The Roman god of hunting. Goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome

The Romans evolved. Initially, there was a polytheistic religion - paganism. The Romans believed in many gods.

Structure and main concepts of ancient Roman religion

Like any other polytheistic faith, Roman paganism did not have a clear organization. In fact, this is a collection of a large number of ancient cults. The ancients were responsible for various aspects of human life and natural elements. Rites were revered in each family - they were performed by the head of the family. The gods were asked for help in domestic and personal affairs.

There were rituals that were held at the state level - they were performed at different times by priests, consuls, dictators, praetors. The gods were asked for help in battles, intercession and assistance in combat with the enemy. Fortune-telling and rituals played a large role in solving state issues.

During the reign, the concept of "priest" appeared. It was a representative of a closed caste. The priests had a great influence on the ruler, they possessed the secrets of rituals and communication with the gods. During the time of the empire, the emperor began to perform the function of the pontiff. It is characteristic that Rima were similar in their functions - they only had different names.

The main features of the religion of Rome

Important characteristics of Roman beliefs were:

great influence of foreign borrowing. The Romans often came into contact with other peoples in the course of their conquests. Contacts with Greece were especially close;
religion was closely linked to politics. This can be judged on the basis of the existence of a cult of imperial power;
characteristic is the endowment with divine qualities of such concepts as happiness, love, justice;
close connection of myth and beliefs - defines, but does not distinguish the Roman religion from other pagan systems;
a huge number of cults, rituals. They differed in scale, but covered all aspects of public and private life;
the Romans deified even such trifles as the return from a campaign, the first word of a baby, and much more.

ancient roman pantheon

The Romans, like the Greeks, represented the gods as humanoid. They believed in the forces of nature and spirits. The main deity was Jupiter. His element was the sky, he was the lord of thunder and lightning. In honor of Jupiter, the Great Games were held, a temple on Capitoline Hill was dedicated to him. The ancient gods of Rome took care of various aspects of human life: Venus - love, Juno - marriage, Diana - hunting, Minerva - craft, Vesta - hearth.

In the Roman pantheon there were father gods - the most revered of all, and lower deities. They also believed in spirits that were present in everything that surrounds a person. Researchers believe that the worship of spirits was present only at an early stage in the development of the religion of Rome. Initially, Mars, Quirinus and Jupiter were considered the main gods. At the time of the emergence of the institution of the priesthood, tribal cults were born. It was believed that each estate and noble family was patronized by a certain god. Cults appeared among the clans of Claudius, Cornelius and other representatives of the elite of society.

At the state level, Saturnalia was celebrated - in honor of agriculture. They organized grandiose festivities, thanked the patron for the harvest.

The social struggle in society led to the formation of a triad of gods or a "plebeian triad" - Ceres, Liber and Liber. The Romans also identified celestial, chthonic and earthly deities. There was a belief in demons. They were divided into good and evil. The first group included penates, lares and geniuses. They kept the traditions of the house, the hearth and protected the head of the family. Evil demons - lemurs and laurels interfered with the good ones and harmed the person. Such creatures appeared if the deceased was buried without observing the rituals.

The gods of Ancient Rome, the list of which includes more than 50 different creatures, have been objects of worship for many centuries - only the degree of influence of each of them on the consciousness of the people has changed.

During the empire, the goddess Roma, the patroness of the entire state, was popularized.

What gods did the Romans borrow?

As a result of frequent contacts with other peoples, the Romans began to incorporate foreign beliefs and rituals into their culture. Researchers tend to think that the whole religion is a complex of borrowings. The main reason for this is that the Romans respected the beliefs of the people they conquered. There was a ritual that formally introduced a foreign deity into the pantheon of Rome. This rite was called evocation.

The ancient gods of Rome appeared in the pantheon as a result of close cultural ties with the conquered peoples and the active development of their own culture. The most striking borrowings are Mithra and Cybele.

Table "Gods of Ancient Rome and Greek correspondences":

Mythology of Ancient Rome

In all pagan cultures, myths and religious beliefs are closely linked. The theme of Roman myths is traditional - the foundation of the city and the state, the creation of the world and the birth of the gods. This is one of the most interesting aspects of culture to study. Researchers on the mythological system can trace the entire evolution of the beliefs of the Romans.

Traditionally, legends contain many descriptions of miraculous, supernatural events that were believed in. From such narratives, one can distinguish the features of the political views of the people that are hidden in a fantastic text.

In the mythology of almost all peoples, the theme of the creation of the world, cosmogony, is in the first place. But not in this case. It mainly describes heroic events, the ancient gods of Rome, the rituals and ceremonies that must be carried out.

The heroes were of semi-divine origin. the legendary founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus - were the children of the militant Mars and the vestal priestess, and their great ancestor Aeneas was the son of the beautiful Aphrodite and the king.

The gods of ancient Rome, the list of which includes both borrowed and local deities, has more than 50 names.

Antique culture has always attracted mankind. After the dark period of the Middle Ages, people turned to the achievements of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, trying to comprehend their art, attitude to life. The era following the Middle Ages became known as the Renaissance (Renaissance). Workers of culture and arts also turned to antiquity in the Enlightenment. This can be said about almost every historical segment of the existence of mankind. So what is it that attracts us so much in ancient Greece and Rome? Most of all, we know the myths and legends that contain the deep foundations of morality. The heroes of myths are people, fantastic creatures and, of course, gods.

Ancient gods of Rome

The ancient Roman gods are very similar to the ancient Greek ones. This is no coincidence: the two civilizations were close, and when the Roman Empire began to seize other states, it included foreign gods in its pantheon.

Although the pantheon of the gods of Ancient Rome grew significantly as a result, 12 gods remained the main ones - 6 men and 6 women - the so-called Council of the Gods. In addition, there are other revered gods.

Saturn

One of the significant ancient gods of Rome. Saturn was not a member of the Council of the Gods, but was highly revered. The question arises: Saturn - the god of what in ancient Rome? Corresponding to the ancient Greek Kron, Saturn is the patron of vitality, agriculture. Of course, agriculture played an important role in antiquity, so the veneration of this god is quite natural.

Jupiter - god of lightning

Jupiter was one of the most revered gods in ancient Rome. He was associated with lightning and thunder, which were considered signs or punishments. It is interesting that the places struck by lightning were sacred, they were fenced off and sacrifices were made next to them. Any Roman commander, going on a campaign and returning with a victory, prayed to Jupiter. One of the most significant temples to Jupiter was in the Capitol, which was founded by Tarquin Gordius.

Juno - goddess of family

Juno is the patroness of family and marriage. Her temple, like Jupiter, was located on the Capitoline Hill (such an honor was given to few gods). The goddess was given many epithets, among which there is Moneta - giving advice. Its appearance is connected with an interesting legend.

In the 5th century BC, a war broke out between the Romans and the Etruscans, which lasted 10 years. From the captured city of Veio, they brought a statue of the goddess - Juno, who appeared to one of the soldiers and blessed. It was in honor of this event that a temple was built on Capitol Hill, where geese were sacrificed. When, much later, in 390 BC. e., the enemies surrounded the fortress of the Capitol, the geese woke up the leader of the fortress, and Rome was saved. It was believed that this was a sign from the goddess giving advice.

