Religion and government played an important role in lives of Grecians and Romans during ancient times. Both nations were polytheistic and militaristic, however only Rome switched to Christianity, broke up, (rather than collapsed), after national conflict and was centralized. Both Grecians and Romans were polytheistic. Because Greece and Rome were two of the earliest civilizations, the ignorance of this earlier time prevailed. People were unsure of why certain events could occur, (like the rising and setting of a sun), and set out to delegate a position and meaning for all of the Gods they dreamed up. Failure to appease these Gods would result in punishment. For example the sun wouldn’t rise or the crops would die. Sacrifices were often given …show more content…
In the beginning of the religions their gods closely resembled each other. The Greeks had Zeus who was god of the sky. The Romans had Jupiter who was also god of the sky. The Greeks had Hera who was goddess of family. The Romans had Juno who was also the goddess of family. The Greeks had Poseidon who was the god of the sea. The Romans had Neptune who was also the god of the sea. The Greeks had Demeter who was the goddess of nature. The Romans had Ceres who was also the goddess of nature. The Greeks had Athena who was the goddess of wisdom. The Romans had Minerva who was also the goddess of wisdom. The Greeks had Dionysus who was the god of wine. The Romans had Bacchus who also the god of wine. The Greeks had Apollo the god of light. The Romans also had Apollo the god of sun. The Greek had Artemis the goddess of hunting. The Romans had Diana the goddess of hunting. The Greek had Ares the god of war. The Roman had Mars the god of war. The Greek had Aphrodite the goddess of love. The Roman had Venus the goddess of love. The Greek had Hephaestus the god of fire. The Roman had Vulcan the god of fire. The Greek had Hermes the messenger of the gods. The Romans had Mercury the messenger of the gods. This is was how they worshiped and how they praised their gods. This was their beliefs, they did not just one god they had multiple gods for different times and phases of their lives. Each of their gods had their own purpose and had a certain thing that they were worshiped
Rome used to believe in Roman mythology with many different gods. Some of the Gods were Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Mercury, Ceres, Apollo, Vesta, Neptune, Diana, Mars, and Pluto. People used to believe that these gods ruled everyone and everything. In Ancient Rome, people worshipped the Gods their Emperor believed in. Now people believe in the Roman Catholic Church and worship one god.
The cultures of Rome and Greece celebrated philosophical and religious thinking in various forms. The Greek and Roman religions were polytheistic and included Gods that created natural phenomena. Both religions had a God of Gods who possessed ultimate power and ruled over various capricious Gods. They both included Gods of the hunt, metalworking, war, nature, the ocean and many other human activities and forces of nature. Many Greco-Roman aristocrats searched for meaning outside of religion with philosophy. Thinkers such as Aristotle and Cicero believed strongly in balance and modesty. The Stoics stressed discipline and bravery while Socrates encouraged thinking independently.
Ancient Greek and Rome started out as small city-states they both grew into large empires. From the similar roles they agree on religion, both ancient civilizations approach quite successful. Ancient Greek and Roman admit being polytheistic, adoration of many gods and goddesses. Devotions to all the gods increase importance of recognition of their honorable deeds when they were alive. Donald L. Wasson said, “At the end of the day were concerned with the relationship between the gods and humans, differing in this regard from fairytales and folktales.” They thought that performing sacrifices and rituals would satisfy their gods they would gain protection from the bad vibes.
One of the first mortals known was Demeter, the child of Zeus and Persephone, is known as the goddess of the underworld. After leaving Demeter, Zeus then moved on and mated with Leto with whom he then created the twin gods known as Artemis and Apollo. Apollo was known for many things following his birth. Apollo had a numours things he is remembered for, but a few is being the Olympian God of the Sun, the Light and the Music and the Prophecy. (GREEK-GODS.INFO 4).
