Transcript Placard final

Influence of Greek Mythology on Roman Culture
Description of Greek Mythology:
Greek Mythology consisted of stories that ancient
Greeks invented to explain the laws of nature, as
well as misfortunes and victories in their lives.
These stories consisted of Gods, heroes, and
warriors. . It was a part of the Greek Religion,
according to which, Greek Gods lived on the
Mount Olympus and ruled the world from there.
Greeks wanted to keep the Gods happy, because
angry Gods meant troubles and misfortunes.
Greeks worshiped their Gods by building temples,
performing ritual scarifies in their honor, and
organizing Olympic games to demonstrate their
skills and devotion to Gods.
Great Influence of Greek Mythology on
Roman Culture:
Greek Mythology influenced Roman culture in the most
profound way. Roman Mythology was derived directly
from Greek mythology (you can see from the table, how
similar they are) and it completely penetrated the fabric
of Roman life. It was mainly their religion and how they
believed they came to be. Mythology helped Romans
make sense of the events around them. If they couldn't
explain something in mortal terms, like a drought or
famine, they assumed it was the workings of a God or
Goddess. What they couldn't explain they just turned
into religion or myth that they borrowed from the
Greeks. That is why Greek mythology most greatly
influenced the Roman civilization.
Nikky Nemzer 11/30/12 Pd. 2
How Greek Mythology was used in Roman
Civilization:
Major Gods and Goddesses
Picture
Greek
Roman
What they do
Aphrodite
Venus
Goddess of Love
Apollo
Apollo
God of Light
Ares
Mars
God of war
Artemis
Diana
Goddess of hunting
Athena
Minerva
Goddess of wisdom
Demeter
Ceres
Dionysus
Bacchus
Hades
Pluto
God of underworld
Hephaestus
Vulcan
God of fire
Helios
Sol
The sun God
Hera
Juno
Queen of the Gods
Hermes
Mercury
Messenger of the Gods
Nike
Victoria
Goddess of victory
Poseidon
Neptune
God of the sea
Zeus
Jupiter
King of Gods
Goddess of crops
God of wine
When Romans conquered the Greeks they liked Greek
Myths (explanations of the reality) so much that they
adopted them. Most of the Roman and Greek Gods and
Goddesses share enough attributes to be considered roughly
the same, but with a different name: Latin for the Roman
Gods, Greek for the Greek Gods. Some of the Roman and
Greek Gods and Goddesses, like Apollo for example, have
only the one name for both.
Both Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses were
based on human personality traits such as Love (Aphrodite/
Venus), and Wisdom (Athena/ Minerva) as well as their
roles in life determined by what they were Gods of, like:
Zeus (Jupiter): King of the Heavens, controls sky and
weather, Hades (Pluto): King of the Underworld, controls
the dead souls, Poseidon (Neptune): King of the Sea,
controls water. Some deities were named after objects rather
than their area of influence or human personality traits: Ex.
Dionysus (Bacchus) – God of Wine.
Although, most Greek and Roman Gods were very
similar, some of the Gods’ personality traits changed to
reflect Roman beliefs. For example, the unpopular and
feared Greek God of war Ares was greatly revered and
admired in Rome under the name Mars. Also the roles of
mortals varied in Greek in Roman mythology. In Greek
Mythology the mortals were almost as important as Gods
and contributed to the society. Roman myths focused on
brave, heroic deeds of Gods, not mortals. In Greek myths
creativity and poetry was frequently more important than
physical works, but the Romans focused on actions and
military victories rather than words. Greek Gods had
beautiful bodies, while Roman Gods often had no physical
appearance and were only in the imagination of the people.