The main Roman gods. Myths and Legends * Gods of Ancient Greece and Rome

Gods of Ancient Greece and Rome

Wikipedia

The Olympic gods (Olympians) in ancient Greek mythology are the gods of the third generation (after the original gods and titans - the gods of the first and second generations), the highest beings who lived on Mount Olympus.

Traditionally, the Olympic gods included twelve gods. The lists of Olympians do not always match.

The Olympians included the children of Kronos and Rhea:

* Zeus is the supreme god, the god of lightning and thunderstorms.
* Hera is the patroness of marriage.
* Demeter is the goddess of fertility and agriculture.
* Hestia - goddess of the hearth
* Poseidon is the god of the sea elements.
* Hades is a god, ruler of the kingdom of the dead.

And also their descendants:

* Hephaestus is the god of fire and blacksmithing.
* Hermes is the god of trade, cunning, speed and theft.
* Ares is the god of war.
* Aphrodite - goddess of beauty and love.
* Athena is the goddess of just war.
* Apollo is the guardian of herds, light, sciences and arts. God is also a healer and patron of oracles.
* Artemis is the goddess of hunting, fertility, patroness of all life on Earth.
* Dionysus is the god of winemaking, the productive forces of nature.

Roman variants

The Olympians included the children of Saturn and Cybele:

* Jupiter,
* Juno,
* Ceres,
* Vesta,
* Neptune,
* Pluto

And also their descendants:

* Vulcan,
* Mercury,
* Mars,
* Venus,
* Minerva,
* Phoebus,
* Diana,
* Bacchus

Sources

The oldest state of Greek mythology is known from the tablets of the Aegean culture, recorded in Linear B. This period is characterized by a small number of gods, many of them are named allegorically, a number of names have female analogues (for example, di-wi-o-jo - Diwijos, Zeus and the female analogue of di-wi-o-ja). Already in the Cretan-Mycenaean period, Zeus, Athena, Dionysus and a number of others were known, although their hierarchy could differ from the later one.

The mythology of the “dark ages” (between the decline of the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization and the emergence of ancient Greek civilization) is known only from later sources.

Various plots of ancient Greek myths constantly appear in the works of ancient Greek writers; On the eve of the Hellenistic era, a tradition arose to create their own allegorical myths based on them. In Greek drama, many mythological plots are played out and developed. The largest sources are:

* Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
* “Theogony” by Hesiod
* "Library" of Pseudo-Apollodorus
* “Myths” by Guy Julia Gigin
* "Metamorphoses" by Ovid
* "The Acts of Dionysus" - Nonna

Some ancient Greek authors tried to explain myths from a rationalistic point of view. Euhemerus wrote about the gods as people whose actions were deified. Palefat, in his essay “On the Incredible,” analyzing the events described in myths, assumed them to be the result of misunderstanding or addition of details.

Origin

The most ancient gods of the Greek pantheon are closely connected with the pan-Indo-European system of religious beliefs, there are parallels in the names - for example, the Indian Varuna corresponds to the Greek Uranus, etc.

Further development of mythology went in several directions:

* accession to the Greek pantheon of some deities of neighboring or conquered peoples
* deification of some heroes; heroic myths begin to merge closely with mythology

The famous Romanian-American researcher of the history of religion, Mircea Eliade, gives the following periodization of ancient Greek religion:

* 30 - 15 centuries. BC e. - Cretan-Minoan religion.
* 15th – 11th centuries BC e. - archaic ancient Greek religion.
* 11th - 6th centuries. BC e. - Olympic religion.
* 6th - 4th centuries. BC e. - philosophical-Orphic religion (Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato).
* 3rd - 1st centuries. BC e. - religion of the Hellenistic era.

Zeus, according to legend, was born in Crete, and Minos, after whom the Cretan-Minoan civilization is named, was considered his son. However, the mythology that we know, and which the Romans later adopted, is organically connected with the Greek people. We can talk about the emergence of this nation with the arrival of the first wave of Achaean tribes at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In 1850 BC. e. Athens, named after the goddess Athena, had already been built. If we accept these considerations, then the religion of the ancient Greeks arose somewhere around 2000 BC. e.

Religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks

Main article: Ancient Greek religion

Olympus (Nikolai Apollonovich Maikov)

Religious ideas and religious life of the ancient Greeks were in close connection with all their historical life. Already in the most ancient monuments of Greek creativity, the anthropomorphic nature of Greek polytheism is clearly evident, explained by the national characteristics of the entire cultural development in this area; concrete representations, generally speaking, prevail over abstract ones, just as in quantitative terms humanoid gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines prevail over deities of abstract meaning (who, in turn, receive anthropomorphic features). In this or that cult, different writers or artists associate different general or mythological (and mythographic) ideas with this or that deity.
We know different combinations, hierarchies of the genealogy of divine beings - “Olympus”, various systems of “twelve gods” (for example, in Athens - Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes). Such connections are explained not only from the creative moment, but also from the conditions of the historical life of the Hellenes; in Greek polytheism one can also trace later layers (eastern elements; deification - even during life). In the general religious consciousness of the Hellenes, there apparently did not exist any specific generally accepted dogma. The diversity of religious ideas was also expressed in the diversity of cults, the external environment of which is now becoming increasingly clear thanks to archaeological excavations and finds. We find out which gods or heroes were worshiped where, and where which one was worshiped predominantly (for example, Zeus - in Dodona and Olympia, Apollo - in Delphi and Delos, Athena - in Athens, Hera in Samos, Asclepius - in Epidaurus); we know shrines revered by all (or many) Hellenes, like the Delphic or Dodonian oracle or the Delian shrine; We know large and small amphictyony (cult communities).
One can distinguish between public and private cults. The all-consuming importance of the state also affected the religious sphere. The ancient world, generally speaking, did not know either the internal church as a kingdom not of this world, nor the church as a state within a state: “church” and “state” were concepts in it that absorbed or conditioned each other, and, for example, the priest was the or state magistrate.
This rule could not, however, be carried out with unconditional consistency everywhere; practice caused particular deviations and created certain combinations. If a well-known deity was considered the main deity of a certain state, then the state sometimes recognized (as in Athens) some other cults; Along with these national cults, there were also individual cults of state divisions (for example, the Athenian demes), and cults of private significance (for example, household or family), as well as cults of private societies or individuals.
Since the state principle prevailed (which did not triumph everywhere at the same time and equally), every citizen was obliged, in addition to his private deities, to honor the gods of his “civil community” (changes were brought by the Hellenistic era, which generally contributed to the process of leveling). This reverence was expressed purely externally- feasible participation in well-known rituals and celebrations performed on behalf of the state (or state division), - participation to which the non-civilian population of the community was invited in other cases; both citizens and non-citizens were given the opportunity to seek satisfaction of their religious needs, as they could, wanted and were able. One must think that in general the veneration of the gods was external; the internal religious consciousness was naive, and among the masses superstition did not decrease, but grew (especially at a later time, when it found food for itself coming from the East); But in an educated society, an educational movement began early, timid at first, then more and more energetic, with one end (negative) touching the masses; religiosity weakened little in general (and sometimes even - albeit painfully - rose), but religion, that is, old ideas and cults, gradually - especially as Christianity spread - lost both its meaning and its content. This is approximately, in general, the internal and external history Greek religion in the time available for deeper study.
