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Greek Religion
V.S.
Roman Religion
By: Lexus
Greek Family Tree
Ancient Greeks believed
that all aspects of their
lives were influenced by the
various gods. Different gods
were in charge of different
aspects of existence.
Greeks would sacrifice to
the gods to obtain favorable
results for their activities.
They built temples to
particular gods and held
festivals to honor gods who,
they hoped, would intervene
and make their lives better.
Greeks believed gods could
improve their lives and gods
would take care of them
after they died.
Mythology was at the
heart of everyday life in
Roman Family Tree
After the Romans came in
contact with the Greeks in the
6th century B.C., the identities
of the Roman gods and the
Greek gods tended to meld into
Greco-Roman combinations. The
Romans were curiously eager to
identify their own gods with
those of the Greeks ad
reinterpret stories about Greek
deities under the names of
their Roman counterparts.
Roman mythology is the body of
traditional stories pertaining to
ancient Rome’s legendary
origins and religious system, as
represented in the literature
and visual arts of the Romans.
The Romans treated their
traditional narratives as
Zeus
Zeus
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King of the Gods and
“Father of Gods and
men”
God of Sky, Thunder,
Lightning, Law, Order
and Justice
Symbol: Lightning Bolt
Ruled the Olympians as a
father ruled the family
and oversaw the
universe.
Fathered many of the
Heroes…Hercules
Played a dominant role,
presiding over Greek
Pantheon.
His largest and most
famous sanctuary was
at Olympia – “Temple of
Ancient Olympia games were
held in his honor; men from
all over Greece would collect
there in order to compete
against each other for their
own honor and that of their
city state.
 Each athlete would worship
Zeus in his temple before
competing in the Olympic
games.
 Protector of the weak and
punisher of the wicked.
Punished those who lie or
break oaths. Exposed liars
were made to dedicate a
statue of Zeus at Olympia.
 In Homeric Hymns, he is
referred to as “chieftain of
the gods” and in Homer’s
epic poem “Iliad” Zeus sent
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Jupiter
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Jupiter
King of the Gods, God of
Thunder and Sky (Zeus’
equivalent in Greek
mythology)
In Roman religion and
myth, he developed a 2fold character; became a
God of War, as “Stator”
he made armies stand
firm & “Victor”, he gave
them victory
As the sky-god, he was
the first resort as a
divine witness to oaths.
Jupiter’s primary sacred
animal is the eagle.
Jupiter was Rome’s chief
official deity, he
personified the divine
authority of Rome’s
highest offices, internal
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Unlike Zeus, there are only
rare depictions of Jupiter
as a child.
Animals offered to Jupiter
were the ox, the lamb, and
the wether. The animals
were required to be white.
During on of the crises of
the Punic Wars, Jupiter
was offered every animal
born that year.
Festivals of viniculture and
wine were devoted to
Jupiter, since grapes were
particularly susceptible to
adverse weather.
3 Roman festivals were
connected with viniculture
Poseidon
Poseidon
God of the Sea,
Earthquakes and
Horses.
 Symbols are: Trident,
Fish, Dolphin, Horse,
and Bull.
 Poseidon was a major
civic god of several
cities. In Corinth and
many cities of Magna
Graecia he was the
chief god of the polis.
 In his benign aspect,
Poseidon was seen as
creating new islands
and offering calm
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Sailors prayed to
Poseidon for a safe
voyage, sometimes
drowning horses as a
sacrifice.
Poseidon also caused
certain forms of
mental disturbance
(epilepsy).
In Greek art,
Poseidon rides a
chariot pulled by a
hippocampus or by
horses that could
ride on the sea.
In the Iliad Poseidon
favors the Greeks,
and on several
Neptune
Neptune
God of Water and
the Sea
 Neptune was
depicted in lots of
Roman mosaics.
 Unlike Poseidon,
Neptune was
associated with fresh
water.
 Neptune was
worshipped by
Romans as a God of
Horses.
 The “Neptunalia” was
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Neptune is one of
only three gods to
whom it was
appropriate to offer
the sacrifice of bulls,
the other two being
Apollo and Mars.
In Roman culture, the
type of offering
implies stricter
connection between
the deity and the
worldly realm.
Hades
Hades
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King of the Underworld
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God of the dead and riches
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Symbols are: Cerberus (3headed dog) and Helm of
Darkness ( cap of
invisibility).
Despite modern connotations
of death as evil, Hades was
often portrayed as passive
rather than evil: his role was
often maintaining relative
balance.
Hades ruled the dead,
assisted by others over
whom he had complete
authority.
His wrath was equally
terrible for anyone who
tired to cheat death or
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When the Greeks wanted to
appease Hades they would
bang their hands on the
ground to be sure he would
hear them. Only Black
animals were sacrificed to
him.
In Greek art, Hades is
portrayed as riding a chariot
drawn by four black horses
or sitting on an ebony
throne.
Greek philosophy introduced
the idea that all mortals are
judged after death and are
either rewarded or cursed
to one of three realms
(Elysium, Fields of Asphodel,
or Tartarus).
In ancient Greece, it was
Pluto
Pluto
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Ruler of the
Underworld and the
dead
In literature, Pluto
was commonly used as
a symbolic and poetic
way of referring to
death itself.
