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2014-10-0136 Name: Aakif Sultan Writing and Communication SS-100 Section 2 28-September-2010 Roman and Greek Pantheon of Deities It is thought that Roman and Greeks had the same religion, deities and religious practices which are interchangeable; that however is not true. There are a lot of fables of gods and goddesses about love, war, treachery in both mythologies but there are different stories with different (and sometimes opposing) values with respect to the people of that time. There are very subtle differences in some gods and their purposes. There are also different stories of how these mythologies were created. Greeks were there long before Romans and hence had their own religion and culture. Romans (when they conquered Greek lands) copied their architect, life style, art and religion; however they did not copy the religion entirely, Romans used to copy the gods of all they conquered (not only Greeks) and gave them new names. Greeks saw gods as divine being of great power that controlled everything. They were seen as examples of how to live and sometimes how not to live. They were worshipped and often given food or wine in the temple or the graves of the dead according to the need for a certain gods powers e.g. to Poseidon (Neptune) so he grants them a safe journey through the sea or to Ares or Athena (Mars and Minerva) for a victory in battle or Hera (Juno) for a prosperous and happy domestic life. Greek gods were also the embodiment of certain emotions and feelings. They were given beautiful faces, bodies, hair, were suppose to be tall and sparkle in the sun. They were made the embodiment of perfection of form according to the Greek. Their names were given according to a place of a living or non-living thing. Romans saw the gods slight differently; they were still divine being of great power but in a lot more in number. Romans believed that the gods are controllers of elements, animals, trees etc just like the Greeks. They had rituals for all actions in a day which were related to some god; a lot more then Greeks ever had. They believed in gods to be not linked mainly to a type of emotion (unlike Greek) but some form of duty or power. The Roman gods were less of an artists

idea and had more practical reason for their existence. They were first and foremost an entity who controls a certain aspect of everyones life. They did not feel the need for making too many statues and paintings of the gods. In fact physical appearance wasnt given to Roman gods until the 6th century BC (Varro). Both Greeks and Romans believed in eight different types of divine entities i.e. the first born gods (Titans or Protogenoi), who made all the elements, second were Daimones and Nymphs who nurtured life in the elements, the third were gods made of pure emotion, the fourth were Theoi the ones that control the forces of nature, the fifth were the Olympian gods, sixth were the zodiac signs, seventh were monsters and beasts e.g. Cyclops, Minotaur, eight were the demy-gods (half-human half-god) with one mortal and one divine parent. They were all a significant part of both mythologies as they are a major part in many tales e.g. the war between Olympian gods and the Titans. Most of the Greek and Roman gods had the same significance, powers and roles in both mythologies; the only difference was their names. The only gods that were significantly different in Roman and Greek mythology were the gods of wars (Ares (Greek) and Mars (Roman)). Ares was the god of war, manliness, bloodshed and slaughter. He represented a warrior gone berserk. He was the embodiment of cruelty and malice and hence was given food and wine donations because the Greek feared his wrath. His Roman counter-part Mars represented every trait that an honorable warrior should possess; besides being the god of war he was also the god of agriculture and fertility of land. He was benevolent and revered and donations were given to his temples for his favor. The Roman and Greek mythologies also differ in their creation. The most popular Roman creation story is about two Greeks Remus and Romulus; they were sons of Ares (Mars) and a mortal woman named Rhea Silvia (named after the Titan Rhea the goddess of motherhood). Their uncle raised them and after their parents died wanted to claim the power of their father (Ares (Mars)). In the fight Remus fell but Romulus escaped to find a new city called Rome and became its king. The Greek mythology was created a long time before the Roman mythology at around 2000BC when Timaus and Critias, a man and a woman of unknown origins, raised Atlantis. The god Timaus and goddess Critias are in many stories of Greek mythologys creation and it is hard to tell which was more widely believed.

In the end Greek and Roman mythology have subtle differences; mainly the difference between Ares and Mars, the stories and date of their creation and the values Greeks and Romans attached to their gods. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greek_mythological_figures, http://www.helium.com/items/1172195-a-look-at-the-differences-and-similarities-betweengreek-and-roman-gods, http://www.theoi.com/Pantheon.html, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/19648/greek_vs_roman_mythology.html, http://www.kean.edu/~eslprog/accents/2003/page2003_7.html