In the nebulous region of the original, primordial Greek religion scientific work I have outlined only some general points, although they are usually stated with excessive harshness and extremeness. Already ancient philosophy bequeathed a threefold allegorical explanation of myths: psychological (or ethical), historical-political (not entirely correctly called euhemerical) and physical; She explained the emergence of religion from the individual moment. A narrow theological point of view also joined here, and essentially on the same basis Kreuzer’s “Symbolik” (“Symbolik und Mythologie der alt. Volker, bes. der Griechen”, German Kreuzer, 1836) was built, as were many other systems and theories who ignored the moment of evolution.
Gradually, however, they came to the realization that the ancient Greek religion had its own complex historical origins, that the meaning of myths should be sought not behind them, but in themselves. Initially, the ancient Greek religion was considered only in itself, for fear of going beyond Homer and generally beyond the boundaries of purely Hellenic culture (this principle is still adhered to by the “Königsberg” school): hence the localistic interpretation of myths - from the physical (for example, Forchhammer, Peter Wilhelm Forchhammer) or only from a historical point of view (for example, Karl Muller, German K. O. Muller).
Some paid their main attention to the ideal content of Greek mythology, reducing it to phenomena of local nature, others - to the real, seeing traces of local (tribal, etc.) characteristics in the complexity of ancient Greek polytheism. Over time, one way or another, the original significance of eastern elements in Greek religion had to be recognized. Comparative linguistics gave rise to "comparative Indo-European mythology". This hitherto predominant direction in science was fruitful in the sense that it clearly showed the need for a comparative study of ancient Greek religion and collated extensive material for this study; but - not to mention the extreme straightforwardness of the methodological methods and the extreme haste of judgment - it was engaged not so much in the study of Greek religion using the comparative method, but in the search for its main points, dating back to the time of pan-Aryan unity (moreover, the linguistic concept of the Indo-European peoples was too sharply identified with the ethnic ). As for the main content of myths (“disease of the tongue”, according to K. Müller), it was too exclusively reduced to natural phenomena - mainly to the sun, or the moon, or thunderstorms.
The younger school of comparative mythology considers the heavenly deities to be the result of a further, artificial development of the original “folk” mythology, which knew only demons (folklorism, animism).
In Greek mythology, one cannot help but recognize later layers, especially in the entire external form of myths (as they have come down to us), although they cannot always be determined historically, just as it is not always possible to distinguish the purely religious part of myths. Beneath this shell lie general Aryan elements, but they are often as difficult to distinguish from specifically Greek ones as it is to determine the beginning of a purely Greek culture in general. It is no less difficult to determine with any accuracy the main content of various Hellenic myths, which is undoubtedly extremely complex. Nature with its properties and phenomena played a big role here, but perhaps mainly a service one; Along with these natural historical moments, historical and ethical moments should also be recognized (since the gods generally lived no differently and no better than people).
The local and cultural division of the Hellenic world remained not without influence; The presence of oriental elements in Greek religion is also undeniable. It would be too complex and too difficult a task to explain historically, even in the most general outline how all these moments gradually coexisted with each other; but some knowledge in this area can be achieved, based especially on experiences preserved both in the internal content and in the external environment of cults, and, moreover, taking into account, if possible, the entire ancient historical life of the Hellenes (the path in this direction was especially pointed out by Curtins in his "Studien z. griech. Olymps", in "Sitzb. Akad.", German. It is significant, for example, the relationship in the Greek religion of the great gods to the small, folk deities, and of the supermundane world of gods to the underground; Characteristic is the veneration of the dead, expressed in the cult of heroes; The mystical content of Greek religion is curious.
When writing this article, material from Encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron (1890-1907).

