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Etruscan Art
Greek Art
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Roman
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The Roman Gods |
The Romans had a practical attitude toward life. Religion was also viewed as a practical thing. The Roman religion was not based on any central belief, but rather on a mixture of fragmented rituals, taboos, superstitions, and traditions which they collected over the years from a number of other cultures. To the Romans, religion was contractual relationship between mankind and the forces which were believed to control people's existence and well-being. The result of such religious attitudes centered on two things: first, a state cult, whose influence on political and military events was supreme. Thus politicians had to control the state religion and religious appointments were always a political affair. And second, a family concern, in which the head of the family oversaw domestic rituals and prayers.
Most of the Roman gods and goddesses were assimilated from other cultures, many came from the Greek colonies of southern Italy. Some had their roots in old religions of the Etruscans or Latin tribes. Often the old Etruscan or Latin name survived but the deity over time became to be seen as the Greek god of equivalent or similar nature. Thus the major Greek and Roman Gods look very similar, but have different names.
An example of mixed origins is the goddess Diana to whom the Roman king Servius Tullius built the temple on the Aventine Hill. She was an old Latin goddess from early time. Before her move to Rome, she was worshiped in Aricia. In Aricia her priest was always a runaway slave. He won the right to hold office by killing his predecessor. To challenge him to a fight he would though first have to manage to break a branch off a sacred tree. From such obscure beginnings Diana was moved to Rome, where she then gradually became identified with the Greek hunting goddess Artemis.
A deity could be worshipped for reasons no one could remember. For example Furrina, a yearly festival on 25 July was held in her honor. In middle of the first century BC there was no-one left who actually remembers why she was worshiped. This is an ancient example of a post modern art happening and Furrina's rites need to be renewed in the 21st century, perhaps the center of Wall Street would be a good place to renew them.
However, as circumstances and the Roman people's view of the world changed
during the first century AD, individuals whose personal religious needs remained
unsatisfied turned away from the state religion to the ecstatic religious cults
of the East and the mysteries on which they are based. These cults were primarily
of Greek, Judaic, and Egyptian origin. In the fourth century the Judaic/Christian
Religion won control of the Roman state, and the old Olympian state religion
was abandoned.
The Roman Gods can be divided into groups by the people who tended to worship them:
Name |
Origin where known |
Image |
Characteristics |
| Annona | Mythical personification of the annual food supply |
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| Ceres | Greek: Demeter |
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Goddess of agriculture |
| Consus | God of the granary | ||
| Cybele | Phrygian | See 'Magna Mater' | |
| Isis | Egyptian |  |
Goddess of the earth |
| Liber | God of fertility and vine growing |
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| Magna Mater | Phrygian: Cybele |
The 'Great Mother', goddess of nature |
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| Magnes | Spirits of the dead | ||
| Mithras | Persian: Mithra |
God of the sun | |
| Ops | God of the wealth of the harvest |
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| Osiris | Egyptian |  |
Consort of Isis |
| Sabazius | Phrygian | God of vegetation | |
| Serapis | Egyptian | God of the sky | |
| Saturn | Greek: Chronos |
God of sowing | |
| Silvanus | God of woods and fields | ||
| Sol | Helios | God of the sun | |
| Tellus | Goddess of earth | ||
| Vertumnus (also Vortumnus) |
God of orchards |
The Pater Familias was the household priest, assisted by his wife and children; he was usually the father. The Lars Familiaris was the protecting spirit of the household. In the country, they were also responsible for protecting the fields. There were also the Lares of the Crossroads; worshipped at the crossroads in rural areas and at street corner shrines in urban areas. The Genius of the Pater Familias was represented by either a man with a toga drawn over the head as in worship or a serpent. In household shrines, there were two figures; a bearded man representing the Genius of the father, and a woman representing the Juno of the mother.
In general, shrines, were found in:
* the atrium
* the hearth (Vesta)
* the garden/peristyle (often Priapus)
Family Devotions
The devout Roman prayed and made a sacrifice every morning, also in the evening between dinner and dessert. The Kalends, Ides and Nones were sacred to the Lares. On these days, garlands were hung over the hearth, crowns of flowers were made for the lares, as well as simple offerings of incense and wine. When possible, a pig was sacrificed. Proper ceremonies accompanied all family occasions from birth to death, even when the gods were no longer popular. The Gens of families had special rites, sacra. These rites must be maintained for the welfare of the clan and State. If not, it was believed that gods would become displeased.
Name |
Origin where known |
Image |
Characteristics |
Bona Dea |
The 'Good Goddess'; unnamed spirit whose rites were attended only by women |
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| Cardea | Household goddess of door hinges |
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| Faunus | Greek: Pan |
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God of fertility |
| Flora | Goddess of fertility and flowers |
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| Forculus | Household god of doors |
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| Genius | Male spirit of the Roman family |
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| Janus | God of doorways | ||
| Lar (plural Lares) |
A spirit of the household |
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| Larvae (or Lemures) |
Mischievous spirits of the dead |
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| Limentinus | Household god of the threshold |
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| Magnes | Spirits of the dead | ||
| Nundina | Presiding Goddess at the purification and naming of children |
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| Penates | Household spirits of the store cupboard |
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| Picumnus & Pilumnus |
Agricultural gods associated with childbirth |
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| Priapus |  |
God of fertility in gardens and flocks |
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| Robigus | God of mildew | ||
| Salus | God of health | ||
| Terminus | God of property boundaries |
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| Vesta | Greek: Hestia |
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Goddess of the hearth |
Name |
Origin where known |
Image |
Characteristics |
| Asclepius | Greek | God of healing | |
| Bacchus | Greek: Dionysos |
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God of wine |
| Faunus | Greek: Pan |
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God of fertility |
| Hercules | Greek: Herakles |
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God of victory and commercial enterprise |
| Liber | God of fertility and vine growing |
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| Mercury | Greek: Hermes |
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God of merchants and thieves |
| Ops | God of the wealth of the harvest |
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| Pales | God/Goddess of shepherd | ||
| Silvanus | God of woods and fields | ||
| Venus | Greek: Aphrodite |
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Goddess of love |
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