In the 3rd century BC, it was in the temple of Juno that a mint was founded.

Neptune - lord of the seas

Brother of Jupiter and patron of the sea, Neptune was the second most powerful god of Rome. According to legend, Neptune had a magnificent palace at the bottom of the sea.

An amazing fact about the god of the sea: it was he who gave man the first horse!

Neptune is depicted with a trident, a powerful weapon that can smash anything to pieces.

Ceres - goddess of fertility

The ancient Roman goddess of fertility and motherhood was revered in the pantheon of the gods of Ancient Rome. Farmers treated Ceres with special respect: holidays in honor of the goddess lasted several days.

The Romans made sacrifices to the goddess. Instead of the traditional killing of animals, Ceres was given half of the property of her husband, who for no reason separated from his wife. In addition, she was considered the protector of the rural community and the harvest from robbers.

Minerva - goddess of wisdom

Minerva was considered the goddess of wisdom, knowledge and just war, she was the patroness of sciences and crafts. Often the goddess is depicted armed, with an olive and an owl - a symbol of wisdom. Minerva was part of the Capitol triad, considered equal to Jupiter and Juno.

She was especially revered in Rome for her warlike character.

Apollo - god of music and arts

Apollo is considered one of the most beautiful gods, with a bright solar disk above his head. God is considered the patron of music and the arts. His father, Jupiter, was dissatisfied with the willfulness of Apollo and even forced him to serve people!

Diana - goddess of the hunt

Diana was considered in ancient Rome the goddess-hunter. While her brother Apollo represented the sun, Diana was associated with the moon. In Rome, she patronized the lower classes. The traditions of rituals associated with Diana were sometimes cruel - they could not do without human victims. The priest of the temple, for example, the first one erected on the Aventine Hill, was necessarily a fugitive slave. The priest was named Rex (King), and in order to become a priest of the goddess, one had to kill his predecessor.

Mars - god of war

Undoubtedly, the Roman Empire was a powerful power, constantly expanding through wars. In the ancient world, without the help of the gods, no deeds could be done. Therefore, Mars, the god of war in Ancient Rome, always had enough admirers. It is curious that, according to legend, it was Mars who was the father of Romulus and Remus, who founded Rome. In this regard, he was revered above other gods, which the Greek Ares could not boast of.

Venus - goddess of love

The beautiful goddess of love, fertility, eternal spring and life, Venus had amazing abilities. Not only people, but even gods, with the exception of a few, obeyed her authority. Venus was the most revered goddess among women. Its symbol is an apple. In honor of Venus, the Sicilian temple was built, she was the patroness of the descendants of Aeneas, the son of Venus, and all the Romans. One of the greatest Roman commanders, Gaius Julius Caesar, considered Aeneas his ancestor, therefore he respected the goddess very much.

Vulcan - blacksmith god

Unlike Apollo, who was famous for his beauty, Vulcan was lame and ugly. But this did not prevent him from becoming a talented blacksmith. According to legend, it was Vulcan who forged Jupiter's formidable weapon - lightning. It is impossible to forge a sword without fire, so Vulcan was also considered the patron of this formidable element. Every year on August 23, the inhabitants of the Empire celebrated Vulcania.

And the following fact can no longer be fully attributed to the legend. In 79 BC, on August 24, the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred, which was the last for the city of Pompeii. Perhaps the inhabitants angered God with their ignorance that Mount Vesuvius is a volcano?

Mercury - god of trade

Herald's rod and winged sandals... It is easy to guess that we are talking about the messenger of the gods - Mercury. He was considered the patron of trade, intellect, eloquence and even ... theft! It was he, according to legend, who invented the alphabet, units of measurement, and then bestowed this knowledge on people.

The rod of Mercury was called the caduceus, it was wrapped around two snakes. There is a myth that when Mercury received a rod capable of subduing anyone, he placed it between two snakes, which at that moment were fighting among themselves. They wrapped themselves around the staff and became part of it.

Vesta - goddess of the hearth

Vesta in ancient Rome is the goddess of the hearth and family. In Rome, a temple was dedicated to her, in which fire was constantly maintained. The flames were watched by special priestesses - vestals. The manners and customs of ancient civilizations are sometimes cruel, and priestesses were required to remain celibate for 30 years. If the unfortunate woman violated the ban, she was buried alive.

You can list the gods of Ancient Rome ad infinitum - there are very, very many of them. The most significant are listed above. It's amazing how much connects the ancient Roman gods and our modernity. In honor of some of them, the planets were named - Venus, Mars, Uranus, Jupiter. We know the month of June, named after Juno.

As can be seen from the description of the gods, they were not harmless, they could stand up for themselves, many were associated with military affairs. Who knows, maybe the gods really helped the Romans found one of the most powerful empires in human history.

pantheon god ancient rome

The Roman religion bore the seal of formalism and sober practicality: they expected help from the gods in specific matters, and therefore scrupulously performed the established rites and made the necessary sacrifices. In relation to the gods, the principle “I give so that you give” worked. The Romans paid great attention to the external side of religion, to the petty performance of rituals, and not to spiritual merging with the deity. Roman religion did not arouse the sacred awe, the ecstasy that seizes the believer. That is why the Roman religion, with outward very strict observance of all formalities and ceremonies, little affected the feelings of believers, gave rise to dissatisfaction. This is connected with the penetration of foreign, especially Eastern, cults, often distinguished by a mystical and orgiastic character, a certain mystery. Especially widespread was the cult of the Great Mother of the Gods and the cult of Dionysus - Bacchus, enrolled in the official Roman pantheon. The Roman Senate took action against the spread of orgiastic Eastern cults, believing that they undermined the official Roman religion, which was associated with the power of the Roman state and its stability. So, in 186 BC. e. unbridled bacchanalia associated with the rites of the cult of Bacchus - Dionysus were banned.

The complex composition of the Roman pantheon was generated to a large extent by the diversity and complexity of the origin of the Roman community itself. This pantheon included many deities of those tribes and clans, whose patrons they were previously considered. It is known that the Roman community was composed of Latin, Sabine, Etruscan and other tribal and tribal groups.

The Romans distinguished in the classical period in their pantheon two groups of deities: old, native, domestic gods, and new gods, aliens. However, even in the first group, deities of various tribal origins stand out.

Most of the Roman deities, apparently, are of local Italic origin: they were included in the Roman pantheon as the Roman community grew, more and more new tribes and regions entered it. So, Diana was the local deity of Aricia. The patron of some ancient community was a god Quirin, in later ideas, close to Mars and the legendary founder of Rome, Romulus. Most likely, it was the patron-eponym of Rome itself, judging by the archaic name of the Romans - Quirites. It is very likely that some other gods of the Roman pantheon from among the "old" ones were originally the patrons of the communities that merged into the Roman state.

