Gods of ancient Rome and their sphere of protection. Greek and Roman gods: what is the difference

Gods of Ancient Rome

Introduction

Like the Bible, the myths and legends of antiquity had a huge influence on the development of culture, literature and art. Back in the Renaissance, writers, artists, and sculptors began to widely use themes from the tales of the ancient Romans in their work. Therefore, myths gradually became an integral part of European culture, as, in fact, did the masterpieces created based on them. “Perseus and Andromeda” by Rubens, “Landscape by Polyphemus” by Poussin, “Danae” and “Flora” by Rembrandt, “The Meeting of Apollo and Diana” by K. Bryullov, “The Abduction of Europa” by V. Serov, “Poseidon Rushing Across the Sea” by I. Aivazovsky and etc.

I. What did the Romans believe?

The ancient Roman religion was radically different from the Greek. The sober Romans, whose wretched imagination did not create a folk epic like the Iliad and the Odyssey, also did not know mythology. Their gods are lifeless. These were vague characters, without pedigree, without marital and family ties, which united the Greek gods into one big family. Often they did not even have real names, but only nicknames, like nicknames that defined the boundaries of their power and actions. They didn't tell any legends. This absence of legends, in which we now see a certain lack of creative imagination, was considered by the ancients to be an advantage of the Romans, who were reputed to be the most religious people. It was from the Romans that the words came and subsequently became widespread in all languages: religion - the worship of imaginary supernatural forces and cult - meaning in a figurative sense “to honor”, ​​“to please” and involving the performance of religious rituals. The Greeks were amazed by this religion, which did not have myths discrediting the honor and dignity of the gods. The world of the Roman gods did not know Kronos, who mutilated his father and devoured his children, did not know crimes and immorality.

The ancient Roman religion reflected the simplicity of hardworking farmers and shepherds, completely absorbed in the daily affairs of their humble lives. Lowering his head to the furrow that his wooden plow plowed, and to the meadows where his cattle grazed, ancient roman I had no desire to turn my gaze to the stars. He did not honor either the sun, or the moon, or all those celestial phenomena that, with their mysteries, excited the imagination of other Indo-European peoples. He had had enough of the secrets contained in the most mundane, everyday affairs and in his immediate surroundings. If one of the Romans had walked around ancient Italy, he would have seen people praying in groves, altars crowned with flowers, grottoes decorated with greenery, trees decorated with horns and skins of animals whose blood irrigated the ants growing under them, hills surrounded by special veneration , stones anointed with oil.

Everywhere some kind of deity seemed to appear, and it was not for nothing that one of the Latin writers said that in this country it is easier to meet a god than a person.

According to the Roman, human life in all, even the smallest, manifestations was subject to power and was under the tutelage of various gods, so that man at every step depended on some higher power. Along with such gods as Jupiter and Mars, whose power was increasingly increasing, there were an innumerable number of less significant gods, spirits who took care of various actions in life and economy. Their influence concerned only certain aspects in the cultivation of the land, the growth of cereals, raising livestock, beekeeping and human life. The Vatican opened the child's mouth for the first cry, Kunina was the patroness of the cradle, Rumina took care of the baby's food, Potina and Edusa taught the child to drink and eat after weaning, Cuba watched over the transfer of him from the cradle to bed, Ossipago made sure that the child's bones grew together correctly , Statan taught him to stand, and Fabulin taught him to speak, Iterduk and Domiduk led the child when he left the house for the first time.

All these deities were completely faceless. The Roman did not dare to assert with complete certainty that he knew the real name of the god or that he could distinguish whether he was a god or a goddess. In his prayers, he also maintained the same caution and said: “Jupiter the Most Good, the Greatest, or if you wish to be called by some other name.” And when making a sacrifice, he said: “Are you a god or a goddess, are you a man or a woman?” On the Palatine (one of the seven hills on which Ancient Rome was located) there is still an altar on which there is no name, but only an evasive formula: “To God or goddess, husband or woman,” and the gods themselves had to decide who owns the sacrifices made on this altar. Such an attitude towards the deity was incomprehensible to the Greek. He knew very well that Zeus was a man and Hera was a woman, and did not doubt it for a second.

The Roman gods did not descend to earth and did not show themselves to people as willingly as the Greek gods. They stayed away from a person and even if they wanted to warn him about something, they never appeared directly: in the depths of the forests, in the darkness of temples, or in the silence of the fields, sudden mysterious exclamations were heard, with the help of which God gave a warning signal. There has never been any intimacy between God and man.

Odysseus arguing with Athena, Diomedes fighting with Aphrodite, all the quarrels and intrigues of the Greek heroes with Olympus were incomprehensible to the Roman. If a Roman covered his head with a cloak during a sacrifice or prayer, he probably did this not only in order to concentrate more, but also out of fear of seeing the god if he chose to be nearby.

In ancient Rome, all knowledge about the gods essentially boiled down to how they should be revered and at what moment to ask for their help. A thoroughly and precisely developed system of sacrifices and rituals constituted the entire religious life of the Romans. They imagined the gods to be similar to praetors (Praetor is one of the highest officials in Ancient Rome. Praetors were in charge of judicial affairs.) and were convinced that, like a judge, the one who does not understand official formalities loses the case. Therefore, there were books in which everything was provided and where one could find prayers for all occasions. The rules had to be strictly followed; any violation negated the results of the service.

The Roman was constantly in fear that he had performed the rituals incorrectly. The slightest omission in prayer, some non-prescribed movement, a sudden hitch in a religious dance, damage to a musical instrument during a sacrifice was enough for the same ritual to be repeated again. There were cases when everyone started over thirty times until the sacrifice was performed flawlessly. When making a prayer containing a request, the priest had to be careful not to omit any expression or pronounce it in an inappropriate place. Therefore, someone read, and the priest repeated after him word for word, the reader was assigned an assistant who monitored whether everything was read correctly. A special servant of the priest ensured that those present remained silent, and at the same time the trumpeter blew the trumpet with all his might so that nothing could be heard except the words of the prayer being said.

