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The Roman Gods had great influence in every sphere of society. From entreating divine inspiration at the highest levels of government to performing rituals honoring tutelary deities who assisted with the practical needs of everyday life, worship was a foundation of Roman existence.
Roman mythology tells the stories of the gods and goddesses of ancient Rome, many of whom were borrowed from Greek culture and renamed. One unique aspect of Roman mythology is the tale of its powerful founder, Romulus, who along with his twin Remus was suckled by a she-wolf in infancy.
Mythopedia is the ultimate online resource for exploring ancient mythology; from the Greeks and Romans, to Celtic, Norse, Egyptian and more.
Apollo and the Roman State Religion. The first evidence of Apollo’s adoption into the Roman pantheon appeared after a plague struck Rome in 433 BC. Seeking intercession and mercy, the Romans built and dedicated a temple to Apollo Medicus, or “Apollo the Doctor.” Though initial work was completed in 431 BCE, the temple soon fell into ruin.
Extremely similar names (Diespiter and Dispiter) were given to Jupiter, the greatest of the Roman gods; the similarity of these titles suggested that Dīs Pater (i.e. Pluto) was originally an aspect of Jupiter. In time, this aspect became independent of Jupiter and eventually merged with the Hellenic god Hades.
Most of what is “Roman” about Roman myth centers on quasi-historical figures such as Romulus and Remus, who had relatively little to do with the gods. From the earliest stages of Roman history, the genealogy, attributes, and stories of Jupiter were heavily influenced by the mythology of the Greek Zeus, until the two gods became all but ...
Greek. The Romans conceived of their Juno as a manifestation and continuation of the Greek goddess Hera. Hera was an important figure in Greek literature from the very beginning; already in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (eighth century BCE), she appears as the wife of Zeus (Jupiter) and the queen of the gods.
Known as the ugliest of the gods, Vulcan suffered from lameness in one leg due to an injury he sustained as a child. The patron of craftsmen was exceedingly crafty himself and used his guile to marry Venus, the goddess of love and sexual desire. As with many Roman deities, Vulcan was a near identical copy of his Greek equivalent: Hephaestus.
The most ancient gods of the Greeks, born at the beginning of the cosmos. The Greek primordial gods were the first beings to populate the cosmos and gave birth to all the subsequent gods, creatures, and mortals of Greek mythology. Two of these primordial gods, Gaia and Uranus, were the parents of the Titans and the grandparents of the Olympians.
Liber was commonly identified with Dionysus (just as the other chief gods of the Roman pantheon were identified with important Greek gods). In Roman poetry especially, which was heavily inspired by Greek models and myths, Liber was frequently referred to as Bacchus. Bacchus by Caravaggio (ca. 1598) Uffizi Gallery, Florence Public Domain Family