God of love in Rome. Ancient Roman allegory

in the discipline "Culturology"

on topic: “Roman gods”

Introduction

1.Religion of ancient Rome

2.Heroes of Roman myth

Conclusion

List of used literature

There is still a widespread idea that ancient Roman culture is not original, because the Romans tried to imitate the unattainable examples of classical Greek culture, adopting everything and creating practically nothing of their own. However, the latest research shows the distinctive nature of culture Ancient Rome, because it represents a certain unity that arose as a result of the combination of the original with borrowed cultural innovations. We should not forget the essential point that the ancient Roman and ancient Greek cultures were formed and developed on the basis of the ancient civil community. Its entire structure predetermined the scale of basic values ​​that guided all its 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 entire collective; the idea of ​​the supreme power of the people; the idea of ​​the closest connection between the civil community and the gods and heroes who care about its welfare.

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

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

Tribal cults played a significant role in Roman religion. Individual deities, patrons of clans, acquired general Roman significance and became the personification of various forces of nature.

In the process of historical development, the family became the primary social education. This process is reflected in religion. Each family had its own shrines, its own patron gods, its own cult. The center of this cult was the hearth, in front of which the pater familias performed all the rituals that accompanied any important matter, for example, in front of the hearth, the father of the family declared the newborn his child. Penates were considered the guardians of the house, caring for the well-being and well-being of the family. These good spirits are the inhabitants of the house. Outside the house, the family and its property were cared for in lars, 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 strength this person, his energy, abilities, an expression of his entire being and at the same time his guardian.

The genius of the father of the family was revered by everyone at home. This was genius familiae or genius domus. The mother of the family also had her own genius, who was called Juno. Juno brought the young wife into the house, she made the birth easier for the mother. Every house had many other deities protecting it. The god of doors Janus, who guarded and guarded the entrance to the house, acquired particular significance.

The family cared for their deceased ancestors. Ideas about the afterlife were not developed among 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 to which they brought food. At first these offerings were very modest: violets, a pie dipped in wine, a handful of beans. The deceased ancestors, whom their descendants cared for, were good deities - metas. If the dead were not taken care of, they became evil and vengeful forces - lemurs. The genius of the ancestors was embodied in the father of the family, whose power (potestas) thus received religious justification.

Range of beliefs related to family life and tribal religion, as well as ideas about the afterlife, characterize the Roman religion as a fundamentally animistic religion. A feature of Roman animism was its abstraction 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 was not characterized by the personification of nature in the form of deities endowed with human qualities, and in this respect it was the complete opposite of the Greek religion. Particularly characteristic of Roman animism were ideas about special mystical powers inherent in natural phenomena; these forces are deities (numina), which can bring benefit and harm to humans. Processes occurring in nature, such as the growth of a seed or the ripening of a fruit, were represented by the Romans as special deities. With the development of social and political life, it became customary to deify such abstract concepts as hope, honor, harmony, etc. Roman deities are thus abstract and impersonal.

From the many gods, those who became important for the entire community stood out. The Romans were in constant interaction with other peoples. They borrowed some religious ideas from them, but they themselves, in turn, influenced the religion of their neighbors.

One of the ancient Roman gods was Janus. From the deity of doors, the watchful gatekeeper, he became 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.

The trinity appeared relatively early: Jupiter, Mars, Quirin. Jupiter was revered as the deity of the sky by almost all Italians. The idea of ​​the highest deity, the father of the gods, was associated with Jupiter. The epithet pater (father) was subsequently added to his name, and under the influence of the Etruscans. he turns into a 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 distant times he was also an agricultural deity - the genius of spring vegetation. Quirin was his double.

The cult of Vesta, the guardian and protector of the home, 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 annually born vegetation. The Temple of Diana on the Aventine 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 on the Etruscan model, to the Tarquins, and its consecration dates back to the first year of the Republic. From this time on, the Romans began to have images of gods.