However, the vast majority of ancient Roman deities are of a completely different character. Numerous gods of the Roman pantheon have never been patrons of any communities. For the most part, they were nothing more than the personification of various aspects of human activity, which they patronized. In the lists of these minor deities that have not come down to us, it is indicated in what precisely defined cases, at what moments in their lives. To which of these gods should a believing Roman pray. Every step of a person, starting from his very birth, was under the auspices of one or another deity, whose function was very limited. These gods did not have their own names, but common nouns, according to the function performed by each of them (it is possible that there were names, but secret, and they remained unknown to us). German explorer Herman Usener called this, in his opinion, the most ancient category of gods "instantaneous gods". It is easy to see that our word "god" does not quite correspond to the Roman " deus”, which meant a wide variety of personified images and supernatural beings.

Each man had his own personal spirit-patron - a genius ( genius familiae or genius domus). Women had their own patron goddesses - junos, who introduced the young wife into the house, favored their married life, the birth of children.

In addition to personal geniuses, there were also numerous geniuses - patrons of localities, whose visible symbol was usually considered a snake. These geniuses of places are close to Lares, and in practice there was hardly a clear line drawn between them.

The question of the origin of the great deities of the Roman pantheon is complex. Some of them, as already mentioned, were once the patrons of individual communities and tribes. But the majority was to a large extent a direct personification of individual abstract concepts that were related to public and state life. The Romans revered such deities as Peace, Hope, Valor, Justice, Happiness, etc. These purely abstract designations contained very few features of living personal images, even less mythology. It is difficult to even call them real personifications, but temples were built in their honor in Rome, sacrifices were made.

Particularly characteristic of Ancient Rome were ideas about special mystical powers inherent in natural phenomena; these forces are the deities ( numina) that can benefit or harm humans. The processes occurring in nature, such as the growth of a seed or the ripening of a fruit, were represented by the Romans in the form of special deities. With the development of social and political life, it has become customary to deify such abstract concepts as hope, honor, harmony, etc. Roman deities are thus abstract and impersonal.

Of the many gods, those who have gained importance for the entire community have stood out. The Romans were in constant interaction with other nations. From them they borrowed some religious ideas, but they themselves, in turn, influenced the religion of their neighbors.

A trinity appeared relatively early: Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus. Jupiter was revered as the deity of the sky by almost all Italics. The idea of a supreme deity, the father of the gods, was associated with Jupiter. Subsequently, the epithet pater (father) joins his name, and under the influence of the Etruscans, he turns into the highest deity. His name is accompanied by the epithets "Best" and "Greatest" ( Optimus Maximus). In the classical era, Mars was the deity of war, the patron and source of Roman power, but in remote times he was also an agrarian deity - the genius of spring vegetation. Quirinus was his doppelgänger.

The least clear and, apparently, the most difficult is the origin of the image of the main god of the Romans of the classical era - Jupiter a. At its core, this is probably the personified radiant sky - Sky-father ( Jovis+pater=Juppiter). On the other hand, the Romans saw in Jupiter the patron god of the vine. Corresponds to the Greek Zeus. The god Jupiter was revered on the hills, the tops of the mountains in the form of a stone. The days of the full moon, the ides, are dedicated to him. Further, Jupiter was considered the god-protector of hospitality, moral family life. As the supreme god, Jupiter had a council of gods with him and decided all earthly affairs through the augurs, sending them signs of his will. Jupiter was the god of the entire Roman state, its power and might. The cities subordinated to Rome made sacrifices to him on the Capitol and erected temples in their places. Jupiter was the patron saint of emperors. The most important acts of state life (sacrifices, the oath of new consuls, the first meeting of the Senate in the year) took place in the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter. It is possible that the Romans at first recognized an indefinite multitude of Jupiters as a manifestation of some impersonal force.

The image of God is also complex Mars. His original appearance as a tribal god and patron of agriculture gradually receded before a later, more specialized function - the god of war. According to some researchers, this happened because. That the Roman peasants mined the land with a spear and a sword, taking it away from the neighboring peoples.

In the Roman religion, Mars is one of the most ancient gods of Italy and Rome, he was a member of the triad of gods who originally headed the Roman pantheon (Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus). In ancient Italy, Mars was the god of fertility; it was believed that he could either send the death of the crop or the loss of livestock, or avert them. In his honor, the first month of the Roman year, in which the rite of expulsion of winter was performed, was named March. Mars was later identified with the Greek Ares and became the god of war. The temple of Mars, already as the god of war, was built on the Field of Mars outside the city walls, since the armed army was not supposed to enter the territory of the city.

From Mars, the Vestal Rhea Sylvia gave birth to the twins Romulus and Remus, and therefore, as the father of Romulus, Mars was considered the ancestor and guardian of Rome.

The symbol of Mars was a spear, which was kept in the dwelling of the Roman king - regium. There were also twelve shields, one of which, according to legend, fell from the sky during the time of King Numa Pompilius, and therefore was considered a guarantee of the invincibility of the Romans. The remaining eleven shields were made by order of the king as exact copies of the one that fell from the sky, so that the enemies could not recognize and steal the real one. Going to war, the commander set in motion his spear and shields, appealing to Mars; spontaneous movement was considered an omen of terrible misfortune.

The wife of Mars was the insignificant goddess Nerio (Neriene), who was identified with Venus and Minerva. It is said that once Mars fell in love with Minerva and turned to the elderly goddess Anna Perenna with a request to act as a matchmaker. After some time, Anna Perenna informed him that Minerva agreed to become his wife. When Mars went for the bride and lifted the veil of the goddess presented to him, he found that it was not Minerva in front of him, but the old woman Anna Perenna. The rest of the gods laughed at this joke for a long time. The sacred animals of Mars were the wolf and the woodpecker.

Quirin(Sabinsk Quirinus--spear-bearing) is one of the oldest Italic and Roman gods. Quirinus was originally a deity of the Sabines. It was brought to Rome by the Sabine settlers who settled in the Quirinal Hill. He was originally a god of war, similar to Mars. At a later time, he was identified with Romulus, the first Roman king. The feast of the god Quirinus - Quirinalia - was held on February 17th. One of the names of Roman citizens - quirites - comes from the name of the god Quirinus.

One of the ancient Roman gods was Janus. From the deity of doors, the vigilant gatekeeper, he turned into the deity of all beginnings, the predecessor of Jupiter. He was depicted as two-faced and subsequently the beginning of the world was connected with him. One of the oldest Greco-Roman gods, along with Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, occupied a prominent place in the Roman pantheon. Already in antiquity, various religious ideas about him and his essence were expressed. So, Cicero associated his name with the verb inire and saw in Janus the deity of entry and exit. Others believed that Janus personified chaos ( Janus = Hianus), air or firmament. Nigidius Figulus identified Janus with the sun god. It was also interpreted as "peace" -- mundus, primitive chaos, from which then an ordered cosmos arose, and it turned from a shapeless ball into a god and became the guardian of order, the world, rotating its axis.

