According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded by the two brothers, Romulus and Remus (See image and video to the left). In reality, Rome began as a small town on the banks of the Tiber River. Rome grew in size and strength, early on, through trade. The location of the city provided merchants with an easily navigable waterway on which to traffic their goods. Rome was the last available crossing of the Tiber River near the sea and was on the great salt trade route which helped bring Rome wealth and knowledge of other cultures. Greek culture and civilization, which came to Rome via Greek colonies to the south, provided the early Romans with a model on which to build their own culture. From the Greeks they borrowed literacy and religion as well as the fundamentals of architecture. Rome eventually grows from a village to a City/State and establishes a Republican Form of Government (509 BCE). Its influence would be felt in a large portion of the world. Latin, the official language of the Roman Empire would take on great significance in the Western world, and today, along with Greek, makes up a considerable amount of the root words in the English language as well as many others languages.