Pluto was associated
with the wealth of
the earth – gems and
precious metals.
In Roman mythology,
Pluto was originally
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Considered by the
Romans as giver of
gold, silver &
precious metals;
because these
“gifts” were mined
he was recognized
as god of physical
underworld and
eventually in turn as
god of spiritual
underworld and
thus death.
Athena
Athena
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Goddess of Wisdom,
Warfare, Divine
Intelligence,
Architecture, Crafts, and
Philosophy. The Patron
Goddess of Athens.
She is the Patroness of
many crafts, especially of
weaving and metal work of
weapons.
She lead battles as the
disciplined, strategic side
of war, in contrast to her
brother Ares, the patron
of violence, bloodlust,
slaughter-- “the raw
force of war”.
Athena appears as the
patron and helper of many
heroes, including
Odysseus, Jason, and
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Athena Competed with
Poseidon to be the
patron deity of Athens,
in a version of one
founding myth. They
agreed that each would
give the Athenians
would choose the gift
they preferred.
Poseidon struck the
ground with his trident
and a spring sprang up:
this gave this gave
them a means of trade
and water—-Athens at
its height was a
significant sea power,
but the water was salty
Minerva
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Minerva
Like Athena, Minerva
was born from the
head of her father,
Jupiter (Greek Zeus).
As she was the
goddess of medicine
and doctors.
A head of Minerva
was found in the ruins
of the roman baths in
Bath.
Minerva was
worshipped
throughout Italy,
though only in Rome
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She was the virgin
goddess of poetry,
medicine, wisdom,
commerce, weaving,
crafts, and magic.
She is often depicted
with her sacred
creature, an owl
usually named as “the
owl of Minerva”,
which symbolizes her
tie to wisdom.
Apollo (Greek)
Apollo (Greek)
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God of Music, Poetry, Plague,
Oracles (prophecy), Sun,
Medicine, (Sun) Light, and
Knowledge.
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Symbols are: Lyre, laurel
wreath, Python, raven, bow
and arrows.
Is one of the most important
and complex of the Olympian
deities in ancient Greek and
Roman religion.
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As the patron of Delphi,
Apollo was an oracular god–
the prophetic deity of the
Delphic Oracle.
Apollo became Associated
with dominion over colonists,
and as the patron defender
of herds and flocks.
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Hymns sung to Apollo are
called paeans.
In the Iliad, Apollo is the
healer under the gods, but
he is also the bringer of
disease and death with his
arrows.
The god who sends a disease
can also prevent it,
therefore when it stops a
the Greeks would make a
purifying ceremony and
offer him an “hecatomb” to
ward off evil.
Apollo became extremely
important to the Greek
world as an oracular deity in
the archaic period, Apollo
Apollo (Roman)
Apollo (Roman)
Apollo’s functions,
name, and mythology
were taken over from
the Greek Apollo,
except that the Oracle
at Delphi no longer had
the importance that it
had in the Greek world.
 Apollo's role as the
slayer of the python
lead to his association
with battle and victory;
hence it became the
Roman custom for a
paean to be sung by an
army on the march and
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Depicted many
different ways and in
many different
paintings. Most
famous is “Apollo
Belvedere”, ancient
statue in Rome.
Pythian Games were
held in his honor
every 4 years at
Delphi.
Ares
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Ares
God of war and violence.
Symbols are: spear,
helmet, dog, chariot, and
boar.
Ares who was often
treated with contempt
and revulsion in Greek
Literature.
Ares is much more
aggressive and anger
driven than Mars. Peace
and Agriculture have
little to do with Ares,
unlike Mars.
In Greek literature, he
often represents the
physical or violent aspect
In the “Iliad” Zeus tells
him he is the god most
hateful to him. Association
with Ares endows places
and objects with a savage,
dangerous, or militarized
quality. His value as a war
god is even placed in doubt.
 During the Trojan War,
Ares is on the losing side.
 Ares plays a relatively
limited role in Greek
Mythology as represented
in literary narratives,
through his numerous love
affairs and abundant
children are often alluded
to.
 When Ares does appear in
myths, he typically faces
humiliation.
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Mars
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Mars
God of War and
agricultural guardian, a
combination characteristic
of Rome.
He was 2nd in importance
only to Jupiter and he was
the most prominent of the
military gods worshipped
by the Roman legions.
His festivals were held in
March, the month named
for him and in October,
which began and ended the
season for military
campaigning and farming.
The character and dignity
of Mars differed in
fundamental ways from his
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Unlike Ares who was viewed
primarily as a destructive
and destabilizing force,
Mars represented military
power as away to secure
peace and was a father of
the Roman people.
The importance of Mars in
establishing religious and
cultural identity within the
Roman Empire is indicated
by the vast number of
inscriptions identifying him
with a local deity.
As an agricultural god, he
directs energies toward
creating conditions that
allow crops to grow
(includes warding off
Citation
 Hades
Statue. 2008
Photograph. Heraklion
Archaelogical
Museum.Wachovsky.com.
NA, July 18, 2008.
February 28, 2012.
 “Poseidon”.
www.wikipedia.com. Web.