The cult of Vesta, the guardian and protector of the hearth, was one of the most revered in Rome. Wemsta(lat. Vesta, other Greek. ?ufYab) - goddess, patroness of the family hearth and sacrificial fire in ancient Rome. It corresponds to the Greek Hestia. Her temple built by Numa was located in a grove on the slope of the Palatine Hill, opposite the forum. An altar was placed in this temple, on which an eternal flame burned, supported by the priestesses of the goddess - the vestals. The Feast of Vesta - Vestalia was celebrated on June 9, during the holiday, the Roman women made a barefoot pilgrimage to the temple of the goddess and made sacrifices to her. On the day of this festival, donkeys were not used for work, since, according to legend, the cry of a donkey once awakened the goddess from sleep, while Priapus was about to dishonor her. In sculptural images, which are very rare, however, this goddess is represented in the form of a richly dressed girl with a veil thrown over her head. The service of Vesta continued until 382 and was terminated by Gratian.

A great event in the history of Roman religion was the construction of a temple dedicated to the Trinity on the Capitol: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Tradition attributes the construction of the temple, created according to the Etruscan model, to the Tarquinii, and its consecration dates back to the first year of the Republic. Since that time, the Romans have images of the gods.

Juno at first she was also the original Italic goddess, she was considered the guardian genius of a woman, was adopted in Etruria under the name Uni, and returning to Rome, she became one of the revered goddesses. Juno (lat. Juno) - the ancient Roman goddess, the wife of Jupiter, the goddess of marriage and birth, motherhood, women and female productive power. First of all, she is the patroness of marriages, the guardian of the family and family decrees. Juno is always covered from head to toe, only her face, part of her neck and arms are bare; she is tall, with calm and measured movements; her beauty is strict and majestic; she has luxurious hair and big wide open eyes. She always consulted with her "right hand" Minervoy, the goddess of wisdom and arts, and her "left hand" remained the dark goddess Ceres. The main attribute of this goddess is a veil, a diadem, a peacock and a cuckoo. In the physical order, it personifies moisture, or rather the humidity of the air, and Iris, the personification of the rainbow, is considered her servant. The month of June was named after Juno.

Minerva was also an Italic goddess adopted by the Etruscans; in Rome, she became the patroness of crafts. Minerva(lat. Minerva), corresponding to the Greek Athena Pallas - the Italian goddess of wisdom. The Etruscans especially revered her as the lightning goddess of mountains and useful discoveries and inventions. And in Rome in ancient times, Minerva was considered the goddess of lightning and warlike, as indicated by the gladiatorial games during the main holiday in honor of her. Quinquatrus. A hint of attitude Minerva to the war can be seen in those gifts and dedications that were made by the Roman generals in her honor after some brilliant victory. So, L. Emilius Pavel, having completed the conquest of Macedonia, he burned part of the booty in honor of Minerva; Pompey, after his triumph, built a temple to her on the Campus Martius; so did Octavian Augustus, after the victory at Actium. But mainly the Roman Minerva was honored as the patroness and partly the inventor of crafts and arts. She patronizes wool beaters, shoemakers, doctors, teachers, sculptors, poets, and especially musicians; she instructs, teaches women and guides them in all their work.

Borrowings from the cycle of religious ideas of neighboring tribes begin quite early. One of the first to be revered was the Latin goddess Tsaana- the patroness of women, the goddess of the moon, as well as annually born vegetation.

Later, on the Aventina, under Servius Tullius, a temple was built Diana. In Rome, the cult of Diana was considered "foreign" and not widespread in patrician circles, but was popular among the slaves, who had immunity in the temples of Diana. The anniversary of the foundation of the temple was considered a holiday of slaves.

Diamna(lat. Diana, perhaps the same Indo-European root as deva, Div, Zeus, lat. deus "god") in Roman mythology - the goddess of flora and fauna, femininity and fertility, obstetrician, the personification of the moon; corresponds to the Greek Artemis and Selene. Later, Diana also began to be identified with Hekate. Diana was also called Trivia- the goddess of three roads (her images were placed at crossroads), this name was interpreted as a sign of triple power: in heaven, on earth and underground. Diana was also identified with the Carthaginian sky goddess celestial. In the Roman provinces, under the name of Diana, local spirits were revered - "the mistresses of the forest." The temple of Diana on the Aventina is associated with a legend about an extraordinary cow, the owner of which was predicted that whoever sacrifices it to Diana in this temple will gain power over Italy. King Servius Tullius, having learned about this, by cunning took possession of the cow, sacrificed it and attached the horns to the wall of the temple.

Relatively late, another Latin goddess began to be revered - Venus- the patroness of gardens and vegetable gardens and at the same time the deity of the abundance and prosperity of nature. Venemra(lat. Venus, genus. P. veneris"love") in Roman mythology, originally the goddess of flowering gardens, spring, fertility, growth and flowering of all the fruitful forces of nature. Then Venus began to be identified with the Greek Aphrodite, and since Aphrodite was the mother of Aeneas, whose descendants founded Rome, Venus was considered not only the goddess of love and beauty, but also the progenitor of the descendants of Aeneas and the patroness of the Roman people. The symbols of the goddess were a dove and a hare (as a sign of fertility), from plants poppy, rose and myrtle were dedicated to her. The cult of Venus was founded in Ardea and Lavinia (Lazio region). August 18, 293 BC e. the very first known temple of Venus was built, and on August 18 the Vinalia Rustica festival began to be celebrated. April 23, 215 BC e. The Temple of Venus was built on the Capitol to commemorate the defeat at the Battle of Trasimene in the Second Punic War.

Along with the Capitoline trinity, the veneration of other deities passed to the Romans from the Etruscans. Some of them were originally the patrons of individual Etruscan clans, then they acquired national significance. For example, Saturn originally revered in the Etruscan genus Satriev, then received general recognition. Among the Romans, he was revered as a deity of crops, his name was associated with the Latin word sator- sower. He first gave people food and originally ruled the world; his time was a golden age for people. At the festival of Saturnalia, everyone became equal: there were no masters, no servants, no slaves.

Vulcan was revered first in the Etruscan genus Velcha Volca. In Rome, he was the deity of fire, and then the patron of blacksmithing. Volcano(lat. Vulcanus), the god of fire and the patron of blacksmithing in ancient Roman mythology. The cult of Vulcan was accompanied by human sacrifice. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno. His wives were Maya (Mayesta) and Venus. He made weapons and armor for gods and heroes. His forge was located in Mount Etna (Sicily). He created golden women to help himself. He created lightning for Jupiter. According to the myth, one day an enraged Jupiter threw him out of heaven. Vulkan broke both of his legs and went lame. In ancient Greek mythology, he corresponds to the god Hephaestus.

