Ilia

, or Rhea , a daughter of Numitor king of Alba, consecrated by her uncle Amulius to the service of Vesta, which required perpetual chastity, that she might not become a mother to dispo e him of his crown. He was, however, disappointed; violence was offered to Ilia, and she brought forth Romulus and Remus, who drove the usurper from his throne, and restored the crown to their grandfather Numitor, its lawful po e or. Ilia was buried alive by Amulius for violating the laws of Vesta; and because her tomb was near the Tiber, some supposed that she married the god of that river. Horace , bk. 1 , ode 2.— Virgil , Æneid , bk. 1 , li. 277 .— Ovid , Fasti , bk. 2 , li. 598 .――A wife of Sylla.