Juno was also at first an original Italian goddess, she was considered the guardian genius of women, was accepted in Etruria under the name Uni, and upon 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 on to the Romans from the Etruscans. Some of them were initially patrons of individual Etruscan families, then acquired national significance. So, for example, Saturn was initially revered in the Etruscan clan of Satriev, then received general recognition. Among the Romans he was revered as the deity of crops, his name was associated with Latin word sator – sower. He was the first to give food to people 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 subsequently created was, apparently, an interpretation of the Saturnalia holiday.

Vulcan was first revered 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 superstitions and fortune telling, which was known as disciplina etrusca. But already in the early era they influenced the Romans and 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, fruit) was associated with the Greek Demeter and turned into the goddess of the plant kingdom, and also into the goddess of the dead. The Greek god of winemaking, wine and fun, Dionysus, became known as Liber, and the Greek Kore, daughter of Demeter, became Libera. The Trinity: Ceres, Liber and Libera were venerated according to the Greek model and were plebeian deities, while the temples of the Capitoline Trinity and Vesta were patrician religious centers. The veneration of Apollo, Hermes (in Rome - Mercury) and other deities passed from the Greeks to Rome.

The Roman pantheon did not remain closed. The Romans did not refuse to accept other gods into it. So, repeatedly during wars they tried to find out which deities their opponents prayed to 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, and with the agricultural calendar. Then there are special military holidays and, finally, holidays of artisans, traders, and sailors.

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

The most ancient stages of religious development were reflected in Roman religious rites and customs. A number of religious prohibitions go back to ancient taboos. Thus, during the service of Silvana (the deity of the forest), women could not be present; on the contrary, men were not allowed to attend the festivals 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 armed army, wear a ring and a belt; violation of some prohibitions, such as the vow of celibacy by the Vestal Virgins, was punishable by death.

The basis of the Roman ethical canon, and the dominant feature that determines the heroism of a historical figure, 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 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 a person’s social advancement directly dependent on his qualifications, i.e. Because of his ability to enrich himself, the condemnation of money-grubbing should have looked like unnatural nonsense. It should have been, but apparently it didn't look that way. A high qualification was not only an advantage, but also the obligation of a person chosen by fate to give more to the state - the deprivation of a state-owned horse, for example, which required large expenses, was nevertheless perceived not as a relief, but as a shame.

From the moment the wealth of Rome became an obvious factor state life and until the very end of the Republic, laws were periodically passed making it mandatory to limit personal expenses. Their repetition shows that they were not fulfilled, 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 amounted to seven jugers. Against the backdrop of estates with an area of ​​thousands of jugers, this looked like nothing more than an edifying fable; but when the colonies were withdrawn, as it turns out, the size of the plots provided was actually oriented towards approximately the same seven jugers, i.e. This figure was not fictitious, but reflected a certain norm - psychological and at the same time real.

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

It is clear that although Rome grew from a small city-state into a gigantic empire, its people retained the old ceremonies and customs almost unchanged. In light of this, it is not surprising that the shocking display of wealth caused by some Romans' use of lectica (stretchers) caused widespread irritation. It is rooted not so much in politics or ideology, but in those hidden, but indisputably living layers of social consciousness, where the centuries-old historical experience of the people, which has been outlived on the surface, has been molded into forms of everyday behavior, into unconscious tastes and aversions, into the traditions of life.

At the end of the republic and in the 1st century. AD Fantastic amounts of money circulated in Rome. Emperor Vitellius “ate” 900 million sesterces in a year, Nero and Claudius’ temporary worker Vibius Crispus was richer than Emperor Augustus. Money was the main value in life. But general idea about what is moral and proper was still rooted in natural communal forms of life, and monetary wealth it was desirable, but at the same time somehow unclean, shameful. Augustus's wife Livia herself spun wool in the atrium of the imperial palace, the princesses enacted laws against luxury, Vespasian saved pennies at a time, Pliny glorified ancient frugality, and eight Syrian lectionaries, each of whom should have cost at least half a million sesterces, insulted the money laid down in time immemorial. but understandable to everyone ideas about what is decent and acceptable.