But already in the early era, the Romans were also influenced by Greek religious ideas. They were borrowed from the Greek cities of Campania. Greek ideas about certain deities were combined with Latin names. Ceres(Ceres - food, fruits) was associated with the Greek Demeter and turned into the goddess of the vegetable kingdom, and in addition to the goddess of the dead. Ceremra(lat. Cers, genus. n. Cereris) is an ancient Roman goddess, the second daughter of Saturn and Rhea. She was portrayed as a beautiful matron with fruits in her hands, for she was considered the patroness of the harvest and fertility (often along with Annona- the patroness of the harvest). The myth of Demeter / Ceres and the abduction of Persephone / Proserpina formed the basis of the Eleusinian mysteries, spread on the Mediterranean coast for more than 2000 years - Latin itself " caerimonia" = "ceremony» goes back to lat. Cers Mater. The goddess-mother was looking for the kidnapped daughter, in connection with which she could not fully fulfill her function "to give food and life to mankind." From the sadness of Demeter, nature withered. In the end, fearing that life on Earth might stop, Jupiter ordered Pluto to return Proserpine from the dungeon to mother Demeter for six months: then spring begins and nature blooms, and with the departure of Proserpine, Demeter is sad, autumn comes and nature fades . This goddess of fertility could not bear the sight of a hungry child. Ceres cared for orphaned or abandoned children.

Greek god of winemaking, wine and fun Dionysus became known as Liber, and the Greek Kore, the daughter of Demeter, became Liber. Trinity: Ceres, Liber, and Libera were venerated in Greek fashion and were plebeian deities, while the temples of the Capitoline Trinity and Vesta were patrician religious centers.

The veneration of Apollo passes from the Greeks to Rome. Apollo is believed to have ruled over plague, light, healing, colonists, medicine, archery, poetry, prophecy, dance, intelligence, shamans, and was the protector of flocks and flocks. Apollo had famous oracles in Crete and others in Clarus and Branchidae. Apollo is known as the leader of the Muses and director of their choir. Its attributes include: swans, wolves, dolphins, arches, laurel, cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. The sacrificial tripod is another attribute representing his prophetic powers. The Python Games were held in his honor every four years at Delphi. Odes were the hymns sung to Apollo. The most common signs of Apollo were the lyre and the bow; the tripod was dedicated to him as the god of prophecy. The swan and grasshopper symbolize music and song; the hawk, crow, raven and snake symbolize his functions as the god of prophecy. The main festivals held in honor of Apollo were Carneia, Daphnephoria, Delia, Hyacinthia, Pyanepsia, Pythia and Thargelia.

The veneration of Hermes (in Rome - Mercury) also passed from the Greeks.

Mercury(Mercurius, Mircurius, Mirquurius) - in ancient Roman mythology, the patron god of trade. His attributes include a caduceus rod, a winged helmet and sandals, and often a money bag. His cult gained popularity only when Rome established trade relations with neighboring peoples, that is, in the era of the Tarquins, to which the first trade treatise between Carthage and Rome belongs. The emergence of Greek colonies in southern Italy and the spread of Greek industry and trade brought new religious ideas to the Romans, which the Romans used to symbolize their religious concepts. Mercury was officially accepted as one of the Italic gods in 495 BC. e., after a three-year famine, when, simultaneously with the introduction of the cult of Mercury, the cults of Saturn, the giver of bread, and Ceres were introduced. The temple in honor of Mercury was consecrated on the Ides of May in 495 BC. e.; at the same time, the grain question (annona) was streamlined and the estate of merchants was established, called mercatores or mercuriales. Over time, from the god of grain business, Mercury became the god of trade in general, the god of retail sales, all shopkeepers and peddlers. On the Ides of May, merchants made sacrifices to Mercury and his mother May, trying to propitiate the deity of cunning and deceit that accompanied any trade transaction. Not far from the Kapensky gates there was a source dedicated to Mercury. On this day, the merchants drew water from it, dipped laurel branches into it, and with appropriate prayers sprinkled their heads and goods, as if washing away the guilt of the deceit from themselves and the goods. The symbol of God's peaceful intentions was the caduceus. Later, along with commercial relations, the cult of Mercury spread throughout Italy and the provinces, especially in Gaul and Germany, where many images of him are found.

Also from the ancient Greeks came the cult of the god Poseidon (in ancient Rome - Neptune). Neptumnus(lat. Neptunus) - in ancient Roman mythology, the god of the seas and streams. One of the oldest Roman gods. The goddess Salacia (Thetis, Amphitrite) was considered the wife of Neptune. Holiday associated with Neptune neptunalium, which was celebrated on July 23. The holiday was celebrated in order to prevent drought. During this festival, leaf huts were built. Sea Neptune was revered by people associated with the sea or going on a sea voyage. Neptune is depicted on the coat of arms of the city of Veliky Ustyug (the confluence of the rivers into the Northern Dvina).

in the discipline "Culturology"

Subject: Roman Gods

Introduction

1.Religion of ancient Rome

2. Heroes of Roman myth

Conclusion

List of used literature

The idea that the ancient Roman culture is not original is still widespread, because the Romans tried to imitate the inaccessible examples of classical Greek culture, adopting everything and practically creating nothing of their own. However, the latest research shows the original nature of the culture of Ancient Rome, because it represents a certain unity that arose as a result of a combination of the original with borrowed cultural innovations. We should not forget the essential point that the ancient Roman and Greek cultures were formed and developed on the basis of the ancient civil community. Its entire system predetermined the scale of basic values that guided all fellow citizens in one way or another. These values included: the idea of the significance and original unity of the civil community with the inextricable connection between the good of the individual and the good of the whole team; the idea of the supreme power of the people; the idea of the closest connection of the civil community with the gods and heroes who care about its welfare.

At an early stage of development, during the transition from the primitive communal system to a class society, religion played an exceptional role in the private and public life of the Romans. Roman religion never had a complete system. The remnants of ancient beliefs coexisted in it with religious ideas borrowed from peoples standing at a higher stage of cultural development.

In Roman religion, as in other Italic cults, vestiges of totemism have been preserved. This is evidenced by the legends about the she-wolf who nursed the founders of Rome. With the wolf (in Latin, the wolf is lupus), apparently, the festivities of lupercalia and the special sanctuary of Lupercal dedicated to the Faun, the priestly college of luperks, etc. were apparently associated. Other deities also had animals dedicated to them. The woodpecker, the wolf and the bull were animals dedicated to Mars, the geese - to Juno, etc. It should be noted, however, that the features of totemic cults, suggesting the identification of the animal with the progenitor of the genus, were not observed in Rome in the historical era. This stage of spiritual development had already been passed by the Italic tribes.

Tribal cults played a significant role in Roman religion. Separate deities, patrons of childbirth, acquired a common Roman significance and became the personification of various forces of nature.

In the process of historical development, the family became the primary social entity in Rome. This process has found its reflection in religion. Each family had its own shrines, its patron gods, its own cult. The focus of this cult was the hearth, in front of which the pater familias performed all the rites that accompanied any important business, for example, in front of the hearth, the father of the family declared the newborn to be his child. The keepers of the house were revered by the penates, who care about the well-being and well-being of the family. These good spirits are the inhabitants of the house. Outside the house, chests were baked for the family and its property, the altars of which were located on the borders of the plots. Each family member had his own "genius", which was considered an expression of the strength of a given person, his energy, abilities, an expression of his whole being and at the same time his guardian.

