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The purpose of this essay is to discuss Roman religion and their polytheistic beliefs. Iwill discuss the roles of the deities they worship and how they are connected to Greek religion as well. The Romans help a polytheistic belief meaning that they believed in several different gods or deities. The ruler of the gods was known as Jupiter which in Latin means shinning father. Roman mythology says that Jupiter was the son of the god, Saturn, whom he overthrew to become ruler. Jupiter exhibited many characteristics of the Greek main deity, Zeus, including wielding lighting bolts to exercise his authority.
The Roman mythology tells us that Jupiter was believed to be the father of many gods, goddesses, and heroes including Apollo, Minerva, and Hercules. According to the Roman beliefs Jupiter was the god of rain, thunder, and lightning. As the protector of Rome, he was named Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the best and the greatest) and he was worshipped in a temple on the Capitoline hill. As Jupiter Fidius he was guardian of law, defender of truth, and protector of justice and virtue. Jupiter had a wife whom was named Juno.
Juno was the protector of women and was worshipped under many names. As Juno Pronuba she presided over marriage. As Juno Lucina, she aided women in childbirth. As Juno Regina she was the special counselor and protector of the Roman state.
Juno is the Latin counterpart of the queen of the Greek gods Hera. The goddess Minerva was the daughter of Jupiter. She was the goddess of handicrafts. Identified from an early date with the Greek goddess Athena, she was the patron of the arts and trade. The three gods, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, made up the triad that was worshipped in the grand temple that adorned Capitoline Hill. This triad became the central cult of worship for the Roman state.
Mercury was another son of Jupiter and of Maia, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. He was the messenger god. Mercury was also the god of trading and merchants and he shared most of the attributes as his Greek counterpart Hermes. The worship of Mercury was introduced in 495 B. C.
when a temple was dedicated to his honor near the Circus Maximus. Neptune, also the son of Saturn and the brother of Jupiter, was the god of the sea. He was originally worshipped as the god of springs and streams until he became with the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. Jupiter had another brother named Pluto. Pluto, who was the Roman counterpart the Greek god Hades, was the god of the dead. He along with his brothers, Jupiter and Neptune, Banned together to overthrow their father Saturn.
After they succeeded, they each chose their domain to live. According to the Roman myths, Jupiter chose the earthen heavens as his realm, Neptune chose the sea, and Pluto chose the underworld realm. He was originally considered to be fierce and unyielding. Later they believed he was thebes tower of the earth s blessings. The great mother of the gods was known as Cybele. Cybele is the Latin name of a goddess native to Phrygia in Asia Minor.
She was a goddess of nature and fertility known to the Greeks as Rhea, the wife of the Titan Cronus and mother of the Olympian gods. Because she presided of mountains and forests, her crown was in the form of a city wall. She was known to the Romans also as Mater Turrita. In conclusion, you can see that the Roman and the Greek gods shared many attributes and roles in the religion and culture of these two civilizations. These were only a mere few of the gods and goddesses of the two polytheistic civilizations. How do you think they could have had time to worship all of those deities who can tell, but one thing is for sure.
We will some day be consumed bytes history we now study and someday our civilization will be studied by someone else, so I end it with that point to ponder on. Jared Brantley World History 5 th Period
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Research essay sample on God Of The Sea Roman Mythology