Lists of gods, mythological creatures and heroes

Lists of gods and genealogy differ among different ancient authors. The lists below are compilative.

First generation of gods

At first there was Chaos. Gods who emerged from Chaos - Gaia (Earth), Nikta/Nyukta (Night), Tartarus (Abyss), Erebus (Darkness), Eros (Love); the gods that emerged from Gaia are Uranus (Sky) and Pontus (inner Sea).

Second generation of gods

Children of Gaia (fathers - Uranus, Pontus and Tartarus) - Keto (mistress of sea monsters), Nereus (calm sea), Taumant (sea wonders), Phorcys (guardian of the sea), Eurybia (sea power), titans and titanides. Children of Nyx and Erebus - Hemera (Day), Hypnos (Dream), Kera (Misfortune), Moira (Fate), Mom (Slander and Stupidity), Nemesis (Retribution), Thanatos (Death), Eris (Strife), Erinyes (Vengeance) ), Ether (Air); Ata (Deception).

Titans

Titans: Oceanus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Kay, Krios, Kronos.
Titanides: Tethys, Mnemosyne, Rhea, Theia, Phoebe, Themis.

Younger Generation of Titans (Children of the Titans)

* Asteria
* Summer
* Astraeus
* Persian
* Pallant
* Helios (personification of the sun)
* Selena (personification of the moon)
* Eos (personification of the dawn)
* Atlant
* Menetius
* Prometheus
* Epimetheus

Olympians

Council of the Gods (Rubens)

The composition of the pantheon has changed over the centuries, so there are more than 12 gods.

* Hades is the main god. Brother of Zeus, Rome. Pluto, Hades, Orcus, Deet. Lord of the underground kingdom of the dead. Attributes: three-headed dog Cerberus (Kerberus), pitchfork (bident). Wife - Persephone (Proserpina).
* Apollo - Greek. Phoebus. God of the sun, light and truth, patron of the arts, sciences and healing, god is a soothsayer. Attributes: laurel wreath, bow and arrows.
* Ares - Rome. Mars. God of bloodthirsty, unjust war. Attributes: helmet, sword, shield. Lover or husband of Aphrodite.
* Artemis - Rome. Diana. Goddess of the moon and hunting, patroness of women in labor. Virgin Goddess. Attributes: quiver with arrows, doe.
* Athena - Greek. Pallas; Rome. Minerva. Goddess of wisdom, just war, patroness of the cities of Athens, crafts, sciences. Attributes: owl, snake. Dressed like a warrior. On the chest there is an emblem in the form of the head of Medusa the Gorgon. Born from the head of Zeus. Virgin Goddess.
* Aphrodite - Rome. Cypris; Rome. Venus. Goddess of love and beauty. Attributes: belt, apple, mirror, dove, rose.
* Hera - Rome. Juno. Patroness of family and marriage, wife of Zeus. Attributes: cloth, tiara, ball.
* Hermes - Rome. Mercury. god of trade, eloquence, guide of the souls of the dead in kingdom of the dead, messenger of Zeus, patron of merchants, artisans, shepherds, travelers and thieves. Attributes: winged sandals, invisibility helmet with wings, caduceus (a staff in the form of two intertwined snakes).
* Hestia - Rome. Vesta. goddess of the hearth. Attributes: torch. The goddess is a virgin.
* Hephaestus - Rome. Volcano. god of blacksmithing, patron of all artisans and fire. Chromium. Wife - Aphrodite. Attributes: pliers, blacksmith's bellows, pilos (worksman's cap).
* Demeter - rom. Ceres. goddess of agriculture and fertility. Attributes: staff in the form of a stem.
* Dionysus - Greek. Bacchus; Rome. Bacchus. god of viticulture and winemaking, agriculture. Patron of the theater. Attributes: wreath of grapevine, cup of wine.
* Zeus is the main god. Rome. Jupiter. god of sky and thunder, head of the ancient Greek Pantheon. Attributes: single-prong, eagle, lightning.
* Poseidon is the main god. Rome. Neptune. lord of the seas. Attributes: trident, dolphin, chariot, wife - Amphitrite.

Gods and deities of the water element

* Amphitrite - goddess of the sea, wife of Poseidon
* Poseidon - god of the sea
* Tritons - retinue of Poseidon and Amphitrite
* Triton - water god, messenger of the depths, eldest son and commander of Poseidon
* Proteus - water god, messenger of the depths, son of Poseidon
* Rhoda - goddess of water, daughter of Poseidon
* Limnades - nymphs of lakes and swamps
* Naiads - nymphs of springs, springs and rivers
* Nereids - sea nymphs, sisters of Amphitriata
* Ocean - personification of the mythological world river washing the Oecumene
* River gods - gods of rivers, sons of Ocean and Tethys
* Tethys - Titanide, wife of Ocean, mother of oceanids and rivers
* Oceanids - daughters of the Ocean
* Pontus - god of the inland sea and water (son of Earth and Heaven, or son of Earth without a father)
* Eurybia - the embodiment of the sea element
* Thaumant - underwater giant, god of sea wonders
* Nereus - deity of the peaceful sea
* Forkis - guardian of the stormy sea
* Keto - goddess of the deep sea and sea monsters living in the depths of the seas