The genius of the father of the family was revered by all the households. It was genius familiae or genius domus. The mother of the family also had her own genius, who was called Juno. Juno introduced the young wife into the house, she facilitated the birth of the mother. Every house had many other deities guarding it. Of particular importance was the door god Janus, who guarded and guarded the entrance to the house.

The family took care of the dead ancestors. The concept of the afterlife was not developed by the Romans. After death, the human spirit, according to the beliefs of the Romans, continued to live in the grave where the ashes of the deceased were placed by his relatives and on which they brought food. These offerings at first were very modest: violets, a pie dipped in wine, a handful of beans. The dead ancestors, who were cared for by their descendants, were good deities - metas. If the dead were not taken care of, they became evil and avenging forces - lemurs. The genius of the ancestors was embodied in the father of the family, whose power (potestas) thus received religious justification.

The circle of beliefs relating to family life and tribal religion, as well as ideas about the afterlife, characterize the Roman religion as a religion fundamentally animistic. A feature of Roman animism was its abstractness and impersonality. The genius of the house, penates and lares, manas and lemurs are impersonal forces, spirits, on which the well-being of the family depends and which can be influenced by prayers and sacrifices.

The agricultural life of the Romans was reflected in the worship of the forces of nature, but the original Roman religion was far from anthropomorphism, it did not tend to personify nature in the form of deities endowed with human qualities, and in this respect it was the complete opposite of the Greek religion. Especially characteristic of Roman animism were ideas about special mystical powers inherent in natural phenomena; these forces are the deities (numina) who can bring benefit and harm to man. The processes occurring in nature, such as the growth of a seed or the ripening of a fruit, were represented by the Romans in the form of special deities. With the development of social and political life, it has become customary to deify such abstract concepts as hope, honor, harmony, etc. Roman deities are thus abstract and impersonal.

Janus was one of the ancient Roman gods. From the deity of doors, the vigilant gatekeeper, he turned into the deity of all beginnings, the predecessor of Jupiter. He was depicted as two-faced and subsequently the beginning of the world was connected with him.

A trinity appeared relatively early: Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus. Jupiter was revered as the deity of the sky by almost all Italics. The idea of a supreme deity, the father of the gods, was associated with Jupiter. Subsequently, the epithet pater (father) joins his name, and under the influence of the Etruscans. he becomes the supreme deity. His name is accompanied by the epithets "Best" and "Greatest" (Optimus Maximus). In the classical era, Mars was the deity of war, the patron and source of Roman power, but in remote times he was also an agrarian deity - the genius of spring vegetation. Quirinus was his doppelgänger.

The cult of Vesta, the guardian and protector of the hearth, was one of the most revered in Rome.

Borrowings from the cycle of religious ideas of neighboring tribes begin quite early. One of the first to be revered was the Latin goddess Tsaana - the patroness of women, the goddess of the moon, as well as the annually born vegetation. The temple of Diana on the Aventina was built, according to legend, under Servius Tullius. Relatively late, another Latin goddess began to be revered - Venus - the patroness of gardens and vegetable gardens and at the same time the deity of the abundance and prosperity of nature.

A great event in the history of Roman religion was the construction on the Capitol of a temple dedicated to the trinity: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Tradition attributes the construction of the temple, created according to the Etruscan model, to the Tarquinii, and its consecration dates back to the first year of the Republic. Since that time, the Romans have images of the gods.

Juno was also at first a primordial Italian goddess, she was considered a protective genius of a woman, was adopted in Etruria under the name of Uni, and returning to Rome, she became one of the revered goddesses. Minerva was also an Italic goddess adopted by the Etruscans; in Rome, she became the patroness of crafts.

Along with the Capitoline trinity, the veneration of other deities passed to the Romans from the Etruscans. Some of them were originally the patrons of individual Etruscan clans, then they acquired national significance. So, for example, Saturn was originally revered in the Etruscan genus Satriev, then received general recognition. Among the Romans, he was revered as a deity of crops, his name was associated with the Latin word sator - sower. He first gave people food and originally ruled the world; his time was a golden age for people. At the festival of Saturnalia, everyone became equal: there were no masters, no servants, no slaves. The legend that was created later was, apparently, an understanding of the Saturnalia festival.

The volcano was revered first in the Etruscan genus Velcha-Volca. In Rome, he was the deity of fire, and then the patron of blacksmithing.

From the Etruscans, the Romans borrowed ritual and that peculiar system of superstition and divination, which was known as the disciplina etrusca. But already in the early era, the Romans were also influenced by Greek religious ideas. They were borrowed from the Greek cities of Campania. Greek ideas about certain deities were combined with Latin names. Ceres (Ceres - food, fruits) was associated with the Greek Demeter and turned into the goddess of the vegetable kingdom, and in addition to the goddess of the dead. The Greek god of winemaking, wine and fun, Dionysus, became known as Liber, and the Greek Kore, the daughter of Demeter, turned into Libera. Trinity: Ceres, Liber, and Libera were venerated in Greek fashion and were plebeian deities, while the temples of the Capitoline Trinity and Vesta were patrician religious centers. From the Greeks, the veneration of Apollo, Hermes (in Rome - Mercury) and other deities passes to Rome.

The Roman pantheon did not remain closed. The Romans did not refuse to accept other gods into it. So, repeatedly during the wars, they tried to find out which deities their opponents pray in order to attract these gods to their side.

A number of holidays were connected with family and social life, with the remembrance of the dead, with the agricultural calendar. Then there are special military holidays and, finally, the holidays of artisans, merchants, and sailors.

Simultaneously with the construction of the Capitoline Temple, or shortly thereafter, in Rome, according to the Etruscan model, games (ludi) began to be played, which consisted initially in chariot races, as well as in athletic competitions.

Roman religious rites and customs reflected the most ancient stages of religious development. A number of religious prohibitions date back to ancient taboos. So, during the worship of Silvanu (the deity of the forest), women could not be present, and men were not allowed to attend the festivities of the Good Goddess (Bona dea). Some priestly positions were associated with a wide variety of prohibitions: the flamen of Jupiter could not look at an armed army, wear a ring and a belt; violation of certain prohibitions, such as the vow of celibacy by Vestal virgins, was punishable by death.

The basis of the ethical canon of the Roman, and the dominant feature that determines the heroism of a historical person, is his willingness to act for the good of the state. The pathos of Roman culture is the pathos, first of all, of a Roman citizen.

An important component of the Roman myth was the idealization of poverty and the condemnation of wealth. In a state that waged continuous wars, accumulated unheard-of treasures and made the social advancement of a person directly dependent on his qualifications, i.e. from his ability to enrich himself, the condemnation of money-grubbing must have looked like unnatural nonsense. It should have, but apparently it didn't. The high qualification was not only an advantage, but also the duty of a person exacted by fate to give more to the state - the deprivation of a state-owned horse, for example, which required large expenses, however, was perceived not as a relief, but as a shame.

