Romans
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Jupiter by Micha F. Lindemans Jupiter is the supreme god of the Roman pantheon, called dies pater, "shining father". He is a god of light and sky, and protector of the state and its laws. He is a son of Saturn and brother of Neptune and Juno (who is also his wife). The Romans worshipped him especially as Jupiter Optimus Maximus (all-good, allpowerful). This name refers not only to his rulership over the universe, but also to his function as the god of the state who distributes laws, controls the realm and makes his will known through oracles. His English name is Jove. He had a temple on the Capitol, together with Juno and Minerva, but he was the most prominent of this Capitoline triad. His temple was not only the most important sanctuary in Rome; it was also the center of political life. Here official offerings were made, treaties were signed and wars were declared, and the triumphant generals of the Roman army came here to give their thanks. Other titles of Jupiter include: Caelestis (heavenly), Lucetius (of the light), Totans (thunderer), Fulgurator (of the lightning). As Jupiter Victor he led the Roman army to victory. Jupiter is also the protector of the ancient league of Latin cities. His attribute is the lightning bolt and the eagle is both his symbol and his messenger. Jupiter is completely identical with the Greek Zeus Vulcan, in Roman mythology, is the son of Jupiter and Juno, and husband of Maia and Venus. He was god of fire and volcanoes, and the manufacturer of art, arms, iron, and armor for gods and heroes. Vulcan's analogue in Greek mythology is the god Hephaestus. He is also called Mulciber ("softener") in Roman mythology and Sethlans in Etruscan mythology. His smithy was believed to be situated underneath Mount Etna in Sicily. Vulcan was honoured at the Vulcanalia festival, which was held on August 23. During the festival fish and small animals were thrown into a fire as sacrifices. Vulcan's shrine in the Forum Romanum, called the Volcanal, appears to have played an important role in the civic rituals of the archaic Roman Kingdom. Vulcan was the father of Caeculus. A statue of Vulcan located in Birmingham, Alabama is the largest cast iron statue in the world. To punish mankind for stealing the secrets of fire, Zeus, ordered the other gods to make a poisoned gift for man. Vulcan’s contribution to the beautiful and foolish Pandora, was to mold her from clay and to give her form. He also made the thrones for the other gods on Mount Olympus.
Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and either Jupiter or a magical flower. As the word Mars has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinized form of the agricultural Etruscan god Maris. Initially the Roman god of fertility and vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries, Mars later became associated with battle as the growing Roman Empire began to expand, and he was identified with the Greek god Ares. He was also a tutelary god of Rome, and as the legendary father of its founder, Romulus, it was believed that all Romans were descendents of Mars.Mars was called Mavōrs in some poetry (Virgil VIII, 630), and Mamers was his Oscan name. He was also known as Marmor, Marmar and Maris,"marsetta" the latter from the Etruscan deity Maris.Like other major Roman deities, Mars had a large number of epithets representing his different roles and aspects. Many of Mars's epithets resulted from mythological syncretism between Mars and foreign gods.
Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts, poetry and wisdom, and is known as the inventor of music. This article focuses on Minerva in early Rome and in cultic practice. For information on literary mythological accounts of Minerva, which were heavily influenced by Greek mythology, see Athena. The name "Minerva" is likely imported from the Etruscans who called her Menrva. The Romans would have easily confused her foreign name with their word mens meaning "mind" since one of her aspects as goddess pertained not only to war but also to the intellectual. Minerva was the daughter of Jupiter. She was considered to be the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and the inventor of music. As Minerva Medica, she was the goddess of medicine and doctors. Adapting Greek myths about Athena, Romans said that Minerva was not born in the usual way, but rather Jupiter had a horrible headache and Vulcan opened up his head and out came Minerva, fully grown, and dressed in armor, a long trailing robe, a helmet, a shield and a spear. Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love and beauty and fertility, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was the consort of Vulcan. She was considered the ancestor of the Roman people by way of its legendary founder, Aeneas, and played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths.