Gods and deities of the air element

* Uranus is the personification of Heaven
* Ether is the embodiment of the atmosphere; God is the personification of air and light
* Zeus - god-lord of the skies, god of thunder

Main article: Winds in ancient Greek mythology

* Aeolus - demigod, lord of the winds
* Boreas - the personification of the stormy northern wind
* Zephyr - a strong western wind, was also considered the messenger of the gods (among the Romans it began to personify a caressing, light wind)
*Not - south wind
* Eurus - east wind
* Aura - personification of light wind, air
* Nebula - cloud nymph

Gods of Death and the Underworld

* Hades - god of the underworld of the dead
* Persephone - wife of Hades, goddess of fertility and the kingdom of the dead, daughter of Demeter
* Minos - judge of the kingdom of the dead
* Rhadamanthus - judge of the kingdom of the dead
* Hecate - goddess of darkness, night visions, sorcery, all monsters and ghosts
* Kera - female demons of death
* Thanatos - the embodiment of Death
* Hypnos - god of oblivion and sleep, twin brother of Thanatos
* Onir - deity of prophetic and false dreams
* Erinyes - goddess of revenge
* Melinoe - goddess of redemptive donations for dead people, goddess of transformation and reincarnation; mistress of darkness and ghosts, who, near death, being in a state of terrible anger or horror, could not get into the kingdom of Hades, and are doomed to forever wander the world among mortals (daughter of Hades and Persephone)

Muses

* Calliope - muse of epic poetry
* Clio - the muse of history in ancient Greek mythology
* Erato - muse of love poetry
* Euterpe - muse of lyric poetry and music
* Melpomene - the muse of tragedy
* Polyhymnia - the muse of solemn hymns
* Terpsichore - the muse of dance
* Thalia is the muse of comedy and light poetry
* Urania - muse of astronomy

Cyclopes

(often “Cyclopes” - in Latin transcription)

* Arg - “lightning”
* Bront - “thunder”
* Sterop - “shine”

Hecatoncheires

* Briareus - strength
* Gies - arable land
* Kott - anger

Giants

(some of about 150)

* Agrius
* Alcyoneus
* Gration
* Clytius
* Mimant
* Pallant
* Polybotes
* Porphyrion
*Toon
* Eurytus
* Enceladus
* Ephialtes

Other gods

* Nike - goddess of victory
* Selene - goddess of the moon
* Eros - god of love
* Hymen - god of marriage
* Iris - goddess of the rainbow
* Ata - goddess of delusion, darkness of the mind
* Apata - goddess of deception
* Adrastea - goddess of justice
* Phobos - deity of fear, son of Ares
* Deimos - god of horror, brother of Phobos
* Enyo - goddess of furious and frantic war
* Asclepius - god of healing
* Morpheus - god of dreams (poetic deity, son of Hypnos)
* Himerot - god of carnal love and amorous pleasure
* Ananke - the deity-embodiment of inevitability, necessity
* Aloe is the ancient deity of threshed grains

Non-personal gods

Non-personified gods are “many” gods according to M. Gasparov.

* Satires
* Nymphs
* Ora - three goddesses of the seasons and natural order

In ancient times, the Romans represented the gods in the form of certain invisible forces, which accompany a person throughout his life and even after it.

Gods of Ancient Rome

To systematize knowledge, we will create a list and description of gods Ancient Rome, which are the main ones.

During the closer relationship between Rome and Greece, the Roman gods acquired a human form from an inexplicable substance.

Rice. 1. Roman god Jupiter.

Rice. 2. Roman god Cupid.

Greek and Roman gods are similar to each other in many ways and have the same functions. They differ only in names. In addition, the legends and myths of Ancient Greece also spread to Roman religious culture.

