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Roman mythology

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Myths

   Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient
   Rome, can be considered as having two parts. One part, largely later
   and literary, consists of whole-cloth borrowings from Greek mythology.
   The other, largely early and cultic, functioned in very different ways
   from its Greek counterpart.

Nature of early Roman myth

   The Romans had no sequential narratives about their gods comparable to
   the Titanomachy or the seduction of Zeus by Hera until their poets
   began to borrow from Greek models in the later part of the Roman
   Republic.

   What the Romans did have, however, were:
     * a highly developed system of rituals, priestly colleges, and
       pantheons of related gods.
     * a rich set of historical myths about the foundation and rise of
       their city involving human actors, with occasional divine
       interventions.

Early mythology about the gods

   The Roman model involved a very different way of defining and thinking
   about gods than that of Greek gods. For example, if one were to ask a
   Greek about Demeter, he might reply with the well-known story of her
   grief at the rape of Persephone by Hades.

   An archaic Roman, by contrast, would tell you that Ceres had an
   official priest called a flamen, who was junior to the flamens of
   Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, but senior to the flamens of Flora and
   Pomona. He might tell you that she was grouped in a triad with two
   other agricultural gods, Liber and Libera. And he might even be able to
   rattle off all of the minor gods with specialized functions who
   attended her: Sarritor (weeding), Messor (harvesting), Convector
   (carting), Conditor (storing), Insitor (sowing), and dozens more.

   Thus the archaic Roman "mythology", at least concerning the gods, was
   made up not of narratives, but rather of interlocking and complex
   interrelations between and among gods and humans.

   The original religion of the early Romans was modified by the addition
   of numerous and conflicting beliefs in later times, and by the
   assimilation of a vast amount of Greek mythology. We know what little
   we do about early Roman religion not through contemporary accounts, but
   from later writers who sought to salvage old traditions from the
   desuetude into which they were falling, such as the 1st century BC
   scholar Marcus Terentius Varro. Other classical writers, such as the
   poet Ovid in his Fasti (Calendar), were strongly influenced by
   Hellenistic models, and in their works they frequently employed Greek
   beliefs to fill gaps in the Roman tradition.

Early mythology about Roman history

   In contrast to the dearth of narrative material about the gods, the
   Romans had a rich panoply of legends about the foundation and early
   growth of their own city. In addition to these largely home-grown
   traditions, material from Greek heroic legend was grafted onto this
   native stock at an early date, rendering Aeneas, for example, an
   ancestor of Romulus and Remus.

   The Aeneid and the first few books of Livy are the best extant sources
   for this human mythology.

Native Roman and Italic gods

   The Roman ritual practice of the official priesthoods clearly
   distinguishes two classes of gods, the di indigetes and the di
   novensides or novensiles. The indigetes were the original gods of the
   Roman state (see List of Di Indigetes), and their names and nature are
   indicated by the titles of the earliest priests and by the fixed
   festivals of the calendar; 30 such gods were honored with special
   festivals. The novensides were later divinities whose cults were
   introduced to the city in the historical period, usually at a known
   date and in response to a specific crisis or felt need. Early Roman
   divinities included, in addition to the di indigetes, a host of
   so-called specialist gods whose names were invoked in the carrying out
   of various activities, such as harvesting. Fragments of old ritual
   accompanying such acts as plowing or sowing reveal that at every stage
   of the operation a separate deity was invoked, the name of each deity
   being regularly derived from the verb for the operation. Such
   divinities may be grouped under the general term of attendant, or
   auxiliary, gods, who were invoked along with the greater deities. Early
   Roman cult was not so much a polytheism as a polydemonism: the
   worshipers' concepts of the invoked beings consisted of little more
   than their names and functions, and the being's numen, or "power",
   manifested itself in highly specialized ways.

   The character of the indigetes and their festivals show that the early
   Romans were not only members of an agricultural community but also were
   fond of fighting and much engaged in war. The gods represented
   distinctly the practical needs of daily life, as felt by the Roman
   community to which they belonged. They were scrupulously accorded the
   rites and offerings considered proper. Thus, Janus and Vesta guarded
   the door and hearth, the Lares protected the field and house, Pales the
   pasture, Saturn the sowing, Ceres the growth of the grain, Pomona the
   fruit, and Consus and Ops the harvest. Even the majestic Jupiter, the
   ruler of the gods, was honored for the aid his rains might give to the
   farms and vineyards. In his more encompassing character he was
   considered, through his weapon of lightning, the director of human
   activity and, by his widespread domain, the protector of the Romans in
   their military activities beyond the borders of their own community.
   Prominent in early times were the gods Mars and Quirinus, who were
   often identified with each other. Mars was a god of war; he was honored
   in March and October. Quirinus is thought by modern scholars to have
   been the patron of the armed community in time of peace.

   At the head of the earliest pantheon were the triad Jupiter, Mars, and
   Quirinus (whose three priests, or flamens, were of the highest order),
   and Janus and Vesta. These gods in early times had little
   individuality, and their personal histories lacked marriages and
   genealogies. Unlike the gods of the Greeks, they were not considered to
   function in the manner of mortals, and thus not many accounts of their
   activities exist. This older worship was associated with Numa
   Pompilius, the second king of Rome, who was believed to have had as his
   consort and adviser the Roman goddess of fountains and childbirth,
   Egeria, who is often identified as a nymph in later literary sources.
   New elements were added at a relatively early date, however. To the
   royal house of the Tarquins was ascribed by legend the establishment of
   the great Capitoline triad, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, which assumed
   the supreme place in Roman religion. Other additions were the worship
   of Diana on the Aventine Hill and the introduction of the Sibylline
   books, prophecies of world history, which, according to legend, were
   purchased by Tarquin in the late 6th century BC from the Cumaean Sibyl.

Foreign gods

   The absorption of neighboring local gods took place as the Roman state
   conquered the surrounding territory. The Romans commonly granted the
   local gods of the conquered territory the same honours as the earlier
   gods who had been regarded as peculiar to the Roman state. In many
   instances the newly acquired deities were formally invited to take up
   their abode in new sanctuaries at Rome. In 203 BC, the cult object
   embodying Cybele was removed from Phrygian Pessinos and ceremoniously
   welcomed to Rome. Moreover, the growth of the city attracted
   foreigners, who were allowed to continue the worship of their own gods.
   In this way Mithras came to Rome and his popularity in the legions
   spread his cult as far afield as Britain. In addition to Castor and
   Pollux, the conquered settlements in Italy seem to have contributed to
   the Roman pantheon Diana, Minerva, Hercules, Venus, and other deities
   of lesser rank, some of whom were Italic divinities, others originally
   derived from the Greek culture of Magna Graecia. The important Roman
   deities were eventually identified with the more anthropomorphic Greek
   gods and goddesses, and assumed many of their attributes and myths.

Major Roman deities

   Apollo, god of the sun, dancing, music and festivities

   Bacchus, god of wine

   Ceres, goddess of the earth

   Cupid, god of love

   Diana, goddess of the moon and hunting

   Fortuna, goddess of fortune

   Janus, god of doors

   Juno, queen of the gods

   Jupiter, king of the gods

   Mars, god of war

   Mercury, messenger god

   Minerva, goddess of wisdom

   Neptune, god of the sea, and his wife

   Venus, goddess of love

   Pluto (Hades), king of the underworld

   Saturn, god of agriculture

   Vulcan, god of smithing

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