It's not just about wealth. The freeborn Roman citizen spent most of his time in the crowd that filled the Forum, the basilica, the baths, gathered in the amphitheater or circus, gathered for a religious ceremony, and sat around the tables during a collective meal. Such a stay 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 a feeling of community solidarity and equality, which had almost disappeared from real social relations, insulted daily and hourly, but nested in the very the root of Roman life, which stubbornly did not disappear and, all the more, imperiously demanded compensatory satisfaction.

The dry and angry Cato the Elder melted his soul during the collective meals of the religious college; Augustus, in order to increase his popularity, revived the meetings, ceremonies and communal meals of the inhabitants of urban areas; the rural cult of the “good boundary”, which united neighbors, slaves and masters for several days in January, during a break between field work, survived and was preserved throughout the early empire; circus games and mass shows were considered 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, civil equality, associated with the morals of Eastern despotism. The hatred of Juvenal, Martial, their compatriots and contemporaries for the upstarts, the rich, the proud, floating in open lectures above the heads of their fellow citizens, looking at them “from the heights of their soft pillows,” grew from here.

The situation is exactly the same with another side of the Roman myth. Wars have always been fought here and were of a predatory nature, treaties and the right of those who surrendered voluntarily to save their lives were often not respected - such facts have been witnessed more than once and do not raise doubts. But Scipio the Elder executed the tribunes who allowed the plunder of the surrendered city, and deprived the entire army of booty; the Roman commander, who achieved victory by poisoning 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 for hometown water supply, temple, theater or library, cases of evasion of very onerous duties in city government have been noted only since the 2nd century. AD, and even then mainly in the Greek-speaking east. The glorified Republic was robbed, but the result of the Roman’s life, left for centuries, was cursus, i.e. a list of what he has achieved in the service of the same Republic, etc.

The work of Titus Livy “History of Rome from the foundation of the City” - richest source legends and reliable information about Roman history. This work can be considered almost an epic work, as it contains information about most historical figures known to this day. The book is replete with those pages that have forever entered the culture of Europe and which still touch the soul today: large, sharply outlined figures - First Consul Brutus, Camillus, Scipio the Elder, Fabius Maximus; scenes filled with deep drama - the suicide of Lucretia, the defeat and shame of the Romans in the Caudino Gorge, the execution of consul Manlius of his son, who violated military discipline; long-remembered speeches - the tribune Canuleus to the people, the consular (as they called in Rome a person who had once 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 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, let down their hair and tore their clothes, forgetting women’s fear in trouble, bravely rushed straight under the spears and arrows to cut across the fighters , in order to separate the two systems, to appease the anger of the warring ones, turning with a prayer first to fathers, then to husbands: let them - fathers-in-law and sons-in-law - not stain themselves with unholy shed blood, do not defile the offspring of their daughters and wives with parricide. “If you are ashamed of the relationship between each other, if the marriage union disgusts you, turn your anger towards us: we are the cause of the war, the cause of the wounds and deaths of our husbands and fathers; “We’d rather die than live without some or others, as widows or orphans.” Not only the warriors, but also the leaders were touched; everything suddenly fell silent and froze. Then the leaders came out to conclude an agreement, and not only were they reconciled, but they made one state out of two. They decided to reign together and made Rome the center of all power. So the city doubled, and so as not to offend the Sabines, the citizens received the name “quirites” from their city Kurami. In memory of this battle, the place where Curtius’s horse, having got out of the swamp, stepped onto the hard bottom, was nicknamed Lake Curtius. The war, so sorrowful, suddenly ended in a joyful peace, and because of this 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 curiae, he gave the curiae the names of Sabine women.”

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

At the end of the 5th century. Ancient Rome as a world empire ceased to exist, but it cultural heritage didn't die. Today it is an essential ingredient of Western culture. The Roman cultural heritage shaped and was 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 gave way to a passion for pagan cults. Finally, to complete 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 contours of Catholicism. The most ancient religious ideas 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 upon itself the organization and conduct of rituals, created an official religion, which changed the previous ideas about the gods. The ethic of citizenship became the center of Roman epic.