In terms of religion, Rome is very diverse and changeable, along with this, religion has changed and transformed, along with everything else. The inhabitants of ancient Rome were pagans and idolaters; the worship of Greek and Etruscan gods was widespread. Over time, the Romans plunged further and further into paganism.

But with a change in the circumstances and goals of the state, in the end, Christianity was chosen as the main religion, which, after the collapse of Rome into the Western and Eastern Empires, took the form of current Catholicism. The Gods of Ancient Rome have disappeared. The cult of ancestors and the land were the basis of the beliefs of pagan Rome.

Beliefs of pagan Rome

All rituals were traditionally performed by the heads of the family or community. As the state developed, it developed an official religion for itself and its population, and took on the responsibilities of officially organizing and celebrating festivities.

The first Roman pantheon was dominated by Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus, but over time they were replaced by a more successful combination: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.
These deities were considered protectors and patrons of the country, and their sanctuaries became centers of the state cult of the gods.

With the development of the state, science also developed, namely history. Learning the history of their Greek predecessors, the Romans increasingly identified their gods with the Greek ones.

So Jupiter began to be called Zeus, Juno - Hero, Mars - Ares. Myths were also reread, rethought and remade to suit the state. A favorite myth was the myth of “The 12 Labors of Hercules”, where Hercules began to be called Hercules. In addition to associating their gods with the Greek ones, the Romans added to their pantheon those they did not have from the Greek and Egyptian cultures.

The borrowing of other deities, not only from Greek culture, begins very early and quite quickly. The goddess Tsaana was very revered - the patroness of the feminine principle, a new cycle and a new life. Much later, another Latin goddess, Venus, began to be venerated. Her patronage, according to legend, extended to nature.

The triple pantheon of the Romans was not the only one. The Romans adopted deities and rituals from neighboring civilizations with great success. This happened with Saturn. Initially, Saturn was worshiped by people from the Satrian clan, but over time this cult acquired the outlines of a national one. Saturn was the patron of new crops. He was considered the first father of the world because According to legend, he gave people food. There was a holiday in his honor.

During this holiday people forgot about their social status and became equal. An interesting fact is that the Romans did not close their pantheon of deities, and all the time tried to comprehend the meaning of other deities and put them on their side. This process was especially pronounced during the war, when the Romans adopted the gods of their opponents.

Watch the video: Gods of Ancient Rome

The Roman pantheon has many analogues to the ancient Greek gods and goddesses, but also has its own deities and lower spirits.

The following gods were considered the most famous.

Aurora is the goddess of the dawn.

Bacchus is the god of vegetation, wine and fun, patron of viticulture and winemaking.

Venus - goddess of love and beauty, identical greek goddess Aphrodite.

Vesta is the goddess of the hearth and fire.

Diana is the goddess of hunting, the Moon, fertility and childbirth, and the patroness of wild animals. Diana was identified with the ancient Greek goddess Artemis.

Cupid is the god of love, son of Venus.

Mars is the ancient Italian god of war and fertility. Mars was identified with the ancient Greek god Ares.

Mercury is the god of cattle breeding and trade, patron of travelers, messenger of the gods. Mercury was depicted with wings on his feet, with a staff and a money bag on his side.

Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, patroness of sciences, arts, and crafts. Under the tutelage of Minerva were teachers, doctors, actors, and artisans. Minevra was identified with the ancient Greek goddess Athena.

Neptune is the god of the seas, identified with the ancient Greek god Poseidon. Neptune was considered the patron of horse breeding and equestrian competitions.

The term is the god of boundaries and boundary markers: pillars, stones, etc.

Flora is the Italian goddess of flowers and youth. In ancient art, Flora was depicted as a young woman holding flowers.

Fortuna is the goddess of happiness, chance and luck. Fortune was depicted as a blindfolded woman, holding a cornucopia in her hands, pouring out coins while wearing a blindfold.

Juno is the queen of the gods, the wife of Jupiter, the patroness of marriage and birth. Juno was identified with the ancient Greek goddess Hera. Juno was depicted as a stately woman wearing a crown.

