The Roman civilization began, 753 B.C., from a small village on the Tiber River in Italy which became the capital of one of the largest empires in the world; Rome. An empire which control covered the whole of England, which remained under the control of the Romans for 400 years, the areas west of the Rhine, as well as the areas south of the Danube, most of the areas west of Euphrates River in Asia, North Africa, and the areas around the Mediterranean Sea.
Roman civilization is the legitimate child of Greek civilization. However, human mind is on its process of evolution and mythology is starting now to serve the empire interest rather than contemplating the universe and probing human nature.
In Roman mythology, or Roman religion, there is no superior prophet, nor does it seek to explain the nature of the deities, no holy book nor a group of instructions in a specific text that teaches virtue and good morals, or reveals the facts of natural and cosmic phenomena. No clear scheme for the afterlife and resurrection is known in this religion. Moreover, no strict teachings and beliefs that are promoted by distinguished priests and nothing about organized in a precise priestly hierarchy.
Now human beings are equating themselves with their gods. As long as the Roman gods performed their role for a Roman person and fulfilled his/ her requirements, s/he would worship them, but if one of the gods proved to be useless, a Roman person did not hesitate to search for another deity as long as the first idol failed him/ her. Since the religion is superficial, non-spiritual, like the religions of the East, a Roman had a continuous sense of this deficiency, which led to the reception and welcome of many gods from the East, and among these gods were the god Asclepius[1], the goddess Kybele (Cebele)[2], Eris[3], Mithras[4] and others.
Tending to be more Realistic:
Being the connecting point between ancient mythology and the dominance of Abrahamic religions, notably Christianity, followed by the Islamic empire, we can perceive the Roman civilization as the “money box” of previous civilizations, on one level, and as the disillusioning point of ancient mythology on another.
There is no more sacredness.
The holiness goes to the family; the atom of the society and the backbone of the empire.
The Roman family was the center of religion, morals, economic system and the entity of the state as a whole. It was the source from which all these components were derived. When families joined together to form a community; Family rituals and customs were the basis of state worship. The king was initially the priest. There were sects of priests helping the king, and they were ordinary people who were not a special class, but were colleagues who participated in the organization of worship and celebrations.
Beliefs:
Granting the holiness to human beings rather than “non seen” creatures. The Romans thought of their deities as deformed beasts which evolved to possess some human qualities, such qualities that gave them their powers and blessedness.
They focused on the sexual abilities of the gods. They often marry and influence polygamy (whether males or females), they engage in countless emotional adventures. In contrast, some of their gods succumb to their sexual desires, we see the goddess Athena[5], goddess of wisdom, who prefers chastity and preserves her virginity forever.
Moreover, humans and gods are both children of the goddess of the earth „Gaia“[6] and the chief god „Zeus“[7] or “Jupiter”[8]. However, the similarity between gods and humans is not absolute.
Deities:
The Romans especially honored twelve deities, called dii consentes. They are six males and six females. And these gods are:
Jupiter: a crowned king of the Roman gods. He had many titles, such as the god of the sun and moonlight, the god of winds, rain, storms, thunder and lightning.
Juno: She is the queen of the gods and the wife of Jupiter. She was the goddess of the sky and the moon.
Minerva: The daughter of Jupiter and Juno, she was considered the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, trade and crafts.
Vesta: One of the most popular and enigmatic deities in the Roman Pantheon[9]. She is the goddess of the hearth. Her temple is located on the platinum hill where the sacred fire was kindled, and the virgins of Vesta kept this fire burning at all times.
Keris: the daughter of Saturn and Rhea, the wife and sister of Jupiter, and the mother of Proserpina, the goddess of agriculture.
Diana: She is the mother of wild beasts, forests and the goddess of the moon.
Venus: She is the Roman goddess of love and sexual desire. As a goddess of love, she was the queen of pleasures and the mother of the Roman people.
March: He was initially a god specialized in agriculture, but later he was dedicated to war.
Mercurius: Who was the god of Romania dedicated to trade, and so the merchants prayed to him. He is the son of Jupiter and Maya. He was also a messenger of the divinities.
Neptune: He was a god of water, so he was the god of the sea, he controlled storms and earthquakes.
Vulcanus: He is the son of Jupiter and Juno and the husband of Maya and Venus. He was a god of fire and volcanoes and the maker of weapons of gods and heroes.
Apollo: He is the son of Jupiter and Latona[10] and the brother of Diana, and he was a god of music playing a golden lyre, an archer shooting an arrow away from his invisible bow, a god of healing who taught people medicine, and a god of light.
Pluto: who was of the underworld.
Saturn: The father of Jupiter and king of the gods and the sky before Jupiter and his two brothers Neptune and Pluto decided to fight him and remove him from the throne.
[1] https://www.worldhistory.org/Asclepius/
[2] https://www.theoi.com/Phrygios/Kybele.html
[3] https://mythologysource.com/eris-greek-goddess/
[4] https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/mithras-cult-0014192
[5] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Athena-Greek-mythology
[6] https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/gaea/
[7] https://www.worldhistory.org/zeus/
[8] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jupiter-Roman-god
[9] https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/pantheon
[10] https://www.talesbeyondbelief.com/roman-gods/latona.htm
