Divinities such as Minerva, Venus, Diana, Hercules, and Mithras, along with other lesser deities, were added to the Roman pantheon.. Cults appeared in Rome that worshipped deities from a
Trang 1infl ux of new territories and foreigners visiting the city,
Rome experienced the largest cultural diffusion of the
time Consequently, Rome became religiously diverse
Divinities such as Minerva, Venus, Diana, Hercules,
and Mithras, along with other lesser deities, were added
to the Roman pantheon Cults appeared in Rome that
worshipped deities from as far away as Egypt The
wor-ship of Isis, for example, became popular in Rome The
Roman practice of accepting the gods of its conquered
peoples allowed for greater control in the territories It
also gave Rome a comprehensive mythology, most of
which was borrowed or adapted to fi t earlier deities
Though the Romans did not provide a well- defi ned
mythology for their gods or for the creation of the
world, they did create an elaborate mythology for the
founding of Rome Early myths concerning Rome’s
founding were created with bits of historical fact mixed
with mythical retellings Tales of Rome’s fi rst kings were
almost completely mythical in nature Most of Roman
myth concerns the fi rst seven kings to rule Rome The
earliest myth about the founding of Rome was based
on Rome’s fi rst king, Romulus According to the myth,
Rhea Silvia the only daughter of Numitor, the king of
Alba Longa, was destined to become a vestal virgin
In-stead, she was raped by the god Mars She bore twins,
Romulus and Remus, who were cast into the Tiber
Riv-er To ensure that his sons would survive, Mars sent a
she-wolf to care for the twins Eventually, a shepherd
named Faustulus discovered Romulus and Remus, and
he raised them as shepherds
The twins eventually set out to found their own city
A dispute arose between them, and Romulus murdered
Remus Romulus ruled Rome, and the city fl ourished
However, the city lacked enough women Romulus
solved the problem by kidnapping some Sabine
wom-en The kidnapped women saved the city from war by
claiming they were happier with their newfound
hus-bands After a reign of 40 years Romulus ascended to
the heavens to become the war god Quirinus
Borrow-ing from the Greeks, later renditions of the Romulus
and Remus myth trace the lineage of Romulus and
Re-mus back to the surviving prince of Troy, Aeneas
The original Roman pantheon and myth is often
obscured by the later Greco-Roman mythology
Ro-mans were deeply religious but being a practical people
lacked the imagination to create a myriad of
person-alities to compliment their deities As Rome came into
contact with other cultures, their mythology was
en-hanced The Romans adopted the heroes and deities of
others, borrowing the elaborate myths and humanlike
personalities that accompanied them
MAJOR ROMAN DEITIES
Apollo God of the sun and music Bacchus God of wine and intoxication Ceres Mother Goddess, earth Cupid (Amor) God of love
Diana Moon goddess, protector of animals
and virginity Fortuna Goddess of luck and good fortune Janus God of gates, doorways, and new
beginnings Juno Queen of gods, protector of women
and childbirth Jupiter King of gods, lightning, storms,
pro-tector of military pursuits and oaths Maia Goddess of earth, plains, and growth Mars God of war, fertility, spring, and
farming Mercury God of wind, messenger of the gods Minerva Goddess of wisdom, arts and crafts,
and war Neptune God of watering and the sea Pluto King of the underworld Proserpine Queen of the underworld Quirinus God of defense, war, and the state Saturn God of agriculture, sowing of the seed Uranus God of the heavens
Venus Goddess of sexual love and beauty Vesta Goddess of hearth and ceremonial fi re Vulcan God of fi re and forges
See also Greek mythology and pantheon; Roman historians; Roman poetry; Rome: founding
Further reading: Cotterell, Arthur, and Rachel Storm The
Ul-timate Encyclopedia of Mythology London: Lorenz Books, 1999; Hamilton, Edith Mythology Boston: Little, Brown, 1998; Jordan, Michael Encyclopedia of Gods New York:
Facts On File, 1993
Mark Aaron Bond
Roman poetry
The Greeks had a strong belief in the importance of poetry, and the Romans continued this with a large number of poets, some of whom wrote short poems and others, like Virgil, composed massive epics such as the Aeneid Other famous Roman poets include Lu-cretius, Catullus, Horace, Ovid, Martial, and Juvenal
396 Roman poetry