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THE ROMAN EMPIRE&ROMAN MYTHOLOGY

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROME Rome, known as 'the eternal city„, is believed to be founded in theyear 625 BC. Early Rome was governed by kings, but after only seven of themhad ruled, the Romans took power and ruled themselves. They established a council known as the „Senate' which ruled overthe roman people who are as the 'Roman Republic'. The Roman Republic was a very successful government. It lastedfrom 510 BC until 23 BC - almost 5000 years. In comparison theUnited States of America only exist since 1776 - less than 300years.

JULIUS CAESAR Rome's most famous citizen was no doubt JuliusCaesar. He was a Roman politician and general. Inthe year 49 BC, Caesar conquered Rome and thenruled as a dictator. Julius Caesar, having claimed to be a directdescendent of Aeneas, the son of Venus, wasamong the first to deify himself in such a manner. His life was ended as he was infamously murderedin the senate in Rome and is the subject of a play byShakespeare.

ROMAN RELIGION Romanmythology is thecombination of the beliefs, therituals, and the observances ofsupernatural occurrences by theancient Romans from earlyperiods until Christianity finallycompletely replaced it.

ROMAN VS. GREEK MYTHOLOGYMost of the Roman gods and goddesses were ablend of several religious influences. Many of these were introduced via the Greekcolonies In some cases the Etruscan or Latin namessurvived throughout the cultural existence ofRome, but many were adopted so completely thatthey maintained their names from other cultures. the Greek names remained the choice of thepeople and the major gods of the systemtherefore, were known by both.

URANUS & GAIAUranus was God of the Sky Gaia was Goddess of the Earth They had many children togetherincluding giants. They had a violent argument andsplit up. Ever since the earth andsky have been apart. Uranus was a shadowy figure right at the start of time.Uranus was not worshipped by the Romans, and as suchthere are no pictures of him.

SATURN GOD OF TIME Son of Gaia and UranusHe is called Old Father Time.Held a sickle or scythe in his lefthand and a bundle of wheat in hisrightThe Roman version of Saturn‟smyth is similar to that of Cronuswith his childrenSaturn ruled the Gods before Jupiter. The Roman version ofSaturn‟s myth is similar to that of Cronus with his children.Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto were his children. Theyrepresent Air, Water and Death, the three things thatTime cannot kill.

JUPITER RULER OF THE GODS Son of Saturn, Brother of Neptune & PlutoJupiter was King of the GodsThe eagle was his messengerJupiter means Father Jove Thunderbolt, thunder & lightening Other gods were terrified of him, althoughhe was a little scared of his wife Juno!Patron God of Rome – his temple was the officialplace of state business and sacrificesThere was a big temple on the Capitol in Rome dedicated to JupiterOptimus Maximus (which means Jupiter Best and Greatest).

NEPTUNEGod of the Sea God of Earthquakes Son of Saturn He rode a dolphin or a horse Carried a trident, which had three prongs. When the sea is rough enough to show whitetops to the waves called sea horses. The backhalf of the seahorse is a fish. (see picture above) He was also the God of Horses and horse-racing.

PLUTOSon of Saturn Brother of Jupiter & Neptune Husband of Proserpine God of Death Ruler of the Underworld Romans were afraid to say Pluto's namebecause they were afraid he might notice themand they would die.

THE UNDERWORLDWhen someone died, they travelleddown to the Underworld. First, they had to cross the River ofthe Dead, called the Styx. Everyone was buried with a coin, topay the ferryman, Then they had to get past Cerberus,a fierce dog with three heads, whichwould only let the Dead through. Finally they had to come before theJudges of the Dead.

JUNO Motherof Mars & Vulcan Wife of Jupiter Queenof the gods Englishword “ Junoesque”means a large beautifulwoman Goddess of women andmarriage. Her bird was the peacock.

CERES Goddess of Earth & Corn Mother of Proserpine, Queen of the Underworld Sister of JupiterShe carried the cornucopia, a horn full ofvegetables and fruit.ROMAN MYTH: Pluto fell in love with Proserpine, andcarried her off to the Underworld. Ceres searchedeverywhere, but couldn't find her. Eventually Ceresrefused to let the plants grow any more, and everyonebegun to die of hunger. Pluto then admitted he hadProserpine. Proserpine had eaten six seeds from apomegranate. This means that she could go home, buthad to return to her husband for six months every year.When this happens, Ceres stops everything growing,and winter comes.

VESTA GODDESS OF THE HOME Sister of Jupiter Vesta was the center of the Roman home In Roman homes, every day, during a meal, a small cake wasthrown on the fire for Vesta. It was good luck if it burnt with acrackle. She was a quiet well-behaved goddess, who didn't join in thearguments and fights of the other gods. She was protector of the sacred flame. The flame was relitevery March 1st and had to be kept alight all year. If this flameever went out, disaster would fall on Rome. The flame was keptalive by the Vestal Virgins, priestesses were chosen to serve forthirty years, and were not allowed to marry.

MARS GOD OF WAR Son of Jupiter and Juno English word: Martial means warlike. Father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.Because of this mythological lineage, the Roman peoplefelt as though they were also the children of Mars and hewas regarded as their protector. The month March (Martius) is named after him.March was called after Mars because that was whenthe soldiers started fighting again after winter. He was a god of spring, growth in nature, andfertility, and the protector of cattle.

MARS GOD OF WAR Mars is portrayed as a warrior in fullbattle armor, wearing a crestedhelmet and bearing a shield. His sacred animals are the wolf andthe woodpecker, and he isaccompanied by Fuga and Timor, thepersonifications of flight and fear Mars held a special place in Roman life becauseof the importance of military achievement in theRoman Empire who conquered Northern Africaand much of Europe and the Middle East.