A certain influence of ancient Roman culture is visible both in the classical architecture of public buildings and in the scientific nomenclature constructed from the roots Latin language; many of its elements are difficult to isolate, so firmly have they 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.

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

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Surely everyone has heard the expression “return to one’s native land,” which means returning to one’s home. But not everyone knows where it came from. Initially, this phrase sounded like “return to native Penates.” Penates are the ancient Roman Gods who guard the hearth. In ancient times, in every house near the hearth there was an image of two Penates.

By the way, the Roman people were not distinguished by their rich imagination. All their Gods themselves were lifeless, vague characters, without family ties, without pedigree, while the Greek Gods were united by one big family. However, if you look into history today, you will notice obvious similarities between the Gods of ancient Rome and Greece. The Romans almost completely adopted the Greek Gods - their images, symbols and spells. The difference between them is in the names. They help to better understand the essence of the Roman Gods. As a rule, they are firmer and more serious than the Greek Gods, more reliable and virtuous. The Romans largely identified their abstract Gods with the Greek ones. For example, Jupiter with Zeus, Venus with Aphrodite, Minerva with Athena. Thus, under the influence of Greek religious ideas, among the numerous Roman gods, the main Olympic Gods stood out, known to everyone today: Jupiter - the god of the sky, Venus - the goddess of love and fertility, Minerva - the goddess of wisdom and others.

The absolute absence of their own mythology and legends among the Romans ancient people was considered a virtue (although today it may seem to us that they simply lacked creative imagination). It was the Roman people who were considered the most religious people of those times. And it was from the Romans that the word “religion” subsequently appeared in all languages, which meant the worship of imaginary supernatural forces and the veneration of rituals.

The ancient Romans were convinced that life in all its smallest manifestations depended on higher power and was under the tutelage of various Gods. In addition to Mars and Jupiter, some of the most powerful Gods of Ancient Rome, there were countless less significant Gods and spirits who protected different actions in life. For example, during the birth of a child, the Vatican opened his mouth for the first cry, Kunina patronized the cradle, Rumina took care of the baby’s food, Sattan taught the child to stand, and Fabulin taught him to speak. The whole life of the Romans was this - every success or failure was considered a manifestation of the favor or anger of a certain deity. At the same time, all these deities were completely faceless. Even the Romans themselves could not claim with complete confidence that they knew the real name of God or his gender. All their knowledge about the Gods boiled down only to when and how they should ask for help. The Ancient Gods were the cult of the Roman people. They filled every corner of their home and soul. It was for them that sacrifices were made. And it was they who decided destinies.

We invite you to go on an exciting journey through our website, where you can learn more about the Gods of Ancient Rome, plunge into history and feel the atmosphere of distant times.

Cicero wrote:
“With piety, reverence for the gods and wise confidence that everything is guided and governed by the will of the gods, we Romans 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 simply replace Zeus with Jupiter, and so on; however, this does not mean that they are completely identical.

There is a slight difference between Roman and Greek gods in that 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 people consider the Roman gods to be too limited and a bit introverted, but they certainly have good qualities. For example, some of the cruelty of Aphrodite is less expressed in Venus; Jupiter is not as tyrannical as Zeus.

The expression “return to one’s native land,” meaning a return to one’s home, to the hearth, is more correctly pronounced “return to one’s native land.” 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.

Since the 3rd century. before i. e. The Greek religion began to have a very strong influence on Roman religion. The Romans identified their abstract gods with the Greek gods. Thus, 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 - the god of sky and thunder and lightning. Mars is the god of war, Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, 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 Olympian 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 for money comes from this word - money.

One of the revered purely Italian deities was Janus, depicted with two faces, as the deity of entry and exit, of all beginnings. 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, Libora, Proserpina - the goddess of vegetation and the underworld, and Libora - the god of wine and fun. The Roman pantheon never remained closed; foreign deities were accepted into its composition. The adoption of new gods was believed to strengthen the power of the Romans. Thus, 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 Hellenistic and Eastern gods, who found worshipers among the Roman population. The slaves who arrived in Rome and Italy professed their own cults, thereby spreading other religious views.