The Romans began their religion by believing that spirits took up everything around them and that their ancestors watched over them in everything they did. The Romans began to believe in Major Greek gods such as Mars, Quirinus,
Despite all their similarities, The Greeks and Romans engaged in substantive culture differences. Their religions derived from a complex set of gods and goddesses, called deities, who were seen as regulating human life. Since the Romans embraced culture from the Greeks, many traditions were the same. However, the Greek and Roman culture, although similar, are very different and appealing. For instance, the Greeks did not acknowledge an all-powerful god; they believe that deities controlled everything that transpired on earth. In other words, the Greeks sought religious cults to explain the forces that shape the world (Bentley et al, 2008 p.143).
There were many gods Romans believed in, and they had one for everything. Whenever something went wrong the Romans blamed the people for not worshiping the gods. Romans later found out that people worshiped other gods, and they had fought really well in war, so they decided to adopt those gods, too. Romans had fancy temples for their gods, and everyday people brought meat for them. They even had special days for each god; where they did different festivals.
Roman mythology is very interesting and intricate. It contains many legends and stories, as well as many main gods. There are 12 main gods and their names are Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Vesta, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Neptunus, Volvanus, and Apollo. The 12 gods are all apart of the Dii Consentes.
The only exception is the god of archery, music, medicine, the sun, etc; Apollo. He is the only god that shares the same name in Roman and Greek mythology. The Roman civilization
In the ancient Greek world, religion was personal, direct, and present in its citizens’ daily lives. During this time, they participated in animal sacrifices and offerings, created myths to explain the beginning of the human race and gave reverence to their gods by building temples which controlled the urban landscape. They also participated in local festivals and sporting and artistic competitions. Religion was never out of the presence of ancient Greece’s citizens. While they may have made up their own mind on the terms of their religious beliefs, some may have been completely confused if these gods actually existed. There were certain fundamental beliefs that must have been sufficiently widespread, in order for the Greek government to function. In ancient Greece, gods existed, they influenced human concerns, and they welcomed and responded to acts of godliness and worship.
In both Greek and Roman civilizations, mythology played an important part in their empire’s success. Both of these civilizations were polytheistic religions. Likewise, they had major and minor gods and goddesses as part of their religion as well. However, since the Roman Empire conquered many cultures including the Greeks, their gods blended with many similarities with the gods that the Ancient Greeks worshipped.
It has been known that the Romans and the Greeks have had many interactions with each other, whether it would be due to trading or just plain traveling, the stories of their myths have crossed each other in one way or another. This is may be the reason why there are many similarities between Greek and Roman Mythology. Even though a Greek god or goddess may have a different name in Roman Mythology they still performed similar tasks and were worshiped for similar reasons. I will compare and contrast Greek gods with their Roman equivalences to see how similar they truly are to each other. Probably the most famous Greek god, Zeus, was the god of all gods. Born to Cronus and Rhea, he was the ruler of the sky, and had
Greek and Roman mythology is well know. The people of that time period were passionate about the gods and did everything in their power to please them. Like most religions the goal is be like one of the gods in order to achieve good fortune or to gain everlasting life. One of the most interesting characteristics about the Greek and Roman Gods is how the gods are not perfect in that they make the same mistakes that the average human would make. These characteristics were put into place to allow ancient Greeks and Romans to effectively relate to the gods making them more believable. This is unlike other religions where the god(s) are shown as the all perfect character making no mistakes. These characteristics relate back to the family and
In Roman religion it was crucial “to serve the gods and ensure goodwill” (The Roman Republic). The English word “Religion” comes from the Latin word “Religio” (Overview of Religion). Latin was the ancient language of Rome, but for the Roman’s the translation meant something very different from what we understand it as today. To the Romans, “Religio” translated to “ the fear of gods” (Overview of Religion). Romans invested much of their time serving the gods, performing rituals and sacrifices in honor of them. On the contrary Greek religion did not prefer to execute rituals as much as the Romans. Greeks were more lenient when honoring the gods. They did not have a theological dogma: a part of theology dealing with truths of faith concerning God and God's work. Their many gods had different purposes and works they performed. The Greeks relied more on the verbal spread of the religion rather than having a written form. Although different, both religions had forms of praising and honoring their gods. Greek and Roman religion have many differences and similarities that impacted each group of people.
gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average