Top 10 gods of the ancient Roman (pictures below)
1. Jupiter, the King of Gods
Jupiter was the king of the gods in Ancient Roman religion. Ancient Romans looked to Jupiter for protection. His mythological powers were thunder and lighting. According to Ancient Roman mythology, Jupiter also ruled over laws and social order and protected Ancient Romans.
Jupiter was the son of Saturn, the Ancient Roman god of agriculture and harvest, and Ops, a fertility and earth goddess. Jupiter’s siblings were: Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Vesta, and Juno. Jupiter fathered several children which were gods, mortals, and other deities.
Jupiter and his two brothers, Neptune and Pluto, divided the universe so that each of them would have an area to rule over, the land, sky, and underworld. Jupiter ruled the sky, Neptune ruled the waters, and Pluto ruled the underworld.
Duties, Attributes, and Symbols
Jupiter is known for his long beard and strong physique. Jupiter was a distinguished god usually shown with his royal scepter. Jupiter is associated with the thunderbolt which he would to throw at those who angered him, and he was known for his abrupt temper. He was able to change into any animal or object and make his voice sound like anyone he wished; this is how he fooled many people. Jupiter was seen as a protector of the Ancient Roman people and of Mount Olympus. Jupiter helped to keep the balance between the gods and mortals, especially when they would act out or too harshly towards each other. Jupiter knew that if mortals were not around, he would not have worshipers to praise him.
Jupiter was known to all as a powerful god who struck fear in other gods and mortals. However, there was one person Jupiter feared; this was his wife Juno, queen of the gods. Jupiter feared Juno for good reason, it is said that he had many affairs with gods, mortals, and other deities and because of this, Juno’s wrath was relentless. Juno would punish Jupiter’s lovers greatly if she found out about their adulterous behavior.
2. Neptune, the God of the Sea
Neptune , Latin Neptunus , in Roman religion , originally the god of fresh water; by 399 BCE he was identified with the Greek Poseidon and thus became a deity of the sea. His female counterpart, Salacia, was perhaps originally a goddess of leaping springwater, subsequently equated with the Greek Amphitrite.
Neptune’s festival (Neptunalia) took place in the heat of the summer (July 23), when water was scarcest; thus, its purpose was probably the propitiation of the freshwater deity. Neptune had a temple in the Circus Flaminius at Rome; one of its features was a sculptured group of marine deities headed by Poseidon and Thetis. In art Neptune appears as the Greek Poseidon, whose attributes are the trident and the dolphin.
3. Pluto, the God of the Underworld
The foremost of the Roman chthonic (“subterranean”) deities, Pluto was god of the dead and lord of the underworld. A figure of enormous dread and terrible might, Pluto dispensed luck and controlled the fates of all mortals. As commander of the subterranean realms, he was the master of ores, metals, and the precious stones found within them. For this reason, he was celebrated by many as the bringer of wealth. Pluto was the Roman counterpart to
Hades, the Greek deity who ruled the underworld of the same name.
The crystallization of Pluto’s identity as the Roman god of the dead, the underworld, and wealth reflected a complex historical development. Pluto’s identity was largely comprised of elements taken from two distinct entities: Hades, a Greek deity, and Plouton, the lord of wealth. The latter was a Dīs Pater, a deity worshipped by early Romans for his power over the underworld and mineral wealth. In some mythographic and historiographic traditions, the name Dīs Pater was used in lieu of the name Pluto; evidence suggests that the Romans used these identifiers interchangeably.
4. Apollo, the God of Sun, Music, and Prophecy
Apollo is one of the most complex and important gods, and is the god of many things, including: music, poetry, art, oracles, archery, plague, medicine, sun, light and knowledge. He is the son of ZEUS and the Titan Leto, and was born in the Greek island of Delos, along with his older twin sister ARTEMIS – goddess of the hunt.
Apollo is the ideal of the kouros , which means he has a beardless, athletic and youthful appearance. He is also an oracular god as a patron of Delphi and could predict prophecy through the Delphic Oracle Pythia .
Both medicine and healing are associated with Apollo and were thought to sometimes be mediated through his son, Asclepius. However, Apollo could also bring ill-health and deadly plague.
Apollo also became associated with dominion over colonists, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. He was the leader of the Muses (also known as Apollon Musegetes) and was director of their choir – functioning as the patron god of music and poetry.
The god HERMES create the lyre for Apollo and this instrument became a known attribute for him. When hymns were sung to Apollo they were called paeans
At the drinking parties held on Olympus, Apollo accompanied the Muses on his cithara, while the young goddesses led the dance. Both Leto and Zeus were proud of their son, who was radiant with grace and beauty.
Apollo was one of the few gods that the ROMANS KEPT THE SAME NAME . In Greek mythology, he was most widely known as the god of light. Within Roman mythology, he wasn’t known as much as the god of light and was focused mainly as the god of healing and prophecy.