From the moment that the wealth of Rome became an obvious factor in public life until the very end of the Republic, laws were periodically passed to make it mandatory to limit personal spending. Their repetition shows that they were not performed, but something forced them to be systematically accepted. Moralists and historians glorified the ancient heroes of Rome for their poverty; it was customary to say, in particular, that their land allotment was seven yugers. Against the background of estates with an area of \u200b\u200bthousands of yugers, this looked like nothing more than an instructive fable; but when the colonies were withdrawn, as it turns out, the size of the plots provided was really focused on approximately the same seven yugers, i.e. this figure was not invented, but reflected a certain norm - psychological and at the same time real.

Apparently, the repeatedly witnessed demonstrative refusals of commanders to use military booty for personal enrichment are indisputable - therefore, unmercenary could play the role of not only an ideal, but in certain cases also a regulator of practical behavior - one was inseparable from the other.

It is clear that although Rome has grown from a small city-state into a gigantic empire, its people have kept the old ceremonies and customs almost unchanged. In light of this, it is not surprising that the mass irritation caused by the outrageous display of wealth embodied in the use of a lectic (stretcher) by some Romans. It is rooted not so much in politics or ideology, but in those innermost, but indisputably living layers of social consciousness, where the age-old and outdated historical experience of the people has been molded into the forms of everyday behavior, into unconscious tastes and antipathies, into everyday traditions.

At the end of the republic and in the 1st c. AD Fantastic sums of money circulated in Rome. The emperor Vitellius “ate” 900 million sesterces in a year, the temporary worker of Nero and Claudius Vibius Crispus was richer than the emperor Augustus. Money was the main life value. But the general idea of the moral and proper was still rooted in the natural-communal forms of life, and monetary wealth was desirable, but at the same time somehow impure and shameful. The wife of Augustus, Livia, spun wool herself in the atria of the imperial palace, the princesses enacted laws against luxury, Vespasian saved a penny, Pliny glorified ancient frugality, and eight Syrian lecticarii, each of whom had to cost at least half a million sesterces, insulted those pledged in time immemorial, but understandable to everyone ideas about decent and acceptable.

It's not just about wealth. The free-born Roman citizen spent most of his time in the crowd that filled the Forum, the basilicas, the baths, gathered in the amphitheater or circus, fled to the religious ceremony, seated at the tables during the collective meal. Such being in the crowd was not an external and forced inconvenience, on the contrary, it was felt as a value, as a source of acute collective positive emotion, for it galvanized the feeling of communal solidarity and equality, which had almost disappeared from real social relations, insulted daily and hourly, but nestled in the very the root of Roman life, which stubbornly did not disappear, and all the more imperiously demanded compensatory satisfaction.

Dry and vicious Cato the Elder melted his soul during the collective meals of the religious college; August, in order to increase his popularity, revived the meetings, ceremonies and joint meals of the inhabitants of urban areas; the rural cult of the “good boundary”, which united neighbors, slaves and owners for several days of January, during a break between field work, survived and survived throughout the early empire; circus games and mass spectacles were considered as part of the people's business and were regulated by officials. Attempts to stand out from the crowd and stand above it offended this archaic and enduring sense of Roman, polis, civic equality, associated with the mores of Eastern despotisms. The hatred of Juvenal, Martial, their compatriots and contemporaries for the upstarts, the rich, the proud, floating in open lectics above the heads of fellow citizens, looking at them "from the height of their soft pillows", grew from here.

The same is true of another aspect of Roman myth. Wars were always waged here and were of a predatory nature, contracts and the right of those who surrendered voluntarily to save lives were very often not respected - such facts have been repeatedly witnessed and do not raise doubts. But Scipio the Elder executed the tribunes, who allowed the surrender of the city to be sacked, and deprived the entire army of booty; the Roman general, who achieved victory by poisoning the wells in the lands of the enemy, was surrounded by general contempt until the end of his life; no one began to buy slaves captured during the capture of the Italian city. The successful commander considered it obligatory for himself to build a water pipe, a temple, a theater or a library for his native city; cases of evasion from very burdensome duties in city self-government are noted only from the 2nd century BC. AD, and even then mainly in the Greek-speaking east. The glorified Republic was robbed, but the result of the life of a Roman left for centuries was cursus, i.e. a list of what he achieved in the service of the same Republic, etc.

The work of Titus Livy "The History of Rome from the Foundation of the City" is the richest source of legends and reliable information about Roman history. This work can be considered an almost epic work, as it contains information about most of the historical figures known to this day. The book is replete with those pages that have forever entered the culture of Europe and which are still taken to the soul today: large, sharply defined figures - the first consul Brutus, Camillus, Scipio the Elder, Fabius Maximus; scenes filled with deep drama - the suicide of Lucretia, the defeat and disgrace of the Romans in the Kavdinsky Gorge, the execution by Consul Manlius of his son who violated military discipline; long-remembered speeches - the tribune of Canuleius to the people, the consular (as they called in Rome a man who had already been a consul) Flamininus to the Hellenes, the commander Scipio to the legions.

As an example, we can cite Titus Livy's description of the enmity between the Romans and the Sabines, caused by the abduction of women. One of the most common epic stories describing the heroism of women who prevented a fight between two tribes: “Here the Sabine women, because of whom the war began, loosening their hair and tearing their clothes, forgetting women's fear in trouble, bravely rushed right under the spears and arrows in front of the fighters in order to separate the two systems, to appease the anger of the warring, turning with a prayer now to fathers, now to husbands: let them - father-in-law and sons-in-law - not stain themselves with unholy shed blood, do not defile the offspring of their daughters and wives with patricide. “If you are ashamed of the property between you, if the marriage union disgusts you, turn your anger on us: we are the cause of the war, the cause of the wounds and death of our husbands and fathers; we’d rather die than be left to live without one or the other, widows or orphans.” Not only the warriors were touched, but also the leaders; everything was suddenly silent and frozen. Then the leaders went out to conclude an agreement, and not only reconciled, but made one out of two states. They decided to reign together, they made Rome the center of all power. So the city doubled, and so that the Sabines would not be offended, the citizens receive the name “quirites” from their city of Kuram. In memory of this battle, the place where the Curtius horse, having got out of the swamp, stepped onto a solid bottom, is called the Curtian Lake. The war, so sad, suddenly ended in a joyful peace, and therefore the Sabine women became even more dear to their husbands and parents, and above all to Romulus himself, and when he began to divide the people into thirty curia, he gave the curia the names of Sabine women.

Thus, it is obvious that the Roman heroic epic took shape under the influence of the ideology of strengthening the state, the steady increase in the power of Rome.

At the end of the 5th century Ancient Rome ceased to exist as a world empire, but its cultural heritage did not die. Today it is an essential ingredient in Western culture. The Roman cultural heritage was shaped and embodied in the thinking, languages and institutions of the Western world.

