Roman gods and goddesses (Atrophy)

The Ancient Romans did not only worship the gods that their ancestors had already worshiped. As their goal was to enlarge their empire, the Romans were traveling a lot to conquer new places. By doing so they came into contact with new cultures that worshiped gods and goddesses that were different from their own. As a consequence, the Romans revised their beliefs from time to time and integrated the beliefs of other cultures into their own religious system. One of the strongest influences on the Roman beliefs were the gods and goddesses of the Ancient Greeks.[1]

When the Ancient Romans adopted Greek Gods and Goddesses, in many cases they just changed the name but kept the role that the Ancient Greeks had ascribed to them. For example, Zeus was the king of the gods in Ancient Greece and so was Jupiter in Ancient Rome. Just like Poseidon was the god of the sea for the Ancient Greeks, Neptune fulfilled that function for the Ancient Romans. The Greek goddess of love was Aphrodite while the Roman goddess’s name was Venus.[2]

Sources:

[1] “Religion: Adopted and Borrowed Gods.” Empire Rome, www.empirerome.com/wordpress/?page_id=556. Accessed 15 Aug. 2019.

[2] “Greek and Roman Gods.” Greek Gods and Goddesses, greekgodsandgoddesses.net/greek-vs-roman-gods/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2019.

Image:

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: La Loge. 1874. https://1tq45j21k9qr27g1703pgsja-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/renoir-1280x640.jpg