5. Mars, the God of War
Mars was a major Roman deity, second only to Jupiter* in the Roman pantheon. He began as a protector of agriculture but later became the god of war, honored throughout the realm of the conquering Romans. The Romans admired Greek culture and absorbed Greek deities into their own. They came to identify their own war god, Mars, with the Greek war god, Ares, but Mars was a more dignified and popular figure.
According to legend, Juno, the queen of the gods, gave birth to Mars after being touched by a magic plant. He was originally associated with vegetation and fertility. As the Romans became increasingly warlike, Mars gradually developed into a god of war, but he never lost his connection with agriculture and the plant world entirely. The Romans honored him with festivals in his month, March, which occurs at a time of the year when new growth begins in the fields and military campaigns resume after a winter break.
Mars's high place of honor in the Roman pantheon comes in part from his role as an ancestor of Rome. According to the story of the founding of Rome, Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus, twin boys born to a human priestess and raised by a wolf. Romulus later founded the city of Rome, and the Romans believed that Romulus's divine father would come to their aid in times of crisis or disaster. The wolf and the woodpecker, animals involved in the saving of the twins, were sacred to Mars. Picus, a Roman god who took the form of a woodpecker, was Mars's companion.
One story about Mars relates that the god's sacred shield had fallen from the sky in the time of the early Roman king Numa Pompilius . Believing that the shield was vital to the well-being of Rome, Numa had 11 identical shields made and hung all 12 of them in a shrine to confuse any thief who might try to steal Mars's shield. Numa also established an order of priests called the Salii to guard the shields. For many years, Roman priests continued to wear the old-fashioned armor and to perform ritual war dances during the March festivals of Mars.
6. Cupid, the God of Love
Famous in the world of romance is the cuddly little cupid, wielding his dainty bow and arrow, and fluttering around in search of lonely hearts to shoot love into. Did you know that cupid is a god? Who is cupid exactly?
Cupid on Valentines Day
Widely popular on Valentines Day, the winged cupid may not seem like a god; an angel perhaps, but no more. However, Cupid is no angel, and is certainly no cherub. Cupid was the god of love in Ancient Roman mythology.
Who was the god Cupid? What made Cupid the god of love? Even more interesting, who did the Roman god of love himself helplessly fall in love with?
Knack for amorous romance apparently runs in the family. The god Cupid — in Latin Cupido, meaning “Desire” — was the son of none other the Roman goddess of love, Venus.
Many often confuse the Roman god Cupid with the Greek love god Eros, son of Aphrodite. Those people have good reason to, since Greek and Roman mythology have been an inextricable pair, with the Romans finding equivalents of their gods in Greek mythology. Still, the Roman Cupid and the Greek Eros are two different gods, albeit of similar role. Each god has stories native to him, and one is imagined differently from the other.
In his portrayals Eros was either a full-grown man or chubby little child who doesn’t grow up. On the other hand, the Roman love god blossomed out to become a handsome young man. How beautiful was the Roman god of love?
7. Saturn, the God of Time, Wealth, and Agriculture
Saturn was a complex god with differing sides. For a while he ruled Latium with the Roman god Janus. Janus was a figure who looked two ways, representing the past and the future. So Saturn, as god of agriculture and the seasons, was also concerned with the past and the future. Saturn had two aspects, represented by his two wives. His one wife Ops was a goddess of wealth and abundance. But his other wife Lua was a goddess of war and destruction. And, although Saturn tried to civilize the people of Latium, as Cronus he did violence to his father Uranus.
The Romans built a temple to Saturn that was located near the Capitoline Hill in Rome. The Capitoline Hill was formerly called Saturnius Mons, or Saturn’s Mountain. The temple was first begun in the 6th century BCE, and it was consecrated in 497 BCE. Even today eight of its tall, imposing columns are still standing near the Roman Forum. The Romans were devoted to Saturn and his temple, and it was restored periodically throughout the centuries. Roman senator Lucius Munatius Plancus fixed it in 42 BCE, and, after it caught on fire, it was repaired during the 4th century CE. Never ones to waste space, the Romans also used the temple as their treasury building.
The Romans believed that if they prayed and made sacrifices to their gods, the gods would do favors for them. Saturn was a popular god and received many sacrifices of animals, wine, cheese and bread in his temple. Unlike the other Roman gods, sacrifices to Saturn were made by the Greek rite; that meant that the people conducting the ritual had their head uncovered. Usually the Romans worshiped their gods with their heads covered. Saturn’s statue was draped with a white veil during the ritual. The Greek writer Plutarch said this was because Saturn was the father of truth.
