Did you know that many of the Roman gods were adopted from the Greeks? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia! My name is Kelly, and today's video is all about Roman mythology; the most important gods, cults, and their main influences. Don't forget, the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications, so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organisation and you can find us on Patreon - a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week, so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. The early Roman religion was animistic; believing that spirits inhabit everything around them and Roman citizens, even into the time of the empire, believed they were watched over by their ancestors spirits, in addition to these household spirits were the Capitoline Triad; the god of war: Mars, Quirinus, the deified Romulus; and Jupiter, the supreme god. This triad of gods and the spirits were worshipped at the temple on Capitoline Hill, but later, due to Greek and Etruscan influence, the triad changed with Jupiter remaining the same but being accompanied by his sister-wife Juno and his daughter Minerva, which brings us to our next topic: Rome expanding and coming into contact with foreign deities. Since the Greeks had spread throughout the Mediterranean and had many colonies on Italy's Lower Peninsula, many of the Greek gods, along with their art, architecture and philosophy were adopted into Roman culture. As Rome expanded, so did their religion as they adopted and absorbed facets of religion from the Balkans, Asia Minor and Egypt, although the primary influence would always be Greece. The Romans adopted both the gods and renamed most of them, and also the accompanying myths and stories. Although most of the Greek gods had Roman counterparts, the Romans did have a number of original gods and religious aspects of their own; such as Janus and Tiberinus, but more on them later. Like Greece, Rome saw individual veneration of deities and personal expressions of their beliefs as well as following a rigid set of rituals. Cities all adopted their own patron deities and would have their own rituals for them, and temples honouring the gods were built all throughout the empire, but these temples were believed to be the home of the god it was built for, so all worship happened outside of the temple. A difference in veneration between Greece and Rome is that where the gods and rites of Rome were associated with the unified state, in Greece you had patron deities for individual city-states. Because religion was linked to the state and social well-being, there wasn't a priestly class in as much as there was a political office and eventually the Emperor Augustus assumed the title of 'chief priest' or 'Pontifex Maximus.' Other than priests, there were also augures, who interpreted omens exposed to them through animal entrails and the flight of birds. These omens were understood essentially as the will of the gods and before battle there were elaborate rituals performed especially, since no war declaration or major event could happen without the god's clear approval. How do we know about the gods and myths of ancient Rome? Well, much of it is thanks to the Roman poets Virgil and Ovid, who wrote the tales of the Roman gods in the same way that Hesiod and Homer are credited with giving us the stories of the gods of the Greeks. Let's get into the Roman pantheon, shall we? Early in Roman mythology there was Saturn, who corresponds to the Greek god Cronus; the Titan father of the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. Saturn was an important Roman god - he had a temple at the foot of Capitoline Hill, he was worshipped in the ancient festival of Saturnalia, and gives his name to the first day of the weekend: Saturday. As mentioned, the early triad of Roman cult deities transformed into Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, who were equivalent to the Greek's Zeus, Hera and Athena. The goddess of love in Greek mythology, Aphrodite became the Roman Venus and Hades and Poseidon, the gods of the underworld and the sea, became the Roman Pluto and Neptune. The Greek goddess of the hunt, Artemis became the Roman Diana, Ares, the war god became the Roman god mars, Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, theatre, and madness became Bacchus, and Hermes, the messenger god became Mercury, the only Greek Olympian god to keep his name was Apollo - the god of so many things including music, the sun, healing, and poetry. The Greek hero Heracles became a prominent god in ancient Rome; famously known today as Hercules. One thing you have probably noticed is that the Roman mythological influence was great enough that our planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and even poor Pluto are all named after Roman gods because Roman deities became so well known and influential. In addition to these major gods, there were also minor gods like Nemesis, the god of revenge, Cupid the god of love and Pax, the god of peace, and of course the gods that originated in Rome, like Janus, the two-faced god of doorways and gates who was similar