MINERVAGODDESS OF WISDOM Daughter of Jupiter Her symbol was the owl. The Roman goddess of wisdom, medicine, the arts,dyeing, science, trade, and war.As Minerva or “Medica” she is the patroness ofphysicians.Minerva is believed to be the inventor of numbers andmusical instruments.

MINERVAGODDESS OF WISDOM ROMAN MYTH: She had a strange birth. One day, Jupiter had a badheadache. Nothing would cure it. Eventually Vulcan split open Jupiter'shead. Out jumped Minerva in amour with shield and spear! ROMAN MYTH: Minerva was the goddess of arts and crafts. She wasparticularly good at weaving. Once a woman called Arachne wove abeautiful picture. Minerva tried to find something wrong with it. When shecouldn't, she tore it up and turned Arachne into a spider. The spider stillweaves beautiful webs. ROMAN MYTH: Minerva helped the hero Perseus to kill the gorgon Medusa.Minerva told Perseus to look at Medusa's reflection in a polished shield.That way he could cut the head off without looking directly at the gorgon.He gave the head to Minerva, who put it on her shield, so it would turn herenemies to stone.

VENUS GODDESS OF LOVE Daughter of JupiterMother of CupidVenus was born in the sea and first came to shore at Cyprus,floating on a scallop shell with “For the Fairest" written on aGolden Apple.ROMAN MYTH: Venus, Juno & Minerva all wanted to be named themost beautiful. They decided to let a mortal man, Paris, judge.They were all so beautiful that he couldn't make his mind up. TheGoddess tried to bribe him: Juno said she would make himpowerful, Minerva said she would make him wise and Venusoffered him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Hechose Venus and her gift. Unfortunately, Helen was married tosomeone else, and when Paris carried her off to his home at Troy,her husband came with his allies to get her back. Paris and all hisfamily were killed and Troy was destroyed. Many famous storieswere written about Helen of Troy.

CUPID GOD OF LOVE Son of VenusEnglish word: “Cupidity” means greediness.mischievous His weapon was a bow, and anyone hit byone of his arrows fell madly in love. ROMAN MYTH: Cupid once scratched himself with one of his own arrowsby mistake. He was looking at a woman called Psyche, and fell in lovewith her. He knew that his mother Venus would be angry, so he hidPsyche away and told her that she must never try to look at him. Psychethought that she had been captured by a hideous monster, and, ofcourse, couldn't resist taking a peep. She was enchanted by the firstsight of her handsome husband, and while playing with his arrows,scratched herself as well. So now they were both desperately in love witheach other. Venus drove Psyche away, and she had many adventuresbefore she was allowed to stay with Cupid, and Venus became reconciledto being a mother-in-law!

APOLLO GOD OF THE SUN Son of Jupiter, Twin Brother of Diana Each day he drove his chariot of fieryhorses across the sky to give light tothe world. God of music and played the lyre His most famous temple was at Delphiin Greece. Know as God of Prophesy,his priestess would prophesize thefuture.

APOLLO GOD OF THE SUNApollo had a son called Phaethon, who was human.Phaethon nagged at Apollo to let himborrow the sun chariot and flyacross the sky. Finally, Apolloagreed.Phaethon proudly drove the sun chariot upinto the sky, but then he lost control of thehorses. The sun chariot dived towards theearth, burning everything. Finally, Jupiterhad to stop him with a thunder bolt.

DIANADaughter of Jupiter Twin Sister of Apollo Carried a bow and arrows Goddess of the Moon & Hunting Helped women in child-birth, because her mother,Leto, gave birth to her and her twin brother soeasily. Roman Myth: Once she was bathing in a forestpool and a hunter, Actaeon, spied on her. Aspunishment, Diana turned him into a stag and hewas chased by his own hunting dogs.

MERCURY MESSENGE OF THE GODS Son of Jupiter and Goddess MaiaGod of thieves and travelers.God of science and businessWore a winged hat and sandals so he could fly.He carried a staff which also has wings andtwo snakes winding round it.ROMAN MYTH: When he was only a few days old, he stole thecows of Apollo. Mercury made special shoes for the cows andmade them walk backwards, so no one could follow theirtracks. Apollo noticed Mercury was playing a musicalinstrument, a lyre, strung with cow-gut. He realized Mercuryhad stolen his cows. Apollo was furious with Mercury, butagreed that Mercury could keep the cows if Apollo kept thethe lyre.“Mercurial” means light-hearted and active.

VULCAN THE SMITH GODSon of Jupiter Vulcan was the smith of the gods He made Jupiter‟s thunderbolts. God of the Volcano, his smithy wasin the volcano Etna, in Sicily,where you can see fire from his forge. ROMAN MYTH: Once, he made Jupiter angry, andJupiter threw him out of Heaven. Vulcan fell toEarth and broke both legs, which made him lame. He made women of gold to help him in his smithy- possibly the first robots!

BACCHUS GOD OF WINE Son of Jupiter God of the Theatre He was accompanied byMaenads, or wild dancingwomen. They carried the thyrsus,a staff of giant fennel, coveredwith ivy leaves, with a pine coneon top.

JANUS GOD OF DOORS Janus kept the gate of Heaven,so he became the god of doors and gates. He was very important, because a house is only as strong asits doors. His temple in Rome had its doors thrown open in times of War,and closed in times of Peace. They were usually open! TheEmperor Augustus closed the doors of the temple, since hebrought peace to the Roman Empire. Janus had two faces, one looking forwards and one lookingback, since a door can let you in, or let you out. The first month of the year is named after him. In January, welook back at the last year, and forward to the next.