Transcript roman gods

ROMAN GODS
ROMAN RELIGION
• Roman religion is based on the Pantheon
– 12 Gods and Goddesses that, together,
rule the earth and everything associated
with it.
• These gods are: Jupiter, Juno, Minerva,
Vesta, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercury,
Neptune, Volcan, and Apollo.
JUPITER
• Jupiter means Father
•
•
Jove (Father in Latin is
"pater").
Jupiter was king of the
Gods. His weapon was
the Thunderbolt
All other gods were
terrified of him, although
he was a little scared of
his wife Juno
• Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto were the three
sons of Saturn. They divided up the world
between themselves. Jupiter took the air,
Neptune had the sea and Pluto ruled
under the earth, the home of the Dead.
JUNO
• Juno was the wife of Jupiter
and so queen of the gods. She
was the goddess of women
and marriage.
• The Romans believed that
every man had a spirit that
looked after him all his life.
This was called his genius.
Some people believed each
man had both a good genius
and a bad genius. Women
didn't have a genius, they had
a juno instead.
MINERVA
• Minerva was the
•
goddess of wisdom.
Her symbol was the
owl.
Minerva was the
goddess of arts and
crafts. She was
particularly good at
weaving.
NEPTUNE
• Neptune was the god
•
of the sea. He carried
a trident, which had
three prongs. He rode
a dolphin or a horse.
Neptune was also the
god of earthquakes.
He was called the
Earth-shaker!
PLUTO
• Pluto was the god of
•
the Dead.
When someone died,
they travelled down
to the Underworld
APOLLO
• Apollo was the god of
•
•
the sun. Each day he
drove his chariot of
fiery horses across
the sky to give light
to the world.
He was also the god
of healing, so sick
people prayed to him.
He is a son of Jupiter
DIANA
• Diana was the
•
goddess of the moon.
Her twin brother
Apollo was the god of
the sun.
Diana carried a bow
and arrows. She was
the goddess of
hunting
MARS
• The Romans were
•
•
great soldiers and
thought Mars, the god
of War, was very
important.
They said that he was
the father of Romulus
and Remus, the
founders of Rome.
He is a son of Jupiter
VENUS
• She is the goddess of
•
•
love
Venus was born in the
sea and first came to
shore at Cyprus,
floating on a scallop
shell.
She is the mother of
Cupid.
MERCURY
• He was the
•
messenger of the
Gods
Mercury was the god
of travellers. He had a
winged hat and
sandals, so he could
fly. He carried a staff
with two snakes
winding round it.
CERES
• Ceres was the Earth
•
goddess and goddess
of corn.
Her daughter was
Proserpine.
VOLCAN
• Vulcan was the smith
of the gods, and
made Jupiter's
thunderbolts. His
smithy was in the
volcano Etna, in Sicily,
where you can see
fire from his forge.
BACCHUS
• Bacchus was the god of
•
wine. He was
accompanied by
Maenads, or wild dancing
women.
Bacchus was also the god
of the theatre, since the
first plays in Greece were
performed in his honour
SATURN
• Saturn was god of Time
•
and his weapon was a
scythe. He ruled the gods
before Jupiter. He is
called Old Father Time.
Jupiter, Neptune and
Pluto were his children.
They represent Air, Water
and Death, the three
things that Time cannot
kill.
THE DII FAMILIARIS
• There was also a private religious worship in
Rome. In this cult, the Lar Familiaris (guardian
spirit - Genius - of the family), the Lares Loci
(guardian spirits of the place where the house is
built), the Genius of the paterfamilias (HouseFather), the Dii Penates (patron gods of the
storeroom), the Dii Manes (spirits of the
deceased) and a multitude of other domestic
deities are daily worshipped by the members of
the family.