Equally carefully and carefully they carried out all kinds of fortune telling, which among the Romans were of great importance in social and privacy. Before each important task, they first learned the will of the gods, manifested in various signs, which priests called augurs were able to observe and explain. Thunder and lightning, a sudden sneeze, the fall of an object in a sacred place, an attack of epilepsy in a public square - all such phenomena, even the most insignificant, but occurring at an unusual or important moment, acquired the significance of a divine omen. The most favorite was fortune telling by the flight of birds. When the Senate or consuls had to make any decision, declare war or proclaim peace, promulgate new laws, they first of all turned to the augurs with the question of whether the time was right for this. The Augur made a sacrifice and prayed, and at midnight he went to the Capitol, the most sacred hill in Rome, and, facing south, looked at the sky. At dawn, birds flew by, and depending on which direction they flew from, what they were like and how they behaved, the augur predicted whether the planned business would succeed or fail. Thus, finicky chickens ruled a powerful republic, and military leaders in the face of the enemy had to obey their whims.

This primitive religion was called the religion of Numa, after the second of the seven Roman kings, who was credited with establishing the most important religious principles. She was very simple, devoid of any pomp, and knew neither statues nor temples. In its pure form it did not last long. The religious ideas of neighboring peoples penetrated into it, and now it is difficult to recreate its appearance, hidden by later layers.

Foreign gods easily took root in Rome, since the Romans had the custom, after conquering a city, to move the vanquished gods to their capital in order to earn their favor and protect themselves from their wrath.

This is how, for example, the Romans invited the Carthaginian gods to come to them. The priest proclaimed a solemn spell: “You are a goddess or a god who extends guardianship over the people or the state of the Carthaginians, you who protect this city, I offer prayers to you, I pay homage to you, I ask for your mercy, so that the people and the state of the Carthaginians leave, so that they leave their temples so that they leave them. Come join me in Rome. May our churches and city be more pleasant to you. Be merciful and supportive to me and the Roman people and to our soldiers the way we want it and how we understand it. If you do this, I promise that a temple will be built for you and games will be established in your honor.”

Before the Romans came into direct contact with the Greeks, who exerted such an overwhelming influence on their religious ideas, another people, closer geographically, discovered their spiritual superiority over the Romans. These were the Etruscans, a people of unknown origin, whose amazing culture has been preserved to this day in thousands of monuments and speaks to us in an incomprehensible language of inscriptions, unlike any other language in the world. They occupied the northwestern part of Italy, from the Apennines to the sea, a country

fertile valleys and sunny hills, running down to the Tiber, the river that connected them with the Romans. Rich and powerful, the Etruscans, from the heights of their fortified cities, standing on steep and inaccessible mountains, dominated vast expanses of land. Their kings dressed in purple, sat on chairs lined with ivory, and were surrounded by honorary guards armed with bundles of rods with axes stuck in them. The Etruscans had a fleet and for a very long time maintained trade relations with the Greeks in Sicily and southern Italy. From them they borrowed writing and many religious ideas, which, however, they altered in their own way.

Not much can be said about the Etruscan gods. Among large number their trinity stands out above the others: Tini, the thunder god, like Jupiter, Uni, the queen goddess, like Juno, and the winged goddess Menfra, corresponding to the Latin Minerva. This is, as it were, a prototype of the famous Capitoline Trinity. With superstitious piety, the Etruscans revered the souls of the dead, as cruel creatures thirsting for blood. The Etruscans performed human sacrifices at the graves; gladiator fights, later adopted by the Romans, were initially part of the Etruscans cult of the dead. They believed in the existence of a real hell, where Harun, an old man of half-animal appearance, with wings, armed with a heavy hammer, delivers souls. On the painted walls of Etruscan graves there is a whole string of similar demons: Mantus, the king of hell, also winged, with a crown on his head and a torch in his hand; Tukhulkha, a monster with an eagle's beak, donkey ears and snakes on his head instead of hair, and many others. In an ominous line they surround the unfortunate, frightened human souls.

Etruscan legends say that one day in the vicinity of the city of Tarquinii, when peasants were plowing the land, a man with the face and figure of a child, but with gray hair and a beard like an old man, emerged from a wet furrow. His name was Tages. As a crowd gathered around him, he began to preach the rules of fortune telling and religious ceremonies. The king of those places ordered a book to be compiled from the commandments of Tages. Since then, the Etruscans believed that they knew better than other peoples how to interpret divine signs and predictions. Fortune telling was carried out by special priests - haruspices. When an animal was sacrificed, they carefully examined its insides: the shape and position of the heart, liver, lungs - and, according to certain rules, predicted the future. They knew what each lightning meant, and by its color they knew which god it came from. The haruspices turned a huge and complex system of supernatural signs into a whole science, which was later adopted by the Romans.

II. Cult of the dead and household deities

The Romans called the spirits of ancestors manas - pure, good spirits. This name contained more flattery than actual faith in the goodness of the souls of the dead, which at all times and among all peoples aroused fear. Each family honored the souls of its own ancestors, and on the days of May 9, 11 and 13, Lemurias - festivals of the dead - were held everywhere. Then it was believed that on these days souls came out of their graves and wandered around the world like vampires, who were called lemurs or larvas. In each house, the father of the family got up at midnight and walked barefoot around all the rooms, driving away the spirits. After that, he washed his hands in spring water, put black beans in his mouth, which he then threw across the house without looking back. At the same time, he repeated the spell nine times: “I give this to you and with these beans I redeem myself and my loved ones.” Invisible spirits followed him and collected the beans scattered on the ground. After this, the head of the family washed himself again with water, took a copper basin and beat it with all his might, asking the spirits to leave the house.

On February 21st there was another holiday called Feralia, on this day a meal was prepared for the dead. Spirits do not demand too much; the tender memory of the living is more pleasant to them than abundant sacrifices. As a gift you can bring them a tile with a withered wreath, bread soaked in wine, some violets, a few grains of millet, a pinch of salt. The most important thing is to pray to them with all your heart. And you should remember them. Once during the war they forgot to hold Feralia. A pestilence began in the city, and at night souls came out of their graves in droves and filled the streets with loud cries. As soon as sacrifices were made to them, they returned to the land and the pestilence stopped. The land of the dead was Orc, like Hades among the Greeks - deep underground caves in inaccessible mountains. The ruler of this kingdom of shadows was also called. We do not know his image, since he never had one, just as he did not have any temples or any cult. However, on the slope of the Capitol, a temple of another god of death, Veiovis, was found, whose name seemed to mean the denial of the beneficial power of Jupiter (Jovis). Closely related to the spirits of ancestors are geniuses, representing the life force of men, and junos, something like guardian angels of women. Each person, depending on his gender, dreams of his own genius or his own Juno. At the moment a person is born, genius enters him, and at the hour of death he leaves, after which he becomes one of the manas. A genius watches a person, helps him in life as best he can, and in difficult times it is useful to turn to him as the closest intercessor.

