Preview

Roman vs Greek Mythology

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
955 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Roman vs Greek Mythology
Greek vs. Roman Mythology
Although Roman and Greek mythology are classified in the same category, the two are tremendously diverse. The god of war, the copious amount of mythoi, and the relations between the Greek and Roman gods are only a few of the many comparisons between the two. The Romans had adopted the gods and myths from the Greeks who had come about 1,000 years before the Romans. Both cultures adopted these beliefs of powerful gods who controlled essentially every aspect of their day-to-day lives for multiple reasons, some alike and some not. One of the most obvious reasons to implement such beliefs is the need for an explanation of their creation. There are many different legends in Greek and Roman mythology about how the world as well as the humans and various animals that inhabit it were created. Although these myths vary from culture to culture, there are many more differences as well as some similarities between the two. Some examples include the names of the gods and goddesses, the numerous myths, and the clear difference in one deity, the god of warfare.
There are twelve main Roman gods and goddesses and twelve major Greek gods and goddesses. In ancient Roman mythology, there are over one hundred fifty minor gods and goddesses and even fewer in Greek mythology. While the names of the gods and goddesses change between the cultures, they still typically represent the same entity in almost all cases. The Greek goddess Demeter and the Roman Ceres are both the goddesses of fertility, grain, and harvest. They are often considered the goddesses of life. Greek Zeus and Roman Jupiter both have the title of being the king of the gods along with being the god of the sky and thunder. Hephaestus, Greek, and Vulcan both have the title of being the god of the fire and smiths. The word "volcano" is derived from the name of the roman god Vulcan. Golden-Throned Hera and Juno both have the title of the queen of the gods as well as the title of goddess of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Roman vs. greek

    • 1135 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gods, Open Bathhouses, and Warfare. The Greeks and Romans advanced civilization to a high standard just before it crumbed and was dashed into shambles. Though they had advances back then, just how have the Greeks shaped the western civilization, how did the Romans influence it as well?…

    • 1135 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Romans adapted to the Greek’s religious beliefs ( the 12 gods of Olympus); however the Romans changed the gods names. Out of the 12 gods, Apollo remained the same. The other gods names changed. Ares became known as Mars, Artemis became known as Diana, Athena became known as Minerva, Demeter became known as Ceres, Hades became known as Pluto, Hephaistos became known as Vulcan, Hera became known as Juno, Hermes became known as Mercury, Hestia became know as Vesta, Kronos became known as Saturn, Persephone became known as Proserpina, Poseidon became known as Neptune, and Zeus became known as Jupiter.…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As we were told when we were young children, too much of a good thing is not a good thing. The same phrase can apply to aspects in lives now. Literature shows how pride can be a good thing, but too much of it is not. In fact, the opposite of pride, humility, is an extremely important value. The Bible and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology both show how a lack of the value humility will result in consequence through characterization and plot.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Greek & Roman civilizations both had strong roots in religion. Greece, being the predecessor of the Roman society, undoubtedly influenced Roman religion. In fact, the Ancient Roman religion was nearly identical to Greece’s polytheistic religion, except the names of the deities were different. For example, Zeus, the Grecian god of sky and thunder, was the equivalent of the Roman god Jupiter. The Roman Empire’s tireless expansion, however, lead to the introduction of new religions through cultural diffusion. Conquering Judea revealed the religion of Judaism to the Romans, and later, through a chain of events, the religion of Christianity was established within the Empire. Christianity was a monotheistic religion and it challenged Rome’s polytheistic religion and Rome’s government, since numerous deities were symbols of state. It is evident that Rome, in the beginning, used Greece’s religion, but through the passage of time, had three different religions, two of which still prosper today.…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Question: What in your view were Rome’s most important contributions to the humanistic tradition? How did they differ from those of the Greeks?…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Goddess and Gods

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ancient Roman Gods and GoddessMy paper is on Roman Gods an Goddess as you can see in the title. I will be listing some Gods and Goddess, most likely my favorite and most important. Well start ofwith Jupiter (Zeus) the king of Gods and Goddess. Ruler of the sky. He ruled the sky with an iron fist and a golden staff. He also started off as a primeval God. Jupiter wasn't the brightest God because roman gods were more aggressive or as some people would say mean and that was true, They were a lot more aggressive then the Greek Gods. My favorite god is Vulcan(Hephaestus) the God of smiths, volcanos, or fire. He was one of the most early Gods. That means that he was worshiped in the early religion.He was worshiped to keep the fires away from the village and crops but also to use the power of fire in battles. Vulcan was also often a symbol male fertility.Juno is the queen of the Gods and Goddess. She is also Jupiter's wife and sister.In my option that is kind of weird but I guess it wasn't for the Greeks and Romans. WhenJuno touched a magical herb, she became pregnant and gave birth to Mars. Juno was the Roman equivalent to the Greek goddess, Hera. My next God is another one of my favorites. Neptune (Poseidon) is the God of the sea. Since the romans were afraid of thesea the God of the ocean wasn't one of their favorites. He is also the God of fertility and was later identified as the greek God Poseidon.Mars was the son of Juno and a Magical herb. He is known as the roman God of War. Mars was also the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. For this reason, Mars was one of the most widely worshiped gods among the Roman…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Through epic poems, plays, literature, religion, philosophy and politics there is clear evidence of the ancient Grecian’s influence on the ancient Roman culture. Though there are differences to be noted in their way of life ancient Rome adopted many of its key ways of life from their Greek predecessors. It is safe to say that the ancient Greek culture had a profound impact on the development of the ancient Roman’s culture more than any other previous society.…