Venus was commonly associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Etruscan deity Turan, borrowing aspects from each. Additionally, Venus has been compared to other goddesses of love, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in Aztec mythology, Kukulcan in Maya mythology, Frigg and Freyja in the Norse mythos, and Ushas in Vedic religion. Ushas is also linked to Venus by a Sanskrit epithet ascribed to her, vanas- ("loveliness; longing, desire"), which is cognate to Venus, suggesting a Proto-Indo-European link via the reconstructed stem *wen- "to desire" Juno (Latin: IVNO) was a major Roman goddess, she was Greek and was called Hera, and was queen of the gods. An ancient and central deity in Roman religion, Juno was the sister and wife of the ruler of the gods, Jupiter, and the mother of Hebe, Vulcan and Mars, one of the most important Roman deities. She was also a member of the Capitoline Triad along with Jupiter and Minerva. Even more so than other major Roman deities, Juno held a large number of significant and diverse epithets, names and titles representing various aspects and roles of the goddess. In accordance with her central role as a goddess of marriage, these included Interduca ("she who leads the bride into marriage"), Domiduca ("she who leads the bride to her new home"), Cinxia ("she who loses the bride's girdle"). However, many other epithets of Juno are less thematically linked. Juno was very frequently called Juno Regina ("Juno the Queen"). This aspect was the one named in the Temple of Jupiter as part of the Capitoline Triad, emphasizing that Juno's role as the wife of Jupiter and queen of the gods was the most important in that context. There were also temples of Juno Regina on the Aventine Hill, in the Circus Flaminius and in the area that became the Porticus Octaviae. September 1, the festival of Juno took place.[3] Juno protected the finances of the Roman Empire as Juno Moneta ("Juno who Warns" or "Juno the alone"). Lucina was an epithet for Juno as "she who brings children into the light", and Lucetia as "bringer of light" in general. She was also referenced as Pomona ("goddess of fruit"), Pronuba ("matron of honor") and Ossipagina ("bone setter" or "bone strengthener"). Some of these titles may have been invented as
poetic descriptions, however, and may not have been actually used in the cult worship of Juno. In The Netherlands, in Maastricht, which was founded as Trajectum Ad Mosam about 2000 years ago, the remains of the foundations of a substantial temple for Juno and Jupiter are to be found in the cellars of Hotel Derlon. Over part of the Roman remains the first Christian church of The Netherlands has been built in the 4th century A.D. Ceres was the goddess of growing plants (particularly cereals) and of motherly love. Her name derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "ker", meaning "to grow", which is also the root for the words "create" and "increase". Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, wifesister of Jupiter, mother of Proserpina by Jupiter and sister of Juno, Vesta, Neptune and Pluto. Works of art depicted Ceres conventionally with a scepter, a basket of flowers and fruit, and a garland made of wheat ears. Ceres was also patron of Enna, Sicily. According to legend, she begged Jupiter that Sicily be placed in the heavens. The result, because the island is triangular in shape, was the constellation Triangulum, an early name of which was Sicilia. The Romans adopted Ceres in 496 BC during a devastating famine, when the Sibylline books advised the adoption of her Greek equivalent Demeter, along with Kore (Persephone) and Iacchus (possibly Dionysus). Ceres was personified and celebrated by women in secret rituals at the festival of Ambarvalia, held during May. There was a temple to Ceres on the Aventine Hill in Rome and her official priest was called a flamen. Her primary festival was the Cerealia or Ludi Ceriales ("games of Ceres"), instituted in the 3rd century BC and held annually on April 12 to April 19. The worship of Ceres became particularly associated with the plebeian classes, who dominated the grain trade. Little is known about the rituals of Cerelean worship; one of the few customs which has been recorded was the peculiar practice of tying lighted brands to the tails of foxes which were then let loose in the Circus Maximus. There was also an October festival dedicated to her when women fasted and offered her the first grain of the harvest. Ceres made up a trinity with Liber and Libera, who were two other agricultural gods. She also had twelve minor gods who assisted her, and were in charge of specific aspects of farming: "Vervactor who
turns fallow land, Reparator who prepares fallow land, Imporcitor who plows with wide furrows" (whose name comes from the Latin imporcare, to put into furrows), "Insitor who sowed, Obarator who plowed the surface, Occator who harrowed, Sarritor who weeded, Subruncinator who thinned out, Messor who harvested, Conuector who carted, Conditor who stored, and Promitor who distributed". Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman mythology. Though she is often mistaken as analogous to Hestia in Greek mythology; she had a large, albeit mysterious role in Roman religion long before she appeared in Greece. Vesta was much more important to the Romans than Hestia was to the Greeks. Little is known about the goddess, as unlike other Roman deities, she had no distinct personality, was never depicted and went without mention in myths. Vesta's presence was symbolized by the sacred flame that burned at her hearth and temples. Every Roman city had a public hearth sacred to Vesta, with a fire that was never allowed to go out. If a new colony was to be established, the coals from the main city's hearth were taken with the colonists so that a fire could be kindled on the new city's hearth. Mercury, was a major god of trade, profit and commerce, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter. His name is related to the Latin word merx ("merchandise"; compare merchant, commerce, etc.). In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, but most of his characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the analogous Greek deity Hermes. Mercury has influenced the name of a number of things in a variety of scientific fields, such as the planet Mercury, the element mercury, and the plant mercury. The word mercurial is commonly used to refer to something or someone erratic, volatile or unstable, derived from Mercury's swift flights from place to place. Diana was the goddess of the hunt, in literature the equivalent of the Greek goddess Artemis, though in cult she was Italic in origin. Born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos, Diana was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona. Diana was the healing goddess, associated with wild animals and woodlands. She also later became a moon goddess, supplanting Luna, and was an emblem of chastity. Oak groves were especially sacred to her. She was
praised in poetry for her strength, athletic grace, beauty and hunting skill. In practice she made up a trinity with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god. In her etymology, "Diana" is simply :"the Goddess", with a Greek parallel in the name— though not the cult practice— of Dione at Dodona.
Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and either Jupiter or a magical flower. As the word Mars has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinized form of the agricultural Etruscan god Maris. Initially the Roman god of fertility and vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries, Mars later became associated with battle as the growing Roman Empire began to expand, and he was identified with the Greek god Ares. He was also a tutelary god of Rome, and as the legendary father of its founder, Romulus, it was believed that all Romans were descendents of Mars.Mars was called Mavōrs in some poetry (Virgil VIII, 630), and Mamers was his Oscan name. He was also known as Marmor, Marmar and Maris,"marsetta" the latter from the Etruscan deity Maris.Like other major Roman deities, Mars had a large number of epithets representing his different roles and aspects. Many of Mars's epithets resulted from mythological syncretism between Mars and foreign gods.
Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts, poetry and wisdom, and is known as the inventor of music. This article focuses on Minerva in early Rome and in cultic practice. For information on literary mythological accounts of Minerva, which were heavily influenced by Greek mythology, see Athena. The name "Minerva" is likely imported from the Etruscans who called her Menrva. The Romans would have easily confused her foreign name with their word mens meaning "mind" since one of her aspects as goddess pertained not only to war but also to the intellectual. Minerva was the daughter of Jupiter. She was considered to be the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and the inventor of music. As Minerva Medica, she was the goddess of medicine and doctors. Adapting Greek myths about Athena, Romans said that Minerva was not born in the usual way, but rather Jupiter had a horrible headache and Vulcan opened up his head and out came Minerva, fully grown, and dressed in armor, a long trailing robe, a helmet, a shield and a spear. Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love and beauty and fertility, the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was the consort of Vulcan. She was considered the ancestor of the Roman people by way of its legendary founder, Aeneas, and played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths.
Venus was commonly associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Etruscan deity Turan, borrowing aspects from each. Additionally, Venus has been compared to other goddesses of love, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in Aztec mythology, Kukulcan in Maya mythology, Frigg and Freyja in the Norse mythos, and Ushas in Vedic religion. Ushas is also linked to Venus by a Sanskrit epithet ascribed to her, vanas- ("loveliness; longing, desire"), which is cognate to Venus, suggesting a Proto-Indo-European link via the reconstructed stem *wen- "to desire" Juno (Latin: IVNO) was a major Roman goddess, she was Greek and was called Hera, and was queen of the gods. An ancient and central deity in Roman religion, Juno was the sister and wife of the ruler of the gods, Jupiter, and the mother of Hebe, Vulcan and Mars, one of the most important Roman deities. She was also a member of the Capitoline Triad along with Jupiter and Minerva. Even more so than other major Roman deities, Juno held a large number of significant and diverse epithets, names and titles representing various aspects and roles of the goddess. In accordance with her central role as a goddess of marriage, these included Interduca ("she who leads the bride into marriage"), Domiduca ("she who leads the bride to her new home"), Cinxia ("she who loses the bride's girdle"). However, many other epithets of Juno are less thematically linked. Juno was very frequently called Juno Regina ("Juno the Queen"). This aspect was the one named in the Temple of Jupiter as part of the Capitoline Triad, emphasizing that Juno's role as the wife of Jupiter and queen of the gods was the most important in that context. There were also temples of Juno Regina on the Aventine Hill, in the Circus Flaminius and in the area that became the Porticus Octaviae. September 1, the festival of Juno took place.[3] Juno protected the finances of the Roman Empire as Juno Moneta ("Juno who Warns" or "Juno the alone"). Lucina was an epithet for Juno as "she who brings children into the light", and Lucetia as "bringer of light" in general. She was also referenced as Pomona ("goddess of fruit"), Pronuba ("matron of honor") and Ossipagina ("bone setter" or "bone strengthener"). Some of these titles may have been invented as