Some, however, believed that when a person is born, he receives two geniuses: one inclines him to good, the other directs him to evil, and depending on which of them he follows, a blessed fate or punishment awaits him after death. However, this was more a theological teaching than a universal faith.

On birthdays, everyone made a sacrifice to their genius. The genius was depicted as a snake or as a Roman citizen, in a toga, with a cornucopia.

The same family of patron spirits includes the Lares, who take care of the field and the peasant’s house. In Rome there was no cult more popular than the cult of the Lares. Everyone in their home prayed to them and revered these good gods, as they attributed to them all the success, health and happiness of the family. When leaving, the Roman said goodbye to them; When returning, he greeted them first of all. Since childhood, they looked at him from their chapel (in essence, it was a special cabinet in which images of lars were stored. They called it lararium), installed near the hearth, were present at every dinner, and shared their joys and sorrows with everyone at home. As soon as the family sat down at the table, the mistress of the house first of all separated a portion to the laras; on special days dedicated to the laras, a wreath of fresh flowers was sacrificed to them. At first purely family-based, the cult of the Lars later spread to the city, its sections and the entire state. At street intersections there were chapels of local lars, and local residents treated them with great respect. Every year in the first days of January the local lar holiday was celebrated. This was a great joy for the common people, as comedians and musicians, athletes and singers took part in the celebration. The holiday was fun, and more than one jug of wine was drunk for the health of the Lars.

In the same chapel near the hearth, beneficent deities, the Penates, also lived along with the Lares. They took care of the pantry.

In order to understand the primary cult of the Lares and Penates, it is necessary to imagine the most ancient Roman house, a farmer's hut with one main room - the atrium. There was a fireplace in the atrium. They cooked food on it, and at the same time it warmed the household, who gathered mainly in this room. There was a table in front of the fireplace, around which everyone sat while eating.

At breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Penates placed a bowl of food on the hearth in gratitude for the household wealth, of which they were the guardians. Thanks to this sacrifice, all dishes also became as if sacred, and if, for example, even a crumb of bread fell to the ground, it should be carefully picked up and thrown into the fire. Since the state was considered a large family, there were also state penates, honored in the same temple with Vesta.

Related to the very name of the Greek Hestia, Vesta was the personification of the family hearth. She was revered in every home and in every city, but most of all in Rome itself, where her temple was, as it were, the center of the capital, and therefore of the entire state. The cult of Vesta was the oldest and one of the most important. The temple, together with the grove, was located on the slope of the Palatine Hill near the Forum, right next to Via Sacra - the sacred road along which triumphal processions of victorious leaders passed. Forum - a square, a market, generally a place where a lot of people gathered; center of economic and political life. In Rome such a center

became the Roman Forum (Forum Romanum). Nearby was the so-called atrium of Vesta, or the monastery of the Vestals. Nearby was the dwelling of the high priest - the Regia, or “royal palace”. They called him “ royal palace” because a king (Rex) once lived there, and being the high priest, he was at the same time the immediate head of the Vestals.

The temple itself, small and round, resembled in its appearance the primitive clay huts of the ancient, still rural inhabitants of Rome. It was divided into two parts. In one the eternal flame of Vesta burned; this part was accessible to everyone during the day, but at night men were not allowed to enter there. The other part, like the “holy of holies,” was hidden from human eyes, and no one really knew what was there. Some mysterious shrines were kept there, on which the happiness of Rome depended. There was no statue of Vesta in the temple itself; it was located in the vestibule, modeled after the Greek Hestia.

Six Vestal Virgins served in the temple. They were chosen by the high priest (Pontifex Maximus) from the best aristocratic families. The girl entered the monastery between the ages of 6 and 10 and remained there for thirty years, maintaining her innocence and renouncing the world.

For the first ten years she was taught all sorts of rituals, for the next ten years she served in the temple, and for the last ten years she taught new students. After thirty years, the Vestal Virgin could leave the monastery, return to life, get married and start her own family. However, this happened extremely rarely - according to everyone’s belief, a vestal virgin who left the temple would not find happiness in life. therefore, most of them preferred to remain in the monastery until the end of their days, enjoying the respect of their friends and society.

The main task of the Vestals was to maintain the eternal flame on the altar of the goddess. They watched over it day and night, constantly adding new chips so that it would never fade away. If the fire went out, it was not only the crime of a careless vestal, but also foreshadowed an inevitable misfortune for the state.

Rekindling the fire was a very solemn procedure. They made fire by rubbing two sticks against each other, that is, in the most primitive way, dating back to the Stone Age and now found only among peoples lost in the far corners of the earth, where civilization has not yet reached. The cult of Vesta strictly preserved the forms of life of ancient Italy, therefore all the tools in the temple - a knife, an ax - had to be bronze, not iron. The Vestals had no right to leave the city; they were obliged to always remain close to the sacred fire. The priestess, through whose fault the fire went out, was thrown to death. Equally severe punishment befell a Vestal Virgin who violated her vow of chastity. She was placed in a tightly closed palanquin (covered litter) so that no one could see or hear her, and was carried through the Forum. As the palanquin approached, passers-by stopped silently and, bowing their heads, followed the procession to the place of execution. It was located near one of the gates of the city, where a dug hole was already waiting, large enough to accommodate a bed and a table. (Vestals who broke their virginity at dinner were walled up alive in an earthen rampart near the Collin Gate in the eastern part of the city.) A lamp was lit on the table and some bread, water, milk and olive oil were left. The lictor opened the palanquin, and at this time the high priest prayed, raising his hands to the sky. (Lictors are ministers, as well as honorary guards of senior officials; they were armed with fasces (a bunch of rods) with axes stuck in them.)

Having finished the prayer, he brought out the condemned woman, covered with a cloak so that those present could not see her face, and ordered her to go down the stairs into the prepared recess. The ladder was pulled out and the niche was walled up. Usually the Vestal Virgin died within a few days. Sometimes the family managed to slowly free her, but of course such a freed vestal was forever removed from public life.

