| Roman Pantheon (Gods, Goddesses, Spirits) | Sphere of Influence and/or Patronage |
|---|---|
| Aesculapius | God of healing and medicine |
| Aurora | Roman Goddess of the dawn, associated by Romans with the indigenous Latin Goddess Mater Matuta whose feast day was celebrated in Rome on June 11. |
| Apollo | God of the Sun, light, healing, medicine, music, songs, poetry, and dance |
| Bacchus | God of wine, light hearted merriment, revelry, creativity, fertility, and drunken behavior |
| Caelus/Coelus | Was the original God over the "sky" or "heaven". He was considered as a male generative force. Under Greek influence, the Greek God Uranos/Uranus became associated with him. |
| Ceres | Goddess of the Grain, agriculture, and was credited with the discovery of spelt wheat (Latin grain called far) and other crops, also the sister of Jupiter, and the mother of Proserpine |
| Cupid/Cupido | God of Love and desire, erotic-love, attraction, and affection, also the son of the Love Goddess, Venus, and the God of War, Mars |
| Diana | Goddess of hunting, forests, the moon, young animals, and childbirth, Diana along with Egeria (a water nymph, who was her servant and assistant midwife), and with the Roman Virbius (a woodland God): these three deities formed a triad |
| Dis Pater | The name of this God has been translated as "Rich Father" and is probably a direct translation of Plouton (see Pluto) |
| Faunus | a horned God of the forest, fields, and plains; he is an ancient Italian rural deity of the wilderness, and wild places; he was an oracular and prophetic divinity. The festival of the Faunalia, which was celebrated on December 5 with great feasting and merriment, by the country people, honored Faunus as a God of cattle and agriculture. |
| Ianus | Another name for the Roman God Janus |
| Iuppiter | Another spelling of the God’s name “Jupiter” / “Jove pater" |
| Janus | One of the original Roman Gods, with two faces, one facing forward and one facing back. He was the God of doors, portholes and journeys. The name of the month of January is derived from his name. |
| Iuno | Another spelling of the name of the Goddess “Juno” the Queen of the Gods |
| Juno | an ancient Roman Goddess who was the wife of “Jupiter”; Juno was the protector and special counsellor of Rome. |
| Jupiter | Ruler of the Gods, and perceived to be the “Pater” (Father) of the Roman Gods, he could be referred to as “Jove-Pater” (Father Jove/Father Jv), Lord of the Thunderbolt and Lightning. |
| Mars | God of War, protector of the Roman legions, was ancient Roman deity; Mars was the son of Juno and Jupiter, and surpassed all other military deities connected to the Roman army. His importance second only to Jupiter himself. The feasts for Mars included: February 27 Equiria (horse race); March 1 & 14 Feriae Marti; March 17 Agonalia; May 14 Mars Invictus; October 15 Equus October (October Horse was an animal sacrifice to Mars carried out on October 15, coinciding with the end of the agricultural and military campaigning season); October 19 Armilustrum (purification). |
| Minerva | Goddess of weaving, crafts, war, wisdom, and battle-strategy |
| Ops | Wife and sister of Saturnus, Ops (Opis) was a Roman fertility Goddess of Sabine origin—and her name translates to “Plenty”. |
| Pluto | Roman God of the underworld. His wife Proserpina shares his realm. |
| Saturn/Saturnus | An agricultural deity who was the God of sowing or seed. |
| Somnus | the Roman God of rest and sleep, whose name means "sleep"; he may bring dreams. He is also known as Sopor. |
| Terra Mater/Tellus Mater | Goddess of the Earth as Terra Mater means "Mother Earth"/“Mother Nature”; the ancient Romans used the name Tellus Mater and she was the wife Uranus. |
| Uranus | the son of the Roman Earth Goddess Tellus Mater who is also said to be her husband. See Caelus/Coelus. |
| Vesta | the Roman virgin Goddess of the hearth, home, and family; the Roman Goddess Vesta is served by the priestess known as the “Vestal Virgins”. As priestesses of Vesta, the Goddess of the hearth, and they were in charge of maintaining the Sacred Fire within the Temple of Vesta on the Forum Romanum. |
| Venus | the Roman Goddess of beauty, passion, sex, love, fertility, desire, prosperity, and victory; this Roman-Italian Goddess is also associated with cultivated fields and gardens. |
| Vulcan | the Roman God of fire and the forge and the metalworker and weapon smith of the Roman Gods; Vulcan is also associated with the fire of volcanoes and the burning heat of deserts. |
September 17, 2022
A Myth of the Beginning of Rome: Romulus and Remus
According to one Roman myth, Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome. Both boys were twins fathered by Mars, the Roman God of War, and born to a mortal woman, Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa.
Alba Longa was an ancient city of Latium, Italy, in the Alban Hills about 12 miles from Rome. Numitor had been deposed by his younger brother Amulius. Amulius also forced his niece, Rhea, to become one of the Vestal Virgins, and Rhea Silvia would vow perpetual chastity. Therefore, Amulius presumed he would prevent Rhea from ever giving birth to any potential rivals or claimants to the throne of Alba Longa. Yet, the God of War, Mars, visited her secretly, and Rhea bore the twins Romulus and Remus.
When Amulius learned of the birth, he ordered the twins be set a float in a basket on the Tiber River, so the basket would sink and they would both drown. However the basket in which they were placed floated down the river and came to rest at the site of the future Rome, near the Ficus ruminalis, a sacred fig tree.
It is said that the twins were first discovered by a she-wolf—or a “lupa”—who suckled the two babes, along with her own pups. Other versions claim that a she-wolf and a woodpecker—both sacred to Mars—cared and fed the twins.
Eventually a herdsman, named Faustulus, found the two healthy tots and brought them home to his wife, Acca Larentia, as they had no children.
Reared by Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, the twins grew and became leaders of a band of youths. Eventually Romulus and Remus figured out who their birth mother was. They slew Amulius and restored their Grandfather Numitor to the throne. They subsequently founded a town on the site where they had been saved.
After they were grown, Remus quarreled with his brother Romulus over a city wall that Romulus built. Remus jumped over it—mocking the wall’s height. The argument between them became heated and physical, and Remus was eventually slain by his brother. This legend clarified why Romulus is most often said in historical Roman mythology to be the first king of Rome. This legend also underscored that Rome was protected by more than walls alone--the physical strength of the Romans was more important.
According to Roman legendary history, Romulus then founded Rome, circa 753 bce.
Romulus—according to this tale—was Rome’s first king. He set up the Roman political government. Romulus consolidated his power, and then founded a city. He offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. This city was named “Rome” after Romulus.
Roman mythology also claimed that Romulus was the first of seven kings who ruled Rome from the time of the founding until early 500 bce: Romulus, Numa Pomppilious, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Lucus Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.
According to legend, Numa started many of Rome’s basic religious institutions.
Tradition claimed that Titus Tatius establishing altars to many deities at Rome, among them Ops, Flora, Veiovis, Saturn, Sol, Luna, Vulcan, Summanus, Larunda, Terminus, Quirinus, Vertumnus, the Lares, Lucina, and Diana.
Myth Woodling, September 18, 2022
Caveat from Myth Woodling: This list, of course, is not a complete list of all deities, numens, imported divinities, spirits, deified heroes, etc. in ancient Rome. I have simply attempted to name and list many of the best known ones in Rome.