Roman And Greek Gods

Roman gods originated from the Greek culture, obtaining many aspects and qualities of their origninal counterparts, but of course the names of most gods were changed.

However i have heard that thats many gods were still known by the Greek names, for example Zeus (Jupiter/Jove), Hades (Pluto) etc.

I was just wondering, why were the Gods re-named when they were still known by the original Greek names?

Also I havnt heard of a large number of these gods that were actually different in anyway from the Greeks ones, the ones i have heard of include Minerva/Athena

From what i know, Minerva was goddess of Wisdom, while Athena was goddess of Wisdom and War.

Any help, quotes and links would be greatly appreciated.. but while books are good im not sure if i would be able to get my hands on them

Thanks ^_^

This is one of the most common misconceptions about the Romans, because they teach it like some fanatical mantra in the school system.

While it is true that the Romans adopted a number of aspects of the Greek polytheistic culture, you can find a similar spread of god types across a great many cultures in the Mediterranean. The Romans did not simply 'take' Greek gods. They developed them on their own, they borrowed from Etruscans, they borrowed from Phoenicians, the borrowed from Celts, they borrowed from Greeks, and undoubtedly there was a reciprocal borrowing from these cultures from indigenous Italic cultures.

The polytheism and god types is a widespread Mediterranean phenomenon and not so simply explained.

Hmm i though I heard something recently I wasn't sure,

Thanks alot ^_^

Roman gods originated from the Greek culture, obtaining many aspects and qualities of their origninal counterparts, but of course the names of most gods were changed.

 

However i have heard that thats many gods were still known by the Greek names, for example Zeus (Jupiter/Jove), Hades (Pluto) etc.

 

I was just wondering, why were the Gods re-named when they were still known by the original Greek names?

 

Also I havnt heard of a large number of these gods that were actually different in anyway from the Greeks ones, the ones i have heard of include Minerva/Athena

 

From what i know, Minerva was goddess of Wisdom, while Athena was goddess of Wisdom and War.

 

Any help, quotes and links would be greatly appreciated.. but while books are good im not sure if i would be able to get my hands on them

 

Thanks ^_^

The same can be said of the Greeks. A few Gods of the Greeks were before the Greeks and incorporated. Dionysos and Apollo in this regard. In regard to Dionysos, (of which people generally think a God of wine etc, he had other forms as well, including a traveller to the far lands of the East and a conqueor like Heracles,), he is shown Linear B tablets of the Minioans and so he was well established and known before the arrival of 'the Greeks'. Another example is of Apollo, who is said to have come down with the Indo-Europeans during the early Dark Ages of Greece and came along with the Dorians and the 'Sons of Heracles' to reclaim thier ancestral lands, Apollo was said to accompany them and when he arrived at Delphi, which was a shrine and temple to the Earth Goddess Gaia and her Daughter Snakes, Apollo slayed the snakes and defeated the goddess and took the site for his own. Arcahic Greece has shown to be filled with many female deities and suddenly they vanish, this may be an explanation, of course these are the myths of the return of the Dorians.

Thankyou for this information, ive never heard anything about the begginings of Greek myths and infact i thought they were all original and not adopted.

You've shed some light to me on the subject

Polytheist cultures have a habit of borrowing each other's gods. Polytheism is basically a set of related cults of various gods, who are linked to each other loosely through the agency of mythology and epic poetry.

In Greece, gods from the Indo-Europeans and Orientals collided with with the gods of whatever native peoples were already living there. Poets like Homer and Hesiod developed an epic oral tradition that related these gods to each other by seeing Zeus the chief god as the Father or Brother of all the other gods.

Favonius, Neos & Ursus are quite right in saying its not that easily explained.

Certainly the origins of many of these Gods are so clouded by antiquity that it makes it impossible to say for certain if they were worshipped in some form since the Neolithic then spread around the Mediterranean and to the continent subsequently or if they were truly local inventions of the Bronze Age that evolved again by the classical period.

For good reasons I definitely feel it

So what all of you are suggesting is that the Romans did not just get the gods from the Greeks, but that they are all very closely linked and connected with other gods including the Greek ones, but also ones from earleir civilizations and cultures?

So what all of you are suggesting is that the Romans did not just get the gods from the Greeks, but that they are all very closely linked and connected with other gods including the Greek ones, but also ones from earleir civilizations and cultures?

Thats right.

Its a generalization though. For each particular god or groups of gods you have to hunt down their origins and connections. Then there are some fairly consistant god types, such as a supreme god, a god of the oceans, a god of the harvest and so on.

Hmm...I guess I'll have to go in depth on this subject in my report when I finally get around to writing it (I have two study halls every day in school starting tomorrow, so lots of free time!)

I find it interesting to note that the ancient pagan gods (of any pantheon it seems) had to deal with pretty much day-to-day matters just as if they were humans, as well as humans looking to them for help. So the development of the gods would depend largely on everyday things, climate and weather patterns specifically, but also some other things. This would cause the beliefs to vary, possibly even from one part of Rome or Greece to the other (of course once Rome was pretty much unified this would likely change however individual "parts" would still retain some individuality of religion. Greece, since it was seperated into city-states and not really unified, would remain much more individual). Celtic gods have a distinctly "Celtic" feel about them, Roman have a Roman "feel" and characteristics, etc. Also, different sects of society had slightly differing religions (this is where the "cults" come in, such as the Cult of Mithras)