    • 1495 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Culture Goddess

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One of the major deities, or Gods, of Roman times was the Queen of the Gods, Juno. Juno was the daughter of Saturn. She was also the mother of Juventas, Mars, and Vulcan. She was Jupiter’s wife and sister, she was also a sibling to Neptune and Pluto. She protected all or Rome’s finances, she was also known as the Matron Goddess of Rome. June was named for her.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Research paper

    • 873 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Indeed, the Romans were influenced greatly by the Greece within their religion. They based their religion on polytheism, they belief of many Gods. The Romans also based their Gods on Greek counterparts. For they have the same stories behind them just different names. For example, "Roman mythology includes many of the same figures, but uses different names: calling Zeus by the name of Jupiter, and Aphrodite by the name of Venus, for example. The Roman names are often better known to English-speaking people than the Greek names (Wikipedia)." For the Greeks brought along all of the mythology and created the stories that beliefs are built on and so the Romans took those stories and put their own twist on them with the same morals and changed the names to correlate with the names of Roman origin. "The Roman version of Aphrodite was Venus. The Roman version of Ares is Mars. The Roman version of Artemis is Diana. The Roman version of Athena is Minerva. The Roman version of Demeter is Ceres. The Roman version of Hera is Juno. The Roman version of Hermes was Mercury. "(Wikipedia) As you will realize in the list above, the Romans have a more recent time period (there empire fell in 478 AD) , therefore, some of their names such as Diana, Venus…

    • 873 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A myth is a traditional story particularly one regarding the early history of people or clarifying some social or natural phenomenon, and naturally encompassing supernatural beings or events. The Romans based their mythology from the Greeks, however, the way the Heroes and the gods acted reflected their civilized culture. Being an empire, it needed imperial gods. About this, Zeus leveled out slightly, his love affairs were less but was more kingly. Moreover, Jupiter Hera was jealous and less flighty. Juno Ares's was one of the favored who became more strategic as Mars and less like carnage. The gods exemplify their civilization so that their followers understood their existence. The gods in Rome became warlike, never mingled with mortals as much, much harsher and more powerful depicting the gods of an empire. They stored for discipline, strength, and honor.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author of "Adam, Eve, and the Serpent", and author Doris Gates of "Pyramus and Thisbe" from Two Queens of Heaven, reveal to the readers how trust and love can bring disaster especially by temptation. The authors of both myths also reflect an ideology for the audience as the rules were made to be broken.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Roman Myths

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A tale of rape and suicide, this founding myth tells about Roman’s honor based society. The main characters, Lucretia and Sexus, each play iconic roles of both innocence and guilt, providing two completely contrasting perspectives of the story. Lucretia was a highly honorable woman who believed strongly in protecting her sexuality. Regrettably she made this very apparent, and as such a beautiful untouched woman, she became irresistible to Sexus. As the story goes, Sexus raped her a week or so after meeting her in her own home. This event caused her to feel tremendous guilt and eventually suicide because she believed her body was soiled. Brutus (unsure of his role in the story) had then shunned all Roman kings due to Sexus’s actions, which in turn gave the other Roman kings a bad reputation. According to my interpretation, this story is meant to tell the lesson of being and remaining as an honorable citizen, no matter the circumstance because one unethical action can cause serious damage elsewhere.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Myth Vs Greek Mythology

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages

    According to Barthes (2015), a myth is identified as a classification of stories in narrative form that seek to explain the foundation of values and beliefs adopted by different cultures. Myths often present such stories in an imaginative format as they are based on the supernatural aspect as an attempt to explain natural phenomena and humanity. Therefore, a statement like ‘it’s a myth’ may imply that the subject in question is founded on unjustifiable basis and often adopting an imaginary angle to the story, as an attempt to explain the phenomenon in question.…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reason the Roman gods even exist is because of the Greek gods. The entire foundation of Roman mythology is based on Greek (“Greek Gods vs. Roman Gods”). The Greeks were the ones that created the original Olympian gods. Some of these include Zeus, Hera, and Artemis. The Romans simply borrowed from their older predecessor and molded the gods into their own image. Every Greek god had a Roman counterpart (“Greek and Roman Religion”). The Romans swapped the Greek names for Latin names, causing there to be two names for one ultimate immortal. For example, Zeus’s counterpart was Jupiter, Hera’s was Juno, and Artemis’s was Diana.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many mythologies in the world, and all of these have things in common as well as differences. A very popular mythology would be Greek mythology, Which many people know about it or at least know of it. Another not as popular mythology is Norse mythology; Norse mythology is the religion of the Norse people. The Norse people are the ancient people of northern Europe (Scandinavia, Iceland, Denmark, Northern Germany etc.) (World Book 259).…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays