

David Whitehead (notes; more keywords; tweaks and cosmetics) on 18 March 2008@05:33:31.
David Whitehead on 27 January 2013@05:33:01.
Ronald Allen (tweaked translation after discussion with Catharine Roth) on 7 July 2026@11:59:41.
Ronald Allen (added note) on 8 July 2026@12:13:24.
Ronald Allen (added notes and cross-reference) on 9 July 2026@11:51:38.
Ronald Allen (added bibliography primary note) on 9 July 2026@13:30:31.
Ronald Allen (another note) on 10 July 2026@11:35:52.

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