The Roman Emperor Caligula once declared war on the god of the seas, Neptune, after which he led his 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 needed to make sacrifices, offer prayers and requests, and perform special ritual actions. Special boards of knowledgeable people - priests - monitored the cult of individual gods, the order in temples, prepared sacrificial animals, monitored the accuracy of prayers and ritual actions, and 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 stamp of formalism and sober practicality: they expected help from the gods in specific matters and therefore scrupulously performed established rituals and made the necessary sacrifices. In relation to the gods, the principle “I give so that you give” operated. The Romans converted great attention on outside religion, on the petty performance of rituals, and not on spiritual merging with the deity. The Roman religion did not arouse the sacred awe and ecstasy that take possession of the believer. That is why the Roman religion, while outwardly very strictly observing all formalities and rituals, had little impact on the feelings of believers and gave rise to dissatisfaction. This is associated with the penetration of foreign, especially eastern, cults, often characterized by a mystical and orgiastic character, and some mystery. The cult of the Great Mother of the Gods and the cult of Dionysus - Bacchus, included in the official Roman pantheon, were especially widespread. The Roman Senate took measures against the spread of orgiastic eastern cults, believing that they undermined the official Roman religion, with which the power of the Roman state and its stability were associated. So, in 186 BC. e. Unbridled bacchanalia associated with the rites of the cult of Bacchus - Dionysus were prohibited.

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

The powerful ruler of the sky, the personification of sunlight, thunderstorms, storms, who in anger threw lightning, striking with them those who disobeyed his divine will - such was the supreme ruler of the gods, Jupiter. His abode was on high mountains, from where he looked out over the whole world, the fate of individuals and nations depended on him. Jupiter expressed his will with peals of thunder, the flash of lightning, the flight of birds (especially the appearance of an eagle dedicated to him); sometimes he sent prophetic dreams, in which he discovered the future.

very cool but I want to add
Roman; the same Greek ones;
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

Ancient culture has always attracted humanity. After the dark period of the Middle Ages, people turned to achievements Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, trying to comprehend their art and attitude to life. The era following the Middle Ages began to be called the Renaissance (Renaissance). Cultural and artistic figures also turned to antiquity during the Enlightenment. This can be said about almost every historical period of human existence. So what attracts us so much to ancient greece and Rome? Most of all, we know myths and legends that contain 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 nearby, and when the Roman Empire began to conquer other states, it included foreign gods in its pantheon.

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

Saturn

One of the most important ancient gods of Rome. Saturn was not part of the Council of Gods, but was highly revered. The question arises: Saturn - the god of what in Ancient Rome? Corresponding to the ancient Greek Cronus, Saturn is the patron of vital forces and agriculture. Of course, agriculture played 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. It 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 surrounded by fences and sacrifices were made next to them. Any Roman commander, going on a campaign and returning with victory, prayed to Jupiter. One of the most significant temples to Jupiter was in the Capitol, which was founded by Tarquinius Gordius.

Juno - goddess of family

Juno is the patroness of family and marriage. Her temple, like that of Jupiter, was located on Capitol Hill (not many gods were given such an honor). The goddess was given many epithets, among which there is Coin - giving advice. Its appearance is associated with an interesting legend.

In the 5th century BC, a war broke out between the Romans and 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., 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, a mint was founded in the Temple of Juno.

Neptune - ruler 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 luxurious 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 into pieces.

Ceres - goddess of fertility

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

The Romans made unique sacrifices to the goddess. Instead of the traditional killing of animals, Ceres was given half of the property of a husband who, without any reason, separated from his wife. In addition, she was considered the protector of the rural community and crops 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. The goddess is often depicted armed, with an olive tree and an owl - a symbol of wisdom. Minerva was part of the Capitoline 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 Apollo's willfulness and even forced him to serve people!

