Roman Culture/Roman Myths

The society of the Ancient Rome is a mix of high culture, the arts, fashion and historic architectures. One of the most interesting aspects of the Ancient Romans is certainly Roman Mythology. Roman Mythology is the combination of the beliefs, the rituals, and the observance of supernatural occurrences by the ancient Romans from early periods until Christianity finally completely replaces the native religions of the Roman Empire. Roman Mythology was composed of meaningful Goddesses that played a part in a Roman's everyday life. The main twelve Goddesses were: Jupiter who was the master of all Gods and the main God of the Romans; his wife Juno was the Goddess of women and fertility. The third God was Mars who was the God of war and one of the strongest as well; the fourth Goddess was Venus, who was the God of Beauty and Love. The Fifth Goddess was Minerva, who was the God of wisdom and learning, Neptune the powerful God of the Sea, Ceres the Goddess of harvest, along with Vulcan, Diana, Bacchus, Mercury and Vesta. Some of the main characteristics of the Goddess are: Jupiter was the ruler of the Gods and was also known as Zeus; he was the God of the Sky and rain and “the keeper of the thunderbolts which he hurled at anyone that displeased. He was portrayed as the Lord of life and death and never visited mankind on earth.” On the other hand, Juno his wife was the Goddess of marriage and the protector of all women; she was the queen of the heavens. “She is a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire she was called Regina ("queen") and, together with Jupiter and Minerva, was worshipped as a triad on the Capitol (Juno Capitolina) in Rome. The third Goddess was Mars who the god of war, and one of the most prominent and worshipped gods. In early Roman history he was a god of spring, growth in nature, and fertility, and the protector of cattle. “He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions. His festivals were held in March, the month named for him (Latin Martius), and in October, which began and ended the season for military campaigning and farming.” The fourth Goddess is Venus who was believed ruled the sentiments, values, and the pleasure in life. “Venus has been described as perhaps "the most original creation of the Roman pantheon, and an ill-defined and assimilative native goddess, combined "with a strange and exotic Aphrodite. Her name derives from the common Latin noun venus, which means love and sexual desire. Venus as a goddess embodies the characteristics of enticement, ease, seductive beauty and persuasive charm among the community of immortal gods.” The fifth and last Goddess that I will discuss is Minerva who was the Goddess of Wisdom, her symbol was the owl and her Greek name was Athens. “Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, war, art, schools and commerce. She was the Etruscan counterpart to Greek Athena. Like Athena, Minerva was born from the head of her father, Jupiter (Greek Zeus).”