The Vestals were highly respected. If one of them went out into the street, lictors walked in front of her, as if they were in front of high officials. Vestals were given places of honor in theaters and circuses, and in court their testimony had the force of an oath. A criminal led to death, meeting one of these white-clad maidens, could fall at her feet, and if the Vestal proclaimed pardon, he was set free. The prayers of the Vestal virgins were given special significance. They prayed daily for the success and integrity of the Roman state. On the ninth day of June, the solemn feast of the Vestalia, the Roman matrons made a pilgrimage to the temple of Vesta, carrying modest sacrifices in earthenware. On this day, the mills were decorated with flowers and wreaths, and the bakers had noisy fun.

III. Gods. Ancient Italic deities

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 there he embraced the whole world with his gaze, the fate of individual people 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 revealed the future. The priests of the formidable god, the pontiffs, performed especially solemn ceremonies in those places where lightning struck. This area was fenced off so that no one could walk through it and thus desecrate the sacred place. The earth was carefully collected and buried along with a piece of flint - a symbol of lightning. The priest erected an altar at this place and sacrificed a two-year-old sheep. To Jupiter, the powerful protector who bestows victory and rich military spoils, a temple was erected on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, where commanders returning from victorious campaigns brought the armor of defeated leaders and the most valuable treasures taken from their enemies. Jupiter simultaneously patronized people and sanctified their relationships. He cruelly punished oathbreakers and violators of the customs of hospitality. In honor of this highest god of all ancient Latium, general festivities were held several times a year - at the beginning of sowing and the end of the harvest, during the grape harvest. The Capitoline and Great Games with equestrian and athletic competitions were held annually in Rome. The most important days of the year - the Ides of each month (13-15th) - were dedicated to the greatest and visionary Jupiter, who controls the destinies of the world and people. The name of Jupiter was mentioned in every significant matter - public or private. They swore by his name, and the oath was considered inviolable, for the quick-to-death and irritable god inexorably punished the wicked. Since the main features of the Italian Jupiter were very similar to the image of the supreme deity of the Greeks, Zeus, with the increasing influence of Greek culture, elements of Greek mythology merged into the Roman religion. And many legends associated with Zeus were transferred to Jupiter. His father began to be called Saturn, the god of crops, who first gave people food and ruled them during the golden age, like the Greek Kronos. Thus, the wife of Saturn, the goddess of the rich harvest Ops, began to be considered the mother of Jupiter, and since when addressing the goddess it was prescribed to touch the earth, her image naturally merged with the image of the goddess Rhea, the wife of Kronos.

Especially colorful were the celebrations in honor of Saturn and his wife - Saturnalia, which began on December 17 after the end of the harvest and lasted seven days. During these celebrations, people sought to revive the memory of the golden age of Saturn’s reign, when, in the words of the Roman poet Ovid, “spring stood forever” and “the Earth brought a harvest without plowing,” “safely living people tasted sweet peace.” And indeed, on the days of Saturnalia, people spent their time in carefree fun, games, dances, and feasts. They gave gifts to their loved ones and even freed slaves from work, seated them at the table and treated them, believing that they were paying tribute to the equality that once existed between people.

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 of 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. In this period 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, the circular movement during prayers from right to left 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 of married women Matuta and others.

Meanwhile traditional beliefs 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.

The domestic cult, the center of which was the 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 guarantor family union will become Juno. 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 protector spirit of everyone 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 Sky-father, 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 nearby 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 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.

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, could give advice on which deity to contact 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 paid great attention to the external side of religion, to the petty performance of rituals, and not to spiritual fusion 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 in the solar system, except 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

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 latest research show the original nature of the culture of 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 the primitive communal system to 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 progress historical development the family became the primary social entity in Rome. 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 the strength of a given 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 human spirit, according to the beliefs of the Romans, continued to live in the grave where his relatives placed the ashes of the deceased 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.

The range of beliefs relating to family life and ancestral 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. The Romans revered him as the deity of crops, his name being associated with the 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.

In Roman religious rites and customs reflected the most ancient stages of religious development. 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 the 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 in public life until the very end of the Republic, laws were periodically passed making it mandatory to limit personal spending. 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 of 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 undeniably living layers public consciousness, where the centuries-old historical experience of the people, outlived on the surface, was molded into forms of everyday behavior, into unconscious tastes and dislikes, 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’s temporary servant and Claudius Vibius Crispus was richer than Emperor Augustus. Money was the main thing life value. But the general idea of ​​what is moral and proper was still rooted in natural communal forms of life, and monetary wealth was desirable, but at the same time somehow unclean and shameful. Augustus's wife Livia herself spun wool in the atrium of the imperial palace, the princesses passed laws against luxury, Vespasian saved pennies at a time, Pliny glorified ancient frugality, and eight Syrian lecticians, each of whom should have cost at least half a million sesterces, insulted the laid down budgets. time immemorial, but everyone understands the idea of ​​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, because it galvanized a sense of community solidarity and equality, which had almost disappeared from reality. public relations, insulted daily and hourly, but nested at the very root of Roman life, stubbornly did not disappear and, even more so, 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 a water supply system, a temple, a theater or a library for his hometown; cases of evasion of very burdensome 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 property among yourself, if marriage you are disgusted, turn your anger on 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 its cultural heritage did not perish. 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 others. 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 classical architecture public buildings, and in scientific nomenclature constructed from the roots of the Latin language; many of its elements are difficult to isolate, they are so firmly embedded in flesh and blood everyday culture, art and literature. We are no longer talking about the principles of classical Roman law, which underlies legal systems many Western states and the Catholic Church, built on the Roman administrative system.

1. Gurevich P.S. Culturology. - M.: Knowledge, 1998.

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

3. History of Ancient Rome / Ed. IN AND. Kuzitsina. – M., 1982.

4. Knabe G.S. Ancient Rome - history and modernity. – M., 1986.

5. Culture of Ancient Rome / Ed. E.S. Golubtsova. – M., 1986. T. 1, 2.

6. Cultural studies. Course of lectures ed. A.A. Radugina Publishing house “Center” Moscow 1998

7. Culturology /Ed. A. N. Markova M., 1998

8. Polikarpov V.S. Lectures on cultural studies. M.: “Gardariki”, 1997.-344 p.

9. Illustrated history of religions. T.1,2 - M.: Publishing house of the Valaam Monastery, 1992.

10. Ponomareva G.M. and others. Fundamentals of cultural studies. – M., 1998.

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There were many Roman gods. So many. In fact, the Roman pantheon of gods included the pantheon of gods of almost all the peoples of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. As the Roman Empire grew, the Romans absorbed not only territories, but also their heavenly patrons.