Diana - goddess-hunter

Diana was considered a huntress goddess in Ancient Rome. 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 - there were human sacrifices. The priest of the temple, for example, the first one erected on the Aventine Hill, was necessarily a runaway slave. The priest bore the name Rex (King), and in order to become a priest of the goddess, he had to kill his predecessor.

Mars - god of war

There is no doubt that the Roman Empire was a powerful power, constantly expanding through war. In the ancient world, nothing could be accomplished without the help of the gods. 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 power. Venus was the most revered goddess among women. Its symbol is an apple. A Sicilian temple was built in honor of Venus; she was the patroness of the descendants of Aeneas, the son of Venus, and all Romans. One of the greatest Roman commanders, Gaius Julius Caesar, considered Aeneas his ancestor, so he greatly respected the goddess.

Vulcan - blacksmith god

Unlike Apollo, who was famous for his beauty, Vulcan was lame and ugly. But this did not stop him from becoming a talented blacksmith. According to legend, it was Vulcan who forged Jupiter his 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 completely attributed to legend. In 79 BC, on August 24, the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred, which became the last for the city of Pompeii. Perhaps the inhabitants angered God by not knowing that Mount Vesuvius is a volcano?

Mercury - god of trade

Herald's staff and winged sandals... It's easy to guess that we're talking about about the messenger of the gods - Mercury. He was considered the patron of trade, intelligence, 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 entwined with two snakes. There is a myth that when Mercury received a rod capable of pacifying anyone, he placed it between two snakes, who at that moment were fighting each other. They wrapped themselves around the staff and became part of it.

Vesta - goddess of the hearth

Vesta in Ancient Rome was the goddess of the hearth and family. In Rome, a temple was dedicated to her, in which a fire was constantly maintained. The flames were watched over by special priestesses - vestals. The morals and customs of ancient civilizations were 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 ones are listed above. It's amazing how much connects ancient roman gods and our modernity. In honor of some of them, planets were named - Venus, Mars, Uranus, Jupiter. We know the month June, named after Juno.

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

Deities of the ancient Romans

The city of Rome was founded in the 8th century. BC e. tribe Latinov, who lived first in Central Italy, a region called Ancient Latium. According to the Roman historian Terence Varro, this happened on April 21, 753 BC. e. And already in the VI century. BC e. territorial expansion of the Romans begins at the expense of others Latins and neighboring tribes.

Traditionally, the history of the Roman state is divided into several periods, each of which in its own way reflects the formation of the religious views of the Romans and is associated with special processes in the development of the cult, which, in turn, is directly related to the change in the ancient Romans’ assessment of the world around them, their rethinking of relationships with the gods and your place in this world.

The early period - the so-called royal period (VIII-VI centuries BC) - is associated with the rise of Rome, the strengthening of its importance in Central Italy and the strengthening of the position of the Latins. The period of the Republic (VI-I centuries BC) was associated with the growth of the Roman state and the aggravation social contradictions in Roman society. It is divided into two parts, the boundary between which was the Punic warriors. This was the time of confrontation between Rome and Carthage and the period of the conquest of the Hellenistic East, when the influence on Roman culture of various cults of the conquered peoples became noticeable.

The era of the early Empire (1st century BC - 3rd century AD), when the place of Rome in the relations of peoples, both those that were part of the empire and those that retained independence, was clearly defined. During this period, the Roman state reached the pinnacle of its power, the cult of emperors took shape and a crisis emerged in the ancient religious system.

Finally, the era of the late Empire (IV-V centuries AD), characterized by an acute crisis of power, the decomposition of the foundations that strengthened the power of the deified emperor, and at the same time the growing influence of monotheistic tendencies in the worldview of Roman citizens. It was during this period that the formation of Christianity was completed, which radically changed the face of Rome and led to the creation of a universal, accepted idea of ​​a single savior god, close and understandable to everyone.