Jupiter is the supreme god, ruler of gods and men, identified with the Greek Zeus. Sometimes statues of Jupiter in Rome were given the appearance of a ruling emperor.

Janus is an ancient Italic deity; God:

• - inputs and outputs;
• - started everyone;
• - creator of all life on earth;
• - patron of roads and travelers, etc.

Janus was depicted as a man with two faces looking in opposite directions. Janus' attributes were keys and a staff.

Like any other polytheistic faith, Roman paganism did not have a clear organization. Essentially this is a meeting large quantity ancient cults. But, despite this, the triad of gods of Ancient Rome clearly stands out: Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus.

Jupimter (lat. Iuppiter) - in ancient Roman mythology, the god of the sky, daylight, thunderstorms, the father of the gods, the supreme deity of the Romans. Husband of the goddess Juno. Corresponds to the Greek Zeus. The god Jupiter was revered on the hills, the tops of mountains in the form of a stone. The days of the full moon - the Ides - are dedicated to him.

As the supreme god, Jupiter had a council of gods with him and decided all earthly affairs through augurs, sending them signs of his will. Jupiter was the god of the entire Roman state, its power and might. The cities subordinate to Rome made sacrifices to him on the Capitol and erected temples. Jupiter was the patron of emperors. The most important acts state life(sacrifices, the oath of new consuls, the first meeting of the Senate of the year) took place in the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter.

The cult of Jupiter was widespread in all Roman provinces and in the army. Many local supreme gods in the countries of Syria and Asia Minor were identified with him.

After the decline of the Roman Empire, the names of Jupiter and Zeus began to be used practically without distinction. Jupiter, like Zeus, was depicted as full of dignity, with a beard, often on a throne, with an eagle, lightning and a scepter.

Mars is one of the oldest Roman gods. Initially considered the founder and guardian of Rome. In Ancient Italy, Mars was the god of fertility; it was believed that he could either cause the destruction of crops or the death of livestock, or avert them. In his honor, the first month of the Roman year, in which the rite of expelling winter was performed, was named March. Mars was later identified with the Greek Ares and became the god of war. The temple of Mars, already as the god of war, was built on the Field of Mars outside the city walls, since the armed army was not supposed to enter the city territory.

From Mars, the Vestal Rhea Silvia gave birth to twins Romulus and Remus. As the father of Romulus, Mars was the founder and guardian of Rome.

Quirin (Sabine Quirinus - spear-carrying) is one of the most ancient Italian and Roman gods.

Quirinus is the oldest Roman deity, patronizing the life-giving forces of nature, and later military actions. Quirin was especially revered in early times Roman history, back when Apennine Peninsula scattered tribes lived: Sabines, Latins, Osci, Umbrians, etc.

The gods of Ancient Rome, the list of which includes more than 50 different creatures, were objects of worship for many centuries - only the degree of influence of each of them on the consciousness of the people changed.

Roman gods

In Rome, the twelve great Olympians became Romans. The influence of Greek art and literature there was so great that the ancient Roman deities acquired similarities with the corresponding Greek gods, and then completely merged with them. Most of them, however, had Roman names: Jupiter (Zeus), Juno (Hera), Neptune (Poseidon), Vesta (Hestia), Mars (Ares), Minerva (Athena), Venus (Aphrodite), Mercury (Hermes) , Diana (Artemis), Vulcan or Mulkiber (Hephaestus), Ceres (Demeter).

Two of them kept their greek names: Apollo and Pluto; Moreover, the second of them was never called Hades in Rome. The god of wine, viticulture and winemaking, Bacchus (but never Dionysus!) also had a Latin name: Liber.

It was quite easy for the Romans to accept the Greek pantheon of gods, since their own gods were not sufficiently personified. The Romans had a deep religious feeling, but not much imagination. They would never have been able to create images of Olympians - each with living, clearly defined features. Before they had to give way to the Greeks, they imagined their gods rather vaguely, hardly more vividly than simply “those who are above.” They were called by a common, collective name: Numina, which in Latin means Force or Will, perhaps Will-Force.