The Romans were originally pagans, worshiping Greek and, to a lesser extent, Etruscan gods. Later, the mythological period was replaced by a passion for pagan cults. Finally, at the end of the evolution, Christianity won the victory, which in the 4th century, after the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern, took on the concrete outlines of Catholicism. The oldest religious beliefs of the Romans were associated with agricultural cults of the deification of nature, the cult of ancestors and other magical rituals performed by the head of the family. Then the state, taking over the organization and conduct of rituals, created an official religion that changed the previous ideas about the gods. The ethics of citizenship became the center of the Roman epic.

A certain influence of ancient Roman culture can be seen both in the classical architecture of public buildings and in scientific nomenclature, constructed from the roots of the Latin language; many of its elements are difficult to isolate, so firmly they have entered the flesh and blood of everyday culture, art and literature. We are no longer talking about the principles of classical Roman law, which underlies the legal systems of many Western states and the Catholic Church, built on the basis of the Roman administrative system.

1. Gurevich P.S. Culturology. - M.: Knowledge, 1998.

2. Erasov B.S. Social cultural studies: In 2 parts. Part 1 - M .: JSC "Aspect Press", 1994. - 384 p.

3. History of Ancient Rome / Ed. IN AND. Kuzitsina. - M., 1982.

4. Knabe G.S. Ancient Rome - history and modernity. - M., 1986.

5. Culture of Ancient Rome / Ed. E.S. Golubtsov. - M., 1986. T. 1, 2.

6. Culturology. A course of lectures, ed. A.A. Radugina Ed. Center Moscow 1998

7. Culturology / Ed. A. N. Markova M., 1998

8. Polikarpov V.S. Lectures on cultural studies. M.: "Gardariki", 1997.-344 p.

9. An illustrated history of religions. T.1,2 - M.: Publishing House of the Valaam Monastery, 1992.

10. Ponomareva G.M. etc. Fundamentals of cultural studies. - M., 1998.

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Cicero wrote:
“By piety, reverence for the gods and wise confidence that everything is guided and controlled by the will of the gods, we Romans have surpassed all tribes and peoples.”

The Romans almost completely adopted the Greek gods - they just gave them different names. Their images, colors, symbols and spells remained the same; all you have to do is just replace Zeus with Jupiter, and so on; however, this does not mean that they are completely identical.

There is a slight difference between the Roman and Greek gods in that the different names help to better understand them. As a rule, the Roman gods are more serious and firmer than the Greek ones; they are more virtuous and reliable. Some consider the Roman gods to be too limited and a bit closed, but they certainly have good qualities. For example, some cruelty of Aphrodite is less expressed in Venus, Jupiter is not as despotic as Zeus.

The expression "return to native penates", which means returning to your home, to the hearth, is more correct to pronounce "return to native Penates". The fact is that the Penates are the Roman guardian gods of the hearth, and each family usually had images of two Penates next to the hearth.

Starting from the III century. to i. e. Greek religion began to have a very strong influence on the Roman religion. The Romans identified their abstract gods with the Greek gods. So, Jupiter was identified with Zeus, Mars with Ares, Venus with Aphrodite, Juno with Hera, Minerva with Athena, Ceres with Demeter, etc. Among the numerous Roman gods, the main Olympic gods stood out under the influence of Greek religious ideas: Jupiter is the god of the sky, thunder and lightning. Mars is the god of war, Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, the patroness of crafts, Venus is the goddess of love and fertility. Vulcan is the god of fire and blacksmithing, Ceres is the goddess of vegetation. Apollo is the god of the sun and light, Juno is the patroness of women and marriage, Mercury is the messenger of the Olympic gods, the patron of travelers, trade, Neptune is the god of the sea, Diana is the goddess of the moon.

The Roman goddess Juno had the title Moneta - "warning" or "adviser". Near the temple of Juno on the Capitol there were workshops where metal money was minted. That is why we call them coins, and in English the common name of money - money - came from this word.

One of the revered purely Italic deities was Janus, depicted with two faces, as the deity of entry and exit, of every beginning. The Olympian gods were considered the patrons of the Roman community and were revered by the patricians. The plebeians especially revered the divine trinity: Ceres, Libor, Proserpina - the goddess of vegetation and the underworld, and Libor - the god of wine and fun. The Roman pantheon never remained closed; foreign deities were accepted into its composition. It was believed that the reception of new gods strengthened the power of the Romans. So, the Romans borrowed almost the entire Greek pantheon, and at the end of the 3rd century. BC e. veneration of the Great Mother of the Gods from Phrygia was introduced. The conquest of many overseas territories, especially the Hellenistic states, introduced the Romans to the Hellenistic and Oriental gods, who find admirers among the Roman population. The slaves who arrived in Rome and Italy professed their cults, thereby spreading other religious beliefs.

The Roman emperor Caligula once declared war on the god of the seas, Neptune, after which he led the army to the shore and ordered the soldiers to throw spears into the water.

In order for the gods to take care of people and the state, they had to make sacrifices, offer prayers, requests and perform special ritual actions. Special boards of knowledgeable people - priests - observed the cult of individual gods, the order in the temples, prepared sacrificial animals, monitored the accuracy of prayers and ritual actions, could give advice on which deity to turn to with the necessary request.

When the emperor died, he was ranked among the gods, and the title Divus, Divine, was added to his name.

The Roman religion bore the seal of formalism and sober practicality: they expected help from the gods in specific matters, and therefore scrupulously performed the established rites and made the necessary sacrifices. In relation to the gods, the principle “I give so that you give” worked. The Romans paid great attention to the external side of religion, to the petty performance of rituals, and not to spiritual merging with the deity. Roman religion did not arouse the sacred awe, the ecstasy that seizes the believer. That is why the Roman religion, with outward very strict observance of all formalities and ceremonies, little affected the feelings of believers, gave rise to dissatisfaction. This is connected with the penetration of foreign, especially Eastern, cults, often distinguished by a mystical and orgiastic character, a certain mystery. The cult of the Great Mother of the gods and the cult of Dionysus - Bacchus, enrolled in the official Roman pantheon, were especially widespread. The Roman Senate took action against the spread of orgiastic Eastern cults, believing that they undermined the official Roman religion, which was associated with the power of the Roman state and its stability. So, in 186 BC. e. unbridled bacchanalia associated with the rites of the cult of Bacchus - Dionysus were banned.

All the planets in the solar system, except Earth, are named after Roman gods.

The mighty ruler of the sky, the personification of sunlight, thunderstorms, storms, throwing lightning in anger, striking them rebellious to his divine will - such was the supreme lord of the gods Jupiter. His abode was on high mountains, from there he embraced the whole world with his eyes, the fate of individuals and nations depended on him. Jupiter expressed his will with peals of thunder, a flash of lightning, the flight of birds (especially the appearance of an eagle dedicated to him); sometimes he sent prophetic dreams in which he revealed the future.

very cool but i want to add
Roman; the same Greek;
jupiter zeus
pluto hades
Juno Hera
diana artemis
phoebus apollo
minerva athena
venus aphrodite
ceres demeter
liber dionysus
volcano hephaestus
mercury hermes
mars ares
01.03.12 Diana