Unlike the Greeks, the Romans did not have a history of mythological storytelling. However, they had a developed system of rituals and a rich set of legends about the founding of Rome. Of course, the basis of the Roman gods were either borrowed from the Greeks, or their gods and goddesses were adapted to Greek cults. To this pantheon of gods were added neighboring local gods and goddesses. Over time, the original religion of the ancient Romans was modified by the addition of numerous and often conflicting gods and traditions.

But the Romans should not be considered liberals in relation to religion and cults. In the Roman Empire, all gods could be worshiped, but the gods of Rome were the main ones. In pagan culture, victory on the battlefield was achieved not only by armies, but by the patron gods of this army. Thus, the gods of other cultures, as well as their worshipers, had to recognize the primacy of the gods of the victorious tribe. Usually the pagans, having defeated and conquered their enemies, destroyed their temples and sanctuary. The gods are defeated, why pray to them. The Romans made an amendment to this logic. Pray to your loser gods, but recognize our gods as supreme. If these peoples did not recognize the gods of Rome, then the Romans extremely cruelly suppressed such movements.

An exception was made only for the Jews. They were allowed to pray to the one God of Abraham, without recognizing the gods of Rome. But the Jews always lived separately and the Romans avoided communication with this people. It was possible to understand them. The Romans believed that their guests should come with gifts not only for the owners of the house, but also for the genius of the house, i.e. his patron. Those who came to the house without bringing a gift to the patron deity could bring the wrath of the genius on the owner and his family. Well, from the side of the Jews it is clear that making a sacrifice to some brownie was a sin against the one God. Naturally, the same logic applied to the entire empire. Religious misunderstandings between cultures certainly led to mutual fear and hatred. Therefore, the foundations of European anti-Semitism lie long before the advent of Christianity.

Speaking of Christians. The same logic of anti-Judaism befell Christians. But if the Jews did not particularly want to communicate with the outside world, then the Christians, of course, carried their preaching to all the peoples of the empire and therefore undermined all the religious foundations of society. This explains the rare, but very cruel persecutions against Christians.

Atlantis	Dyatlov Pass	Waverly Hills Sanatorium	Rome
London	Masada	Herculaneum	Nessebar
Hilt	Adrianov Val	Antonine Wall	Skara Bray
Parthenon	Mycenae	Olympia	Karnak
The Pyramid of Cheops	Troy	Tower of Babel	Machu Picchu
Coliseum	Chichen Itza	Teotihuacan	the great Wall of China
Side	Stonehenge	Jerusalem	Petra

