Roman Mythology
As Rome expanded, they encountered beliefs and practices of the cultures they conquered. When the Romans and Greeks met, the Romans adopted their myths and gods into their beliefs and culture.
Roman mythology affected Roman society because religion and myth were united. Romans worshipped thousands of gods and believed there was a god or spirit for everything in nature. Thus, Romans were very superstitious as they believed that many natural things such as lightning and harvests were acts of the gods.
The most powerful god was Jupiter. The Romans adopted Jupiter from the Greek god Zeus. Jupiter was believed to be the king of all the gods and ruled all of life in heaven and Earth. His word was final, and he would bring order by the strike of his thunderbolt.
Jupiter's queen was Juno. She was the wife and sister of Jupiter. Her Greek name was Hera. Juno was the goddess of marriage and childbirth and worshipped by Roman women. Juno was the symbol of housewife, mother, and matron.
Neptune was Jupiter's brother and considered to be another great god. Neptune was adopted from the Greek god Poseidon. He was the god of the sea. Neptune had blue eyes and green hair, and was believed to have had high and intense energy and a bad temper. He is most known for his three-pronged trident.
Apollo and Minerva were two of Jupiter’s children. Apollo was the only god whose name is the same in Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo was the god of the sun, music, and archery.
Minerva, known as Athena in Greek mythology, was Jupiter’s daughter who was born without a mother. The myth of Minerva is that she was born directly from the brain of Jupiter. She was the goddess of wisdom and had the ability to outsmart the other gods.
Another important god in Roman mythology is Venus. Venus is the equivalent to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She is the goddess of love and beauty. She was considered a very powerful goddess who could be either kind or merciless.