Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome was of Sabine Origin and was considered a wise legislator. His name “Numa” is associated with “numen” which means a spirit or divine power presiding over a thing or place. He used religion to control and shape Roman behavior. He claimed to hold nightly interviews with the goddess Egeria who gave him instruction as to the most appropriate sacred rites acceptable to the gods. (Egeria was a minor deity or a wood nymph. She had qualities similar to Artemis/Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Worshippers offered her libations of milk or water. She was also associated with prophecy and sacred prophetic books.) This was extremely important because, in those days, ritual had to be executed perfectly if it were to evoke the desired response from the gods.

Numa Pompilius stood in juxtaposition to Romulus. Where Romulus was martial, Numa was peaceful, where Romulus could be lawless, Numa was law abiding. Livy has the following to say about Numa Pompilius