Territory of Ancient Latium

Little is known about the most ancient beliefs of the Italic tribes, and the interpretation of the corresponding archaeological data depends in part on the general points of view of the authors on the ethnic composition of the ancient population of Italy, in particular on the relationship between Indo-Europeans and the non-Indo-European population that preceded them. But, no matter how the question of the relationship of the found cults to a particular ethnic group is resolved, it is important that in ancient Italy both traces of the cult of mother goddesses (figurines depicting them) and symbols of the sun (a wheel with rays and a cross) were discovered.

The cult of the heavenly, solar and military god (or heroic leader) also includes the one found on the territory of the tribe vestin“The horseman from Capestrin” is a god in military clothing, wearing a helmet and a halo around his head. The cult of animals and the remnants of totemism are attested both by figurines and by the names of such tribes as hirpine(from h?rpus- "wolf"), Piceni(from picus– “woodpecker”), bownaps(from bos- "bull").

At the same time, the names of other tribes came from the names of the gods: from Mars– Mars And mamertypes, from One– oski, from Vesta– truths, from Vulcana– Volsci. Obviously, the Arician one can also be included here. Diana with her sanctuary on Lake Nema, a typical goddess of fertility, forest, “mistress of beasts” with her dead and resurrected mortal lover Virbiem, later identified with Greek Hippolytus, trampled by horses, resurrected Asclepius by request Artemis and transported by her to the forest, where he was revered as a ministering minor deity.

Jupiter

The veneration of the Sun, apparently, did not play a big role subsequently. According to tradition, only the Aurelian family had the Sun as their god - Sol. He is associated with the Sabines, since the Aurelii were a Sabine family. The existence of the cult of the Sun in ancient Italy is evidenced by the custom of augurs, members of one of the priestly colleges, to orient themselves to the east and south - for example, Roundabout Circulation when praying from right to left, it imitated the movement of the sun.

To the connection between the Sun and Jupiter indicate the usual symbol of the Sun, the wheel placed in the temple of Jupiter, and the fact that the priest, making a sacrifice, held a circle in his hand, and both the wheel and the circle were symbols of an alliance sealed by an oath. The same is indicated by the radiant crown, which, according to the testimony of the Roman poet Virgil, worn by the king Latin in the famous poem "Aeneid".

The basis of the most ancient layer of Roman religion is the divine pantheon and mythology, which were strongly influenced by Greek beliefs. On the other hand, the abundance of autochthonous deities and archaic, sometimes mysterious rituals make it possible to guess the true Indo-European heritage of the Romans, interpreted in the spirit of “historicization”.

Bacchus, god of wine, at the foot of Vesuvius

For example, the description of the war between the Romans and Sabines in the book Tita Livia(64 or 59 BC - 17 AD) corresponds to purely mythological episodes among other Indo-European peoples. Researcher J. Dumezil noted the presence of Indo-European three-member ideology in the ancient Roman triad: Jupiter(supreme power) Mars(military function), Quirin(function of breadwinner and instigator).

The very foundation of Rome was already of a religious nature. For the worship of local deities, a circle inside the city was intended, marked with stones and called pomery(pomerius). The Campus Martius, where the purifying sacrifice of a bull, wild boar and ram was performed every five years, was located outside this sacred zone, where there was a categorical ban on the exercise of military power.

Deities of later origin, even the most important ones such as Juno Regina- placed outside tried it on mainly on the Aventine Hill (an exception was made for the temple Castor, erected inside the pomerium by the dictator Avlom Posthumius in the 5th century BC e.). Archaic deities of Pomeria often have strange names, functions and appearance - the goddess of the vernal equinox Angerona, goddess married women Matuta and others.

Meanwhile, the traditional beliefs of the Romans did not remain unchanged. Ancient triad Jupiter– Mars– Quirin, reinforced Two-faced Janus and goddess Vesta, Even in the royal era, the Tarquins were replaced by a new triad: Jupiter-Optimus Maximus, Juno, Minerva. These gods, corresponding to the Greek Zeus, Hera And Athena, now statues are being erected. During the period of the 3rd century. BC e., the era of wars with Carthage for dominance in the Mediterranean, the final Hellenization of the Roman religion took place.