Genealogy of Greek and Roman gods

The main deities of Ancient Rome

Name	Origin	Original title	Description
Apollo	Greece	Apollo	Apollo was one of the most important of the Olympian deities. Son of Zeus and Leto, brother of Artemis, Apollo was revered as the god of light and sun, truth and prophecy, medicine, archery, music and poetry. One of the most important temples of the city of Pompeii stood in the city's Forum.
Asclepius	Greece	Asclepius	Ancient Roman god of medicine and healing in ancient Greece. Father of Hygieus and Panacea. Asclepius represented the healing aspect of medicine. The Rod of Asclepius was depicted as a staff with intertwined snakes. To this day, this symbol remains a symbol of medicine.
Bacchus	Greece	Dionysus	Ancient Roman b og Dionysus was one of the twelve Olympians, the main gods Ancient Greece. He was the most cheerful and revered god since he was the god of wine and intoxication. For the Romans, he was also the divine patron of agriculture and the theater.
Ceres	Greece	Demeter	Ceres-Demeter was the Roman goddess of the harvest and motherly love. Daughter of Saturn and Opis, sister of Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno and Veritas. Ceres formed a trinity with two other gods associated with agriculture, Liber and Libera.
Amur	Greece	Eros	Ancient Roman b og love and beauty. Son of Venus and Mars. Cupid's powers must have been even greater than those of his mother, since he had dominion over the dead, sea creatures and gods on Olympus.
Quirin	Sabinyan		Quirinus was originally a deity of the Sabine tribe. The cult of this god was brought to Rome by Sabine settlers who settled on the Quirinal Hill. Quirinus was originally a god of war similar to Mars. At a later time he became identified with Romulus, the first Roman king. In the early period of the history of the Roman state, Quirinus, together with Jupiter and Mars, was part of the triad of the main Roman gods, each of which had its own High Priest. The holiday of the god Quirin - Quirinalia - was held on February 17.
Cybele	Phrygia	Cybele	Great Mother (Magna mater in Latin), goddess of caves and mountains, walls and fortresses, nature and wild animals.
Diana	Greece	Artemis	Ancient Roman b goddess of the hunt, the moon, fertility and childbirth, animals and forests. The daughter of Jupiter and Lato and the sister of Apollo, Diana completed the trinity of Roman deities with Egeria, the water nymph, and Virbius, the god of the forest.
Faunus or Faun	Greece	Pan	One of the oldest Roman deities, he was legendary king Latins who came with their people from Arcadia. Faun was the horned god of the wilderness of the forest, plain and field. In Roman literature he was equated with the Greek god Pan.
Hercules	Greece	Hercules	Ancient Roman b og victory and commercial enterprise. He was identified with the Etruscan hero Hercules. The Greek version says that Hercules was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene and lived the life of a mortal until his death, when he became elevated to the host of gods. The Romans accepted the myths of Hercules, including his twelve labors, essentially unchanged, but added anecdotal details of their own creation.
Isis	Egypt	Isis	Ancient Roman b goddess of the earth. The cult originated in the Nile Delta and gradually spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshiped as the goddess of nature and magic and was the patron of various groups, including slaves, sinners, maidens, aristocrats and the rich. A small but beautiful temple was dedicated to her in Pompeii.
Janus	Etruria	Ani (possibly)	Ancient Roman b og gates, doors, beginning and ending. Janus was usually depicted with two heads facing in opposite directions, and was one of the few Roman gods that had no parallel in other cultures. The month of January was named after him because it was the beginning of something new.
Juno	Greece	Hera	Roman queen of the gods and protector of the Roman state. Daughter of Saturn and Opis, sister and wife of Jupiter, sister of Neptune, Pluto, Ceres and Veritas. Juno was also the mother of Juventas, Mars and Vulcan. The month of June was named after her.
Jupiter	Greece	Zeus	King of the gods, and god of sky and thunder. As the patron deity of ancient Rome, he ruled over laws and public order. The son of Saturn and Opis, he was also the brother of Neptune, Pluto, Veritas, Ceres and Juno (who also became his wife). Jupiter was revered as part of the Capitoline Triad along with Juno and Minerva. The Temple of Jupiter was the most important religious building in the Forum of Pompeii and the entire city. In Roman mythology, he negotiated with Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, to create the principles of Roman religion, such as offering or sacrifice.
Mars	Greece	Ares	Ancient Roman b og of war and the most famous of the war gods. Son of Juno and Jupiter, husband of Bellona, ​​and lover of Venus, he was also the legendary father of Romulus, founder of Rome. Originally the god of fertility, agriculture and protector of livestock. The month of March was named after him.
Mercury	Greece	Hermes	Messenger of the gods and carrier of the soul to the underworld. In addition, he was the god of trade, profit and commerce. Mercury was depicted with winged boots and a hat, carrying a caduceus staff with two intertwined snakes, a gift from Apollo to Hermes-Mercury.
Minerva	Greece	Athena	Ancient Roman b goddess of wisdom and war. Daughter of Jupiter, she was also the goddess of trade and commerce, arts and crafts, medicine and school. She is one of the few gods and goddesses who did not fall in love and kept her virginity. Sometimes she was called Pallas Athena or Parthena, that is, “virginity.” The most famous temple dedicated to her was the Parthenon in Athens.
Miter	Persia	Miter	Perhaps Mithras was the sun god. Several inscriptions describe him as "Deus Sol Invictus" (the unconquered sun god). Little is known about the beliefs of the Mithraic cult, but it is certain that it was popular. Many Mithraic temples were hidden underground and therefore perfectly preserved as they escaped robbery. What happened in these temples and why they were so secret is still a matter of debate.
Neptune	Etruria Greece	Nefuns Poseidon	Ancient Roman b og of the sea. Son of Saturn and Opis and brother of Jupiter, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Veritas. In Rome, however, Neptune was more regarded as the god of horses and racing, and was known as Neptune the Horseman-Equester (at the Circus of Flaminius, there was a temple sanctuary dedicated to him).
Description	Greece	Rhea	Ancient Roman b goddess of wealth, abundance and prosperity. Sister and wife of Saturn, mother of Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Veritas. Often referred to as the "Mother of the Gods".
Pluto	Greece	Hades	Ancient Roman b og of the underworld and its riches. The son of Saturn and Opis, he was also the brother of Neptune, Pluto, Veritas, Ceres and Juno. He was also the god of the dead, the terminally ill, and those wounded in battle.
Saturn	Greece	Cron	Ancient Roman b og harvest and agriculture. Husband of Opis, father of Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Veritas. Saturday was named after him.
Venus	Greece	Aphrodite	Ancient Roman b goddess of love, beauty and fertility. The cult was originally based on the Etruscan goddess of vegetation and gardens, but over time she became more associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Vesta	Italy, Greece	Hestia	Ancient Roman and Greek goddess hearth, home and family. Little is known about the cult of the goddess herself. The Fire of Vesta was guarded in Rome by special chosen priestesses, the Vestals, who were required to observe absolute chastity for 30 years. If they broke their vows, they were buried alive so as not to bring the wrath of the gods on the entire city.
Volcano	Greece	Hephaestus	Ancient Roman god of blacksmithing, fire and blacksmiths. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and the husband of Maya and Venus. His forge was believed by the ancients to be located under Mount Etna in Sicily. The inhabitants of Pompeii did not know that Mount Vesuvius was a volcano, otherwise they would have been able to find a blacksmith there too. Vulcanarium - a holiday that celebrated people's gratitude to the god Vulcan was celebrated on August 23, that is, one day before the eruption. This played a cruel joke on the citizens. Many thought that this good sign from God and therefore there is nothing to fear. The Vulcanalia festival, celebrated on August 23 every year, was held during the height of the summer heat. During the festival, bonfires were lit in honor of God, and live fish or small animals so that God can use them instead of people

Triads of ancient Roman gods
Archaic Triad of ancient Roman gods: Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus.
Capitoline Triad of ancient Roman gods: Jupiter, Juno, Minerva
Plebeian or Aventist triad of ancient Roman gods: Ceres, Liber, Libera, dated 493 BC.

Lesser Roman Gods

Abundance, the divine personification of abundance and prosperity. also known as Abundia, Gabona, Fulla - the ancient Roman goddess of abundance, companion of Ceres. She was depicted as a woman pouring gold from a cornucopia. Her image was captured only on coins. No altars or temples were erected in honor of Abundantia. She was one of the embodiments of virtue in the religious propaganda that forced the emperor to serve as the guarantor of the conditions of the "golden age." Thus, Abundantia appears in art, cult and literature, but does not have a mythology as such. It may have survived in one form or another in Roman Gaul and medieval France.

Akka Larentia, mythical woman, later an ancient Roman goddess, in the pantheon of Roman mythology. It is believed that she is the first priestess of the goddess Tellus, the wife of the shepherd Faustulus, the nurse of Romulus and Remus, the mother of twelve sons, of whom Romulus formed the priestly college of the Arval brothers. This religious group annually made a cleansing tour of the territory of Rome, accompanied by sacrifices and a three-day ritual holiday. Larentalia was celebrated on December 23.

Akis, god of the river Acis in Sicily. The story of the love of Acis and the sea nymph Galatea appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses. There, the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus, who also loves Galatea, stumbled upon them while they were in each other's arms. He killed his opponent with a boulder. His destructive passion leads nowhere. Galatea turns Akis into a river spirit, as immortal as she is. The episode became the subject of poems, operas, paintings and statues during the Renaissance and beyond.

Aion(Latin: Eon), Hellenistic - the Greek god of cyclical or unlimited time in ancient Greek mythology and theocosmogony. This deity is the personification of eternity.