to the Etruscan god Culsans, in that he could see into the past and the future. There was also the daughter of Saturn: Vesta, the goddess of hearth and home whose followers were the Vestal Virgins; girls chosen often as early as the age of six who would be in the service of Vesta for 30 years - remaining chaste the entire time. If they broke their vow of chastity, it would result in death. With such a brutal punishment it's no wonder that only 20 Vestal Virgins broke the vow in over a thousand years (that we know of). The goddess Vesta is linked to the Greek goddess Hestia but in Rome, Vesta took on a distinct personality from Hestia and was thought to sustain the state's fertility and military superiority. There was also the god of nature, Faunus, who was worshipped with a festival in December as the protector of crops, and the god of the Tiber, Tiberinus; also associated with fertility. Other than the worship of gods outside of their temples and at dedicated festivals throughout the year, there were also several prominent cults in the Roman world dedicated to specific deities like Bacchus, Cybele, Isis, Sarapis, and Sibyl, as well as the Imperial Cult that worshipped the emperor. Some cults were widely and easily accepted by Roman society and others were feared by those in power, such as the intoxicating festival held on March 17th for Bacchus, during which a Roman male youth would become a man and this cult and generally was thought to be dangerous by the Roman Senate; the cult eventually went underground in 186 BCE. There was also the cult of Cybele that arrived in Rome during the Punic Wars. Cybele was a fertility goddess originally from Phrygia, known as the "great mother" whose priests were all eunuchs with many of her male followers being castrated as well. The cult of Cybele was a cult sanctioned by the Roman Senate and Cybele herself was not only a fertility goddess but the mistress of wild nature and protectress in times of war. Cybele was responsible for many different aspects of a person's life, and with its agricultural aspect as well, her cult was incredibly popular with both men and women. Much like the Eleusinian Mysteries, a Greek mystery cult dedicated to the fertility goddesses Demeter and Persephone, where the details of the cult are still, well a mystery, there were many Roman mystery cults with a fascinating one being the Mithraic mysteries, a mystery cult of the Roman world that worshipped Mithras - an Indo-Iranian deity of friendship, contract and order. The temples to Mithras were often built into caves and hidden from the public, and over 200 Mithras temples have been found without revealing the specifics of how the cult operated or even the details of worship. The Egyptian goddess Isis was a deity from Egypt Rome took under its wing and who, after becoming Hellenised, became the protector of sailors and fishermen. Lastly, there was the Imperial Cult which was the Deification of the emperor and began during the reign of Augustus. Augustus thought of himself as a son of a god but resisted the Senate's attempts to name him a god during his time as emperor. When he died though, the Senate deified him and would deify many of his successors, and an emperor could request for his predecessor to be deified. There were a few exceptions to the deification however, such as Tiberius, Caligula, Nero and Domitian, but during their lives both Caligula and Nero believed themselves to be living gods and Domitian thought he was the reincarnation of Hercules. In the mid 1st century CE, Christianity developed as a small sect from Jewish tradition, and as it grew and developed, it spread throughout the Roman Empire, and as it did it adapted numerous parts of the Roman religion into its own structure and belief system. Early Christianity absorbed cultural, intellectual and religious traditions of the Greco-Romans, including things like the title of the pope, the head of the Roman Catholic church, which came from the Roman title Pontifex Maximus; how provincial priests of local Roman deities became provincial priests of Christ; and how the pagan virgin goddesses like Minerva became Virgin Mary. This absorption and adaptation of Roman religion can also be seen in many of the Christian holy days which were transformed from pagan holidays; nuns who were influenced by the Vestal Virgins, and even the use of incense and the veneration of statues depicting Jesus, Joseph and Mary and all the saints. All of these facets of the Christian religion, which was a brand new religion in the midst of the Roman Empire, were developed and influenced by Rome, and this was one of the criticisms of the Protestant Reformation - that the Holy Roman Catholic Church did not represent the teachings of Christ but was a reflection of pagan Roman religion. Do you know of religious practices that are borrowed from other cultures today? Let us know down in the comments below! If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel, so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday. This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia. 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