Numa Pompilius
A celebrated philosopher of Cures. He married Tatia, daughter of Tatius, king of the Sabines, and at her death he retired into the country to devote himself to literary pursuits. At the death of Romulus the Romans fixed on him to be their new king. Numa at first refused the offer of the crown, but at length was prevailed on to accept it. He endeavored to inculcate into the minds of his subjects a reverence for the deity, and he did all he could to heal their dissensions. He encouraged the report of his visits to the nymph Egeria, and made use of her name to give sanction to the laws which he had made. He dedicated a temple to Janus, which, during his whole reign, remained closed as a mark of peace and tranquillity at Rome. Numa died after a reign of forty-three years, B. c. 672, during which he had given encouragement to the useful arts, and had cultivated peace.
Numicius or Numicus (Numico). A small river in Latium flowing into the Tyrrhene Sea near Ardea, on the banks of which was the tomb of Aeneas.