According to legend, Mars is said to have fathered the twins Romulus and Remus. Rome owed her rise to the god of war. The small community on the Tiber sought world domination and eliminated her enemies one by one. The Roman people were amazed by the artworks and treasures of the conquered peoples as they were paraded through the city in triumphal procession: royal tableware, precious jewellery, famous paintings as well as statues of marble and bronze were carried through the streets and went on to adorn the temples, palaces and private houses of Rome. Roman art reflected the growth in the power of the state. From modest republican beginnings, it rose to attain imperial grandeur.