Aiy Lokutsiy, a divine voice that warned the Romans of the imminent Gallic invasion. According to Roman mythology, in 364 from the founding of Rome, the goros warned the Romans. He called out to the people of Rome on one of the Roman streets, Zhianova. But they didn’t listen to the voice. The Senones, one of the Gaul tribes, devastated the city. A temple was erected on that street to the deity who was offended by the lack of attention.

Alernus or Elernus(possibly Helernus), an archaic ancient Roman god whose sacred grove (lucus) was near the Tiber River. The deity is mentioned only by Obed. The grove was the birthplace of the nymph Cranea, and despite the god's relative obscurity, state priests performed sacred rites (sacra) there during the reign of Emperor Augustus. Alernus may have been a chthonic god if the black bull was the correct sacrificial offering to him, since dark sacrifices were offered to the gods of the underworld. Dumezil wanted to make him the god of beans.

Ananke, “inevitability, fate, need, necessity” - in ancient Greek mythology, the deity of necessity, inevitability, the personification of fate, fate and predestination from above. She was revered in Orphic beliefs. Ananka is close to Adrastea and Dika.

Angerona, Roman goddess who freed people from pain and sorrow.

Angitia, Roman goddess associated with snakes and Medea.

Anna Perenna, early Roman goddess of the "circle of the year", her feast day was celebrated on March 15th.
Annona, the divine personification of the supply of grain to Rome.
Antevorta, Roman goddess of the future and one of the Camenae; also called Porrima.
Ahrimanium, a little-known god, part of the cult of Mithra.
Aura, often used in the plural Aura, "breeze".
Aurora, Roman goddess of the dawn.
Averrunk, Roman god, merciful to prevent disaster.

Bellona or Duellona, ​​Roman goddess of war.
Bona Di, "female goddess" with functions related to fertility, healing and chastity.
Bonus Eventus, Eventus, originally the Roman god of the harvest, and subsequently the divine personification of "Good Result".
Bubona, Roman goddess of cattle.

Genius, faithful spirit or divine patron of every person
Graces or Charites (among the Greeks) are three goddesses of fun and joy of life, the personification of grace and attractiveness.

Hermaphroditus, an androgynous Greek god whose mythology was imported into Latin literature.
Gonos, the divine personification of honor.
Hora, wife of Quirin.

Dea Dia, Roman goddess of growth.
Dea Tacita ("Silent Goddess"), Roman goddess of the dead; later equated with the earth goddess Larentha.
Decima, one of the three Parcs, or goddesses of Fate, in Roman mythology. She measures how long the thread of life of each individual person will be with the help of her staff. She is also the goddess of childbirth. In ancient Greek mythology, she corresponds to Moira Lachesis. Together with Nona and Morta, they control the metaphorical thread of life.
Devera or Deverra, a Roman goddess who presided over brooms used to clean temples in preparation for various services, sacrifices and celebrations; she defended midwives and women in childbirth.
Diana, Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, virginity and childbirth, twin sister of Apollo and one of the Council of the Gods.
Diana Nemorensis, local version of Diana. Roman equivalent of Artemis (Greek goddess)
Discordia, the personification of discord and strife. Roman equivalent of Eris (Greek goddess)
Dius Phidias, the Roman god of oaths, is associated with Jupiter.
Di inferi, Roman deities associated with death and the underworld.
Discipline, personification of discipline.
Distus Pater or Dispater was the Roman god of the underworld, later belonging to Pluto or Hades. Originally a chthonic god of wealth, fertile farmland and underground mineral wealth, he was later equated with the Roman deities Pluto and Orcus, becoming a deity of the underworld.

Indigi, deified Aeneas.
Intercidona, minor Roman goddess of childbirth; designed to keep evil spirits away from the child; symbolized by a wood splitter.
Inuus, Roman god of fertility and sexual intercourse, protector of livestock.
Invidia, Roman goddess of envy and wrongdoing.

Kaka, archaic Roman goddess of fire and "proto-Vesta"; sister of Kakus.
Cacus, originally an ancient god of fire, later considered a giant.
Kameni, Roman goddesses with various attributes, including patroness fresh water, prophecy and childbirth. There were four of them: Carmenta, Egeria, Antevorta and Postvorta.
Cardea, ancient Roman goddess of door locks (lat. cardines) and guardian of the house. Her feast day was June 1, this date was determined by Junius Brutus, one of the first consuls of Rome and one of the founders of the Roman Republic after the expulsion of the Roman kings. Cardea identified by Ovid with Karna (bottom)
Carmenta, the Roman goddess of childbirth and prophecy, and appointed the fiery minor. Leader Kamen (top).
Carmena, two goddesses of childbirth: Antevorta and Postvorta or Porrima, future and past.
Karna, a Roman goddess who preserved the health of the heart and other internal organs.
Clementia, Roman goddess of forgiveness and mercy.
Cloacina, the Roman goddess who presided over the sewer system in Rome; identified with Venus.
Concordia, Roman goddess of concord, understanding and marital harmony.
Consus, chthonic god who protects the storage of grain.
Kura, the personification of care and concern, which, according to one source, created people from clay.
Cybele - Anatolian mother goddess; she may have had a predecessor in the early Neolithic era, whose figurine was found in Çatalhöyük. Several such images were found. She is the only known goddess of Phrygia and was probably its state deity. Her Phrygian cult was adopted and adapted by the Greek colonists of Asia Minor and spread to mainland Greece and its more distant western colonies around the 6th century BC.

Lares, everyday Roman gods. The Romans built altars to honor deities who guarded home and family. When friends came to the family, they had to bring a gift to the patrons of the house. Offending these gods could bring down the wrath of the entire family. For Jews and later Christians, offering gifts to such idols was not acceptable. This of course led to friction and persecution, which first led to the emergence of European anti-Semitism, and later to the persecution of Christians.
Laverna, patroness of thieves, swindlers and charlatans.
Latona, Roman goddess of light.
Lemurs, the malicious dead.
Levana, Roman ritual goddess through whom fathers accepted newborn children as their own.
Letum, the personification of death.
Liber, Roman god of male fertility, viticulture and freedom, assimilated with the Roman Bacchus and the Greek Dionysus.
Libera, the female equivalent of Libera, was assimilated with the Roman Proserpina and the Greek Persephone.
Liberalitas, Roman goddess or personification of generosity.
Libertas, Roman goddess or personification of freedom.
Libitina, Roman goddess of death, corpses and funerals.
Lua, the Roman goddess to whom soldiers sacrificed captured weapons, was probably the consort of Saturn.
Lucifer, Roman god of the morning star
Lucina, Roman goddess of childbirth, but often described as an aspect of Juno.
Luna, Roman goddess of the moon.
Lupercus, Roman god of shepherds and wolves; as the god of Lupercalia, his identity is unclear, but he is sometimes identified with the Greek god Pan.
Lymph, often multiple lymphs, Roman water deity assimilated to Greek nymphs.