Domestic cult, the center of which was family hearth, consisted of animal sacrifices, offerings of food and flowers as gifts to the ancestors - Laram And penates, as well as the patron spirit of the house. The wedding was celebrated in a dwelling under the auspices of female deities (Tellus, Ceres). Later, Juno will become the guarantor of the family union. Twice a year the souls of the dead were remembered in the city - may and And lemurs, who returned to earth and ate the food laid on their graves.

Warlike Mars

The concept is often used to designate deities "genius". This word was used in the singular or plural. Genius was considered the protective spirit of each individual person. The marriage bed was under the special protection of the genius. But besides this, geniuses were guardians of certain places and objects. Their symbol was a snake, and later their images took on a human form.

It is curious that just as the husband had his genius, so the wife had her juno, a kind of female genius. Not only individual people and places, but also families, cities and nations had their geniuses.

Hearthkeeper Vesta

At the same time, foreign influences have always been very strong. The Romans borrowed from the Etruscans Menrva (Minerva), goddess of reason and arts. The developed religious Greek concepts, merging with related images or completely displacing pale Roman ideas, eventually completely subjugated Roman mythology. Jupiter merged with Zeus, Juno- With Hero, Vulcan- With Hephaestos, Diana- With Artemis and so on. The Greeks brought to Rome not only their anthropomorphic gods and the myths associated with them, but also taught the Romans to build temples, sculpt statues of gods, distinguish gods by their gender, age, functions, position in the hierarchy, created more complex than primitive magical rituals, cult.

The least clear and probably most complex is the origin of the image of the main Roman god of the classical era - Jupiter. Apparently, at its core it is the personified shining sky, or Father Sky, an image parallel to Sanskrit and Greek. But this hardly allows us to consider him simply an ancient Indo-European deity. The Romans also used his name as a common noun, meaning simply heaven. Jupiter was also revered as the god of thunder.

One of the most ancient gods, whose cult was perhaps introduced by the legendary founder of Rome Romulus, was Janus bifrons(“two-faced”) or geminus("double"). His temple, located near the central square - Forum- was unlocked during the war and was closed during peace. Janus was considered the god of doors and all beginnings in general.

The god Mars was at first apparently the patron of agriculture among the Sabines, but over time he turned into a god of war and was identified with the Greek Ares. Perhaps this happened because the inhabitants of Rome had to obtain land by force of arms, conquering it from their neighbors. The warlike properties of Mars became more important the more space the war occupied in the lives of the Romans themselves. His sacred animals were the woodpecker (picus) and the wolf. In the calendar, the month of March was dedicated to Mars.

S. Bye. Diana

The cult of the goddess Vesta was very important to the Romans. Vesta, as the goddess of both the home and the public hearth, was given a central place both in the religion of the family and in the cult of the state. She was the main goddess of the house, and the whole life of the family was under her protection. But the public good in the state was also considered associated with serving it.

The lararium in the house of the Vettii in Pompeii is decorated with the image of the genius of the place (in the center). I century n. e.

An ominous omen for the state was the extinction of the sacred fire of the goddess. If such a misfortune happened, then the negligent priestess - the Vestal Virgin - was severely punished, and the fire had to be produced again in the ancient way, through drilling a fruit tree or, perhaps, from the sun's rays. The Vestals prayed for the good of the Roman people, therefore both they themselves and the cult they led were under special supervision pontifex maximus- high priest, head of the Roman cult.

Thus, Vesta belonged to the main deities of the Romans; she really was Vesta mother (Vesta-mater), because the most important cult gods in Rome were called fathers and mothers. Vesta was a virgin goddess, and it is known that chastity was the main duty of the Vestals. Those who broke this vow were buried alive.

According to researcher S.A. Tokarev, whatever the origin of individual images of the Roman gods, their cult, as the Roman state formed and expanded, took on a form characteristic of ancient societies - the veneration of the patron gods of the polis.