poetic descriptions, however, and may not have been actually used in the cult worship of Juno. In The Netherlands, in Maastricht, which was founded as Trajectum Ad Mosam about 2000 years ago, the remains of the foundations of a substantial temple for Juno and Jupiter are to be found in the cellars of Hotel Derlon. Over part of the Roman remains the first Christian church of The Netherlands has been built in the 4th century A.D. Ceres was the goddess of growing plants (particularly cereals) and of motherly love. Her name derives from the Proto-Indo-European root "ker", meaning "to grow", which is also the root for the words "create" and "increase". Ceres was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, wifesister of Jupiter, mother of Proserpina by Jupiter and sister of Juno, Vesta, Neptune and Pluto. Works of art depicted Ceres conventionally with a scepter, a basket of flowers and fruit, and a garland made of wheat ears. Ceres was also patron of Enna, Sicily. According to legend, she begged Jupiter that Sicily be placed in the heavens. The result, because the island is triangular in shape, was the constellation Triangulum, an early name of which was Sicilia. The Romans adopted Ceres in 496 BC during a devastating famine, when the Sibylline books advised the adoption of her Greek equivalent Demeter, along with Kore (Persephone) and Iacchus (possibly Dionysus). Ceres was personified and celebrated by women in secret rituals at the festival of Ambarvalia, held during May. There was a temple to Ceres on the Aventine Hill in Rome and her official priest was called a flamen. Her primary festival was the Cerealia or Ludi Ceriales ("games of Ceres"), instituted in the 3rd century BC and held annually on April 12 to April 19. The worship of Ceres became particularly associated with the plebeian classes, who dominated the grain trade. Little is known about the rituals of Cerelean worship; one of the few customs which has been recorded was the peculiar practice of tying lighted brands to the tails of foxes which were then let loose in the Circus Maximus. There was also an October festival dedicated to her when women fasted and offered her the first grain of the harvest. Ceres made up a trinity with Liber and Libera, who were two other agricultural gods. She also had twelve minor gods who assisted her, and were in charge of specific aspects of farming: "Vervactor who
turns fallow land, Reparator who prepares fallow land, Imporcitor who plows with wide furrows" (whose name comes from the Latin imporcare, to put into furrows), "Insitor who sowed, Obarator who plowed the surface, Occator who harrowed, Sarritor who weeded, Subruncinator who thinned out, Messor who harvested, Conuector who carted, Conditor who stored, and Promitor who distributed". Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman mythology. Though she is often mistaken as analogous to Hestia in Greek mythology; she had a large, albeit mysterious role in Roman religion long before she appeared in Greece. Vesta was much more important to the Romans than Hestia was to the Greeks. Little is known about the goddess, as unlike other Roman deities, she had no distinct personality, was never depicted and went without mention in myths. Vesta's presence was symbolized by the sacred flame that burned at her hearth and temples. Every Roman city had a public hearth sacred to Vesta, with a fire that was never allowed to go out. If a new colony was to be established, the coals from the main city's hearth were taken with the colonists so that a fire could be kindled on the new city's hearth. Mercury, was a major god of trade, profit and commerce, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter. His name is related to the Latin word merx ("merchandise"; compare merchant, commerce, etc.). In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, but most of his characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the analogous Greek deity Hermes. Mercury has influenced the name of a number of things in a variety of scientific fields, such as the planet Mercury, the element mercury, and the plant mercury. The word mercurial is commonly used to refer to something or someone erratic, volatile or unstable, derived from Mercury's swift flights from place to place. Diana was the goddess of the hunt, in literature the equivalent of the Greek goddess Artemis, though in cult she was Italic in origin. Born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos, Diana was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona. Diana was the healing goddess, associated with wild animals and woodlands. She also later became a moon goddess, supplanting Luna, and was an emblem of chastity. Oak groves were especially sacred to her. She was
praised in poetry for her strength, athletic grace, beauty and hunting skill. In practice she made up a trinity with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god. In her etymology, "Diana" is simply :"the Goddess", with a Greek parallel in the name— though not the cult practice— of Dione at Dodona.