All year long, the Romans looked forward to Saturn’s festival, called Saturnalia. It was originally celebrated on December 17, but later it was expanded to seven days. Saturnalia was a harvest celebration and also recalled the time when Saturn ruled the Golden Age. During Saturnalia, there were banquets, drinking, games and gladiatorial contests as well as the exchange of gifts. The merrymaking was presided over by a mock King of Misrule who wore funny clothes and told jokes. Also, people were allowed to wear casual clothes and the masters and slaves reversed roles, the masters waiting on the slaves. It was all in good fun, and people enjoyed being released from the usual strict rules of Roman society.
If some of the customs of Saturnalia sound a little like our Christmas, it’s not a coincidence. The first Roman Christian leaders replaced Saturnalia with Christmas and carried over some practices, like feasting and exchanging gifts. Both Christmas and Saturnalia are near the gloomy days of the winter solstice. And during the Middle Ages, people also celebrated Christmas with a King of Misrule.
The god Saturn is still with us today, as a planet and a weekend day. The planet Saturn might be named because it’s the slowest one to orbit the sun, and Saturn is connected with time and Cronus. Another theory is that, in ancient times, Saturn was the farthest known planet from the sun. So the Greeks made it sacred to Cronus, and the Romans made it sacred to Saturn.
The Romans named Saturday after their beloved god sometime before the 2nd century CE. It’s the only day name in English that retains its Roman origin. So, although the days of Roman rule are long gone, we still have reminders of Saturn that have comes down to us through the centuries.
8. Vulcan, the God of Fire
The master of metallurgy and handicraft, Vulcan was the Roman god of fire and forge, as well as the patron of artisans and smiths. 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.
A storied member of the Roman pantheon, Vulcan was originally adapted from an Etruscan deity known as Sethlans. This version of Vulcan was later Hellenized and given most of the trappings of Hephaestus; Vulcan’s mythological tradition was largely similar to that of his Greek counterpart.
From metallurgy and smithing to arms and jewelry making, Vulcan was a master of the forge. He was believed to have created the strongest and most sophisticated items of ancient lore, including
Jupiter’s lightning bolts and Mercury’s winged helm.
Vulcan’s deformed leg made him something of a pariah amongst the gods. It was this imperfection that compelled Vulcan to seek perfection in his craft.
The Classicist Robert Graves suggested that Vulcan’s deformity related to an ancient practice among North African and Mediterranean peoples, whereby slaves would be trained as smiths and then maimed in order to prevent their escape. According to this interpretation, Vulcan was deformed because—in the popular imagination—blacksmiths were deformed
9. Mercury, the God of Financial Gain, Poetry, and Eloquence
Mercury is a significant Roman god and part of the Dii Consentes in the Roman pantheon. He represents luck, commerce, travelers, eloquence, poetry, trickery, and thieves. Moreover, he is believed to guide souls to the underworld.
According to Roman mythology, he was the son of Jupiter and Maia. He is depicted in idols and paintings as holding a caduceus in his left hand just like his Greek counterpart Hermes who was given a magic wand by the sun god, Apollo, which afterwards changed into a caduceus. As the god of commerce, Mercury was depicted on two early bronze coins of the Roman Republic, the semuncia, and the sextans. He has also featured in literary works by Ovid and Virgil. His temple in Rome was built in the Circus Maximus in 495 BC
10. Bacchus, the God of Wine and Fertility
The word bacchanalia comes from Bacchus, and the wild parties thrown in his honor.
According to legend, Bacchus traveled the earth teaching people how to make wine, and is credited with spreading grapevine cuttings around the world.
Secret rituals for women only were held in Bacchus' honor during the ancient Roman period.
Much like his Greek counterpart Dionysus, Bacchus earned the title of party god. In fact, a drunken orgy is still called a
bacchanalia, and for good reason. Devotees of Bacchus whipped themselves into a frenzy of intoxication, and in the spring Roman women attended secret ceremonies in his name. Bacchus was associated with , wine and grapes, as well as sexual free-for-alls. Although Bacchus is often linked with and the greening of spring, because of his connection to he is also a deity of the harvest. A celebration is held in his honor each year at the beginning of October.
Bacchus is often portrayed crowed with vines or ivy. His chariot is drawn by lions, and he is followed by a group of nubile, frenzied priestesses known as Bacchae. Sacrifices to Bacchus included the goat and the swine, because both of these animals are destructive to the annual grape harvest — without grapes, there can be no wine.
Bacchus has a divine mission, and that is his role of liberator. During his drunken frenzies, Bacchus loosens the tongues of those who partake of wine and other beverages, and allows people the freedom to say and do what they wish. In mid-March, secret rituals were held on Rome's Aventine hill to worship him. These rites were attended by women only, and were part of a mystery religion built up around Bacchus.
In addition to being the patron of wine and drink, Bacchus is a god of the theatrical arts. In his earlier incarnation as the Greek Dionysus, he had a theater named for him in Athens. He is often portrayed as a slightly effeminate figure, prone to good humor and general bawdiness.
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