Influence of Greek Mythology on Roman Culture

Major Gods and Goddesses

Picture Greek Roman What they do

Aphrodite

Venus Goddess of Love

Apollo Apollo God of Light Ares Mars God of war

Artemis Diana Goddess of hunting

Athena Minerva Goddess of wisdom

Demeter

Ceres Goddess of crops

Dionysus

Bacchus God of wine

Hades Pluto God of underworld

Hephaestus

Vulcan God of fire

Helios Sol The sun God

Hera Juno Queen of the Gods

Hermes Mercury Messenger of the Gods

Nike Victoria Goddess of victory

Poseidon

Neptune God of the sea

Zeus Jupiter King of Gods

Description of Greek Mythology:

Greek Mythology consisted of stories that ancient Greeks invented to explain the laws of nature, as well as misfortunes and victories in their lives. These stories consisted of Gods, heroes, and warriors. . It was a part of the Greek Religion, according to which, Greek Gods lived on the Mount Olympus and ruled the world from there. Greeks wanted to keep the Gods happy, because angry Gods meant troubles and misfortunes. Greeks worshiped their Gods by building temples, performing ritual scarifies in their honor, and organizing Olympic games to demonstrate their skills and devotion to Gods.

Great Influence of Greek Mythology

on Roman Culture: Greek Mythology influenced Roman culture in the most

profound way. Roman Mythology was derived directly from Greek mythology (you can see from the table, how similar

they are) and it completely penetrated the fabric of Roman life. It was mainly their religion

and how they believed they came to be. Mythology helped

Romans make sense of the events around them. If they

couldn't explain something in mortal terms, like a drought or famine, they assumed it was

the workings of a God or Goddess. What they couldn't explain they just turned into

religion or myth that they borrowed from the Greeks. That is why Greek mythology most greatly influenced the Roman

civilization.

How Greek Mythology was used in Roman

Civilization: When Romans conquered the Greeks they liked Greek Myths (explanations of the reality) so much that they adopted them. Most of the Roman and Greek Gods and Goddesses share enough attributes to be considered roughly the same, but with a different name: Latin for the Roman Gods, Greek for the Greek Gods. Some of the Roman and Greek Gods and Goddesses, like Apollo for example, have only the one name for both.Both Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses were based on human personality traits such as Love (Aphrodite/ Venus), and Wisdom (Athena/ Minerva) as well as their roles in life determined by what they were Gods of, like: Zeus (Jupiter): King of the Heavens, controls sky and weather, Hades (Pluto): King of the Underworld, controls the dead souls, Poseidon (Neptune): King of the Sea, controls water. Some deities were named after objects rather than their area of influence or human personality traits: Ex. Dionysus (Bacchus) – God of Wine.Although, most Greek and Roman Gods were very similar, some of the Gods’ personality traits changed to reflect Roman beliefs. For example, the unpopular and feared Greek God of war Ares was greatly revered and admired in Rome under the name Mars. Also the roles of mortals varied in Greek in Roman mythology. In Greek Mythology the mortals were almost as important as Gods and contributed to the society. Roman myths focused on brave, heroic deeds of Gods, not mortals. In Greek myths creativity and poetry was frequently more important than physical works, but the Romans focused on actions and military victories rather than words. Greek Gods had beautiful bodies, while Roman Gods often had no physical appearance and were only in the imagination of the people.

Nikky Nemzer 11/30/12 Pd. 2