Until Greek literature and art made their way to Italy, the Romans had no need for beautiful, poetic gods. They were practical people and were not very worried about “muses in wreaths of violets” or “lyrical Apollo, who draws sweet melodies from his lyre,” etc. They wanted to worship pragmatic gods. Thus, the important Power in their eyes was “the one who guards the cradle.” Another such Power was “he who disposes of children’s food.” Myths about them have never been created. For the most part, no one even knew whether they were male or female. Simple acts of daily life were associated with them; these gods gave them a certain dignity, which could not be said about the Greek gods, with the exception of Demeter and Dionysus.

The most famous and revered of them were the Laras and Penates. Each Roman family had its own lar, the spirit of the ancestor, and several penates, guardians of the hearth and guardians of the household. These were the family's own gods, belonging only to her, her most important part, the protectors and patrons of the house. Prayers were never offered to them in temples; this was done only at home, where at each meal they were offered some food. There were also public lares and penates, which performed the same functions in relation to the city as personal ones did in relation to the family.

There were also many Will-Sils associated with housekeeping: for example, Termina, guardian of borders; Priapus, god of fertility; Palea, patroness of livestock; Silvan, assistant to plowmen and woodcutters. Their list is quite extensive. Everything that was important for the management of the economy was under the control of some beneficent power, which was never given any specific form.

Saturn was one of these Vol-Sils - the patrons of sowers and crops, and his wife One acted as an assistant to the harvesters. In more late era Saturn began to be identified with the Greek Cronus and considered the father of Jupiter, the Greek Zeus. Thus, he was given personal properties; there were a number of myths about him. In memory of the “golden age” when he ruled in Italy, every year in winter a holiday was held in Rome - Saturnalia. His idea was that the “golden age” would return to the earth during the celebrations. At this time it was forbidden to declare war; slaves and masters ate at the same table; punishments were postponed; everyone gave each other gifts. In this way, the human brain supported the idea of ​​​​the equality of people, of a time when everyone was at the same social level.

Janus was originally also one of these Vol-Sils, more precisely, the “deity of good beginnings,” which, naturally, should also end well. Over time, he became personified to a certain extent. The facades of his main temple in Rome faced east and west, that is, where the sun rises and where it sets; the temple had two doors, between which stood a statue of Janus with two faces: old and young. If Rome was at peace with its neighbors, both doors were closed. During the first seven hundred years of Rome's existence, they were closed only three times: during the reign of the good king Numa Pompilius, after the First Punic War in 241 BC. e. and during the reign of Emperor Augustus, when, according to Milton,

No thunder of wars, no shouts of battles

It was unheard of in the sublunary world.

Naturally, New Year began with the month dedicated to Janus, that is, January.

Faun was the grandson of Saturn. He represents something like the Greek Pan; he was a rather rude, uncouth god. However, he also had the gift of prophecy and appeared to people in dreams. Fauns became Roman satyrs.

Quirinus is the name of the deified Romulus, the founder of Rome (13).

Manas are the souls of the righteous in Hades. Sometimes they were considered divine and were worshiped.

Lemurs or Larvas are the souls of sinners and villains; They were very afraid.

Kamens were initially very useful goddesses from a practical point of view, taking care of springs, reservoirs, etc., curing diseases and predicting the future. With the arrival in Rome, the Greek gods were identified with completely unpragmatic Muses, who patronized only art and science. According to one version, Egeria, who gave advice to King Numa Pompilius, was such a Kamena.

Lucina is sometimes seen as a Roman birth goddess; however, the name is usually used as an epithet for the names Juno or Diana.

Pomona and Vertumnus were originally considered Will-Forces, patronizing gardening and horticulture. Later they were personified and a myth was even created about how they fell in love with each other.

GOD OR GODS? What really hides behind the appearance of Elohim? And to whom does he address when he says: “Let us create people in our image and likeness”? Were other gods also present during the act of creation? And who were these other "gods" that the Israelites had