Mana Genita, goddess of infant mortality
Mana, the souls of the dead, who began to be regarded as everyday deities.
Mania, wife of the Etruscan freshwater god Mantus, and may have been identified with the shadowy Mater Larum; not to be confused with Greek manias.
Mantus, Etruscan god of the dead and ruler of the underworld.
Mater Matuta, goddess of dawn and childbirth, patroness of sailors.
Meditrina, the goddess of healing, was introduced to account for the festival of Meditrinalia.
Mephitis, goddess and personification of poisonous gases and volcanic vapors.
Mellons or Mellonii, goddesses of bees and beekeeping.
Mena or Mene, goddess of fertility and menstruation.
Mole, daughter of Mars, probably the goddess of grain grinding.
Coin, a minor goddess of memory, equivalent to the Greek Mnemosyne. Also used as an epithet for Juno.
Mors, the personification of death and the equivalent of the Greek Thanatos.
Morta, a minor goddess of death and one of the Parques (the Roman equivalent of the Moirei). Cutting the thread of life, its Greek equivalent was Atropos.
Murcia or Murtia, a little-known goddess who was associated with myrtle and in other sources called the goddess of sloth (both interpretations arising from false etymologies of her name). Later equated with Venus in the form of the Venus of Murcia.
Mutunus Tutunus, phallic god.

Naenia, goddess of funeral lamentation.
Nascio, personification of the act of birth.
Nemesis, goddess of revenge (Greek).
Nerio, ancient goddess of war and personification of valor. Consort of Mars.
Nevitita, a goddess and associated with Consus and Neptune in the Etruscan-Roman zodiac by Martian of Capella, but is little known.
Nixie, also di nixie, goddess of childbirth.
Nona, minor goddess. Spins the thread of life, its Greek equivalent was Clotho.
Nortia is a Roman goddess taken from the Etruscan pantheon, a goddess of fate from the city of Volsinium, where a nail was driven into the wall of the main temple as part of a New Year's ceremony.
Nox, goddess of the night, derived from the Greek Nyukta.

Ops or Opis, goddess of resources or wealth.
Orcus, god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths.

Palatua, a little-known goddess who guarded the Palatine Hill.
Pales, deity of shepherds and cattle.
Parka, three destinies.
Pax, goddess of peace; equivalent to the Greek Eirene.
Penates or Di-penates, household gods.
Picumen, minor god of fertility, agriculture, marriage, babies and children.
Picus, the Italic god of woodpeckers with divination powers.
Pietas, goddess of duty; the personification of Roman virtue.
Pillum, a minor guardian god, was responsible for protecting babies at birth.
Poena, goddess of punishment.
Pomona, goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards.
Porrima, goddess of the future. Also called Antevortra.
Portunus, god of keys, doors and cattle, was assigned the fiery minor.
Postverta or Prorsa Postverta, goddess of childbirth and the past, one of the two Carments.
Priapus, adopted phallic guardian.
Proserpina, Queen of the Dead and goddess of grain, the Roman equivalent of the Greek Persephone.
Providence, goddess of forethought.
Pudicia, goddess and personification of chastity, one of the Roman virtues. Its Greek equivalent was Aidos.

Thalaser was an ancient Italic god. Some historians are inclined to consider it an epithet of Jupiter, since phalandum, according to Festus, was an Etruscan word meaning "heaven."
Fama, Roman goddess of fame and rumors.
Fascinus, phallic Roman god who protected against invidia (envy) and the evil eye.
Fauna, Roman goddess of prophecy, but possibly a name for other goddesses such as Maia.
Faun, Roman god of herds.
Faustitas, Roman goddess who protected herds and livestock.
Fevrus or Fevruus, Roman god of Etruscan origin, after whom the month of February was named. Fevruus, whose name means "purifier", was the god of purification. For the Etruscans, Fevrus was also the god of wealth (money/gold) and death, both associated with the underworld in the same natural way as with the more famous Roman god Pluto.
Febris, "Fever", Roman goddess who could cause or prevent fever and malaria.
Fecunditas, Roman personification of fertility.
Felicitas, the personification of luck and success.
Ferentina, Roman patron goddess of the city of Ferentina, latium, protector of the Latin commonwealth.
Ferunia, Roman goddess associated with the desert, plebeians, freedmen and freedom in a general sense.
Fidesz, the personification of loyalty.
Flore, Roman goddess of flowers.
Fornax - In ancient Roman religion, Fornax was the divine personification of the furnace (fornax). Her feast day, Fornacalia, was celebrated on February 17 among the thirty curiae, the most ancient divisions of the city, made by Romulus from the original three tribes of Rome. Fornacalia was the second of two festivals associated with the curiae, the other being Fordicia on April 19th.
Phontus or Fons, Roman god of wells and springs.
Fortuna, Roman goddess of fortune.
Fufluns, Roman god of wine, natural growth and health. It was adopted from the Etruscan religion.
Fulgora, personification of lightning.
Furrina, Roman goddess whose functions are largely unknown.

Caelus, Roman god of the sky before Jupiter.

Ceres, Roman goddess of the harvest and mother of Proserpina and one of the Council of the Gods. Roman equivalent of Demeter.

Ericure, Roman goddess, possibly of Celtic origin, associated with the underworld and identified with Proserpina.
Equitas, the divine personification of justice.
Aesculapius, the Roman equivalent of Asclepius, the god of health and medicine.
Eternitas, goddess and personification of eternity.
Egeria, a water nymph or goddess, later considered part of Kamen.
Empanda or Panda, a Roman goddess whose temple was never closed to those in need.
Epona, Gallo-Roman goddess of horses and riding, usually considered a Celtic deity.
Edesia, the Roman goddess of food who presides over banquets.

Justitia, Roman goddess of justice
Juturna, Roman goddess of fountains, wells and springs.
Juventas, Roman goddess of youth.

Janus, the two-faced or double-headed Roman god of beginnings and ends, and god of doors.