The Gods of Rome

There were many gods in ancient Rome, more than can be mentioned here. Most of the Roman gods, had Greek equivalents, but although they were equivalent they were not necessarily totally alike, the Roman gods had a tendency to be more warlike than the Greeks gods.

## The Main Gods of Rome

### **Jupiter**

(Greek: Zeus)

Jupiter is the god of sky and thunder and king of the gods in Ancient Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the chief deity of Roman state religion throughout the Republican and Imperial eras. As the sky-god, he was also a divine witness to oaths, the sacred trust on which justice and good government depend.

He is married to Juno, and is the father of Mars, Vulcan, Minerva and Hercules. He is the brother of Neptune and Pluto, and between them they ruled, the heavens, the world and the sea, and the Underworld.

His identifying implement is the thunderbolt and his primary sacred animal is the eagle, which held precedence over other birds in the taking of auspices and became one of the most common symbols of the Roman army. The two emblems were often combined to represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt.

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### **Neptune**

(Greek: Poseidon)

Neptune was the Roman god of freshwater and the sea, and also earthquakes, hurricans and horses.

He is the brother of Jupiter and Pluto. He is married to Salacia.

He is most often depicted with a Trident, but also with horses or sea-horses drawing a chariot.

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### **Juno**

(Greek: Hera)

Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She was also Queen of the Gods, Goddess of Marriage and Childbirth, along with a goddess of the fertility and wealth of the community, and she was the patron Goddess of the royal mint. But she also had a more warlike aspect (compared with her Greek equivalent Hera), as protector of the home and community.

She is the wife (and sister) of Jupiter, and the mother of Mars and Vulcan.

Juno is often depicted with a goatskin cloak, called an Aegis, which was often used by soldiers.

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### **Mars**

(Greek: Ares)

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Mars  was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter and he was the most prominent of the military gods in the religion of the Roman army. He was also Guardian of Soldiers and farmers, but also the god of Destruction and Masculinity.

Although Ares was viewed primarily as a destructive and destabilizing force, Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace, and was a father *(pater)* of the Roman people.

Two animals are especially connected to Mars, the Woodpecker, because it was a spirited and courageous bird. And the Wolf. Seeing a wolf on the battlefield was seen as a sure sign of Roman victory.

He was not married, but was often partnered with Nerio (god of Valor), Bellona or Venus. He the father of Remus and Romulus, the founding fathers of Rome.

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### **Venus**

(Greek: Aphrodite)

**Venus** is the Roman goddess whose functions encompassed love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity and desire. In Roman mythology, she was the mother of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles.

Venus was married to Vulcan, but had a long lasting love affair with Mars. She had many children including the Cupids who were a collection of winged love deities who represented the different aspects of love.

Images of Venus have been found in countless forms from sculptures to mosaics to shrines and even domestic murals and fresco. Venus, due to her natural beauty and sexual nature, was often depicted nude.

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### **Bellona**

(Greek: Enyo)

Bellona was an Ancient Roman goddess of war (her name derives from the latin word Bellum, meaning "war"). She was called the sister of Mars, and in some sources, his wife or an associate of his female cult partner Nerio.

Politically, all Roman Senate meetings relating to foreign war were conducted in the Templum Bellonae (Temple of Bellona). The fetiales, a group of priest advisors, conducted ceremonies to proclaim war and peace, and announced foreign treaties at the columna bellica, in front of her temple.

Bellona's main attribute is the military helmet worn on her head, and she often holds a sword, a shield, or other weapons of battle,sometimes holding a flaming torch or sounding the Horn of Victory and Defeat.

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### **Minerva**

(Greek: Athena)

Minerva was the Roman virgin goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade, strategy, poetry, medicine commerce, weaving, crafts and magic. In her form as *Minerva Medica*, she was worshiped as the god of Medicine.

She is the daughter of Jupiter and the titaness Metis, Jupiter was said to have swallowed Metis whole. The titaness forged weapons and armor for her child while within the father-god, and the constant pounding and ringing gave him a headache. To relieve the pain, Vulcan used a hammer to split Jupiter's head and, from the cleft, Minerva emerged, whole, adult, and bearing her mother's weapons and armor.

She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl, which symbolizes that she is connected to wisdom. She is also often depicted with a helm, and/or military armaments.

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### **Janus**

(Greek: - )

Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The doors of his temple were open in time of war, and closed to mark the peace. As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to birth and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with Portunus, a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading and shipping.

He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past

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### **Vesta**

(Greek: Hestia)

Vesta is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion. Her most important title was the goddess of the hearth of the city of Rome, which referd to the two fires of *Aedes Vestae* and the *Ignis Vestae,* which is said to guarantee the connexion to Earth and Romes permanence in history

The importance of Vesta to Roman religion is indicated by the prominence of the priesthood devoted to her, the Vestal Virgins, they were drawn from the patrician class and had to observe absolute chastity for 30 years. It was from this that the Vestales were named the Vestal virgins. (This vow was so sacred that if it were broken, the Vestal was buried alive in the *Campus Sceleris* ('Field of Wickedness'). The Vestales were one of the few full-time clergy positions in Roman religion. Their job was to guard the holy fires of Vestas.

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For a list of other gods see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigitamenta