The Romans imagined that the gods were superpowers and protective spirits, but after coming into
contact with the civilization of ancient Greece in the 6th century BC, they began to represent
their gods in human form.
This explains the fact that Roman mythology is not as authentic as Greek mythology.
Let's see how the Romans copied the Greek gods, what common elements they have, and
what differences exist.
Juno vs Hera
Juno was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state.
She was equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology.
Even Juno was the wife of Jupiter and was the Queen of the Gods in the Roman Pantheon,
she is not quite the same as Hera when it comes to her personality.
Hera is often portrayed as being very vindictive and someone who shows no mercy to those who
wrong her, including women and children.
However, Juno is shown to be a much more loving goddess, full of grace and nonviolence.
Neptune vs Poseidon
Neptune is the god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion.
He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon.
Poseidon is depicted solely with a trident as the God of the Sea.
This went for water in general, but he was mainly known for his sea title.
Something that he is a little less known for is being the God of Earthquakes and Horses
as well.
Neptune is almost a caricature of Poseidon.
Originally he was seen as the God of Freshwater, which is much different than the Sea the Poseidon
rules over.
However, by 399 BC he was closely associated with Poseidon.
Venus vs Aphrodite
Venus is the roman goddess of love and the most beautiful Goddess from the Roman Pantheon.
Her counterpart in Greek mythology is the famous Aphrodite.
But even Venus is clearly a copy after Aphrodite, there is a difference between the two goddesses:
Aphrodite is only regarded as a goddess of love, beauty and sexuality whereas Venus is
also perceived as goddess of vegetation, fertility and a patroness of prostitutes.
Jupiter vs Zeus
Jupiter is the top god of the Roman pantheon.
He is also known as Jove and is the god of sky and thunder, as well as the king of gods
in Ancient Roman Mythology.
Jupiter is the equivalent god of Zeus in Roman mythology.
There are no actual differences between Zeus and Jupiter.
They have the same attributes.
Zeus is Jupiter.
Vulcan vs Hephaestus
Vulcan is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, deserts, metalworking and the
forge in ancient Roman religion and myth.
His equivalent in Greek mythology is Hephaestus.
They practically represent the same god with the same attributes just that their stories
differ a bit:
Hephaestus's father is unknown but Vulcan's father is known (Jupiter).
Also, Hephaestus worked in his forge alone but Vulcan made women of gold to help him.
The last difference is that Vulcan creates Jupiter's lightning bolts but Hephaestus just
creates weapons and other tools.
Zeus received his lighting bolts from the Cyclops as a gift after he released them from
Cronus prison.
Diana vs Artemis
Diana, in Roman religion, is the goddess of wild animals and the hunt, identified with
the Greek goddess Artemis.
Like her Greek counterpart, she was also a goddess of domestic animals and hunting.
They are incredibly similar to each other.
Pluto vs Hades
The Romans had Pluto as a god of the underworld.
His counterpart in Greek mythology is the more famous Hades, also the god of the underworld.
They copied even the story behind his stolen bride, and also her name is very close to
the original one from Greek myths: Proserpina in Roman mythology and Persephone in Greek
mythology.
But even though they had many similarities, they had one major major difference and that
was that Pluto was also the god of wealth because of the minerals that were found under
the earth, and the Romans decided that he will be fit to be the god of these too.
Mars vs Ares
Mars was the Roman incarnation of Ares, the Greek god of war.
Despite the fact the Romans also copied him off the Greeks, as most of their deities,
they did have a few differences.
Ares wasn’t very popular among the Greeks.
He represented the bloody carnage in war rather than heroism in war, and as such he was a
suspicious figure to the Greeks.
Ares is usually only a minor character in Greek myths, to the extent he appears at all.
When he does he usually ends up being humiliated or humbled.
It’s no secret that the Romans were a sight more bloodthirsty than their Greek counterparts,
and Mars became one of their most important deities.
He was second only to Jupiter.
Perhaps surprisingly, he was also the god of agriculture (taking over duties from the
Greek goddess Demeter), reflecting the role of soldiers in farming in Roman society.
While Ares was considered a destructive force, Mars during the middle years of the Roman
Empire began to represent the Pax Romana and the peace that Rome enjoyed.
He was particularly important to the Romans as the mythical father of Romulus and Remus,
the founders of the city of Rome.
Mercury vs Hermes
The Roman God Mercury is a copy of the Greek Hermes, and did not evolve from a local character,
though speculations have been made that he might be linked to the Etruscan god Turms.
Since we know so little about the Etruscan gods, we can link them anyway we want.
Instead of morphing from one god, Mercury emerged from several – the so-called Dei
Lucrii, a group of minor Roman deities of commerce, trade, and other lucrative activities.
Both are known to be messengers of gods .But Hermes is also the god of thieves and travellers
where as Mercury is only messenger of gods.
So Hermes and Mercury are similar to an extent but not exactly the same.
APOLLO
Apollo was one of the few gods that the Romans kept the same name.
In Greek mythology, he was most widely known as the god of light.
Within Roman mythology, he wasn't known as much as the god of light and was focused mainly
as the god of healing and prophecy.
Minerva vs Athena
Minerva, in Roman mythology, is the counterpart goddess of Athena the Goddess of Wisdom, Reason
and war in Greek mythology.
They mainly had the same attributes, but there was also a major difference between them:
Minerva was not considered a war goddess in Roman Mythology.
The Roman had their own war goddess, Bellona, that they worshipped instead.
Bellona was entirely Roman and was not connected to the Greeks.
Bacchus vs Dionysus
Originally Dionysus was the Greek god of fertility.
Later, he came to be known chiefly as the god of wine and pleasure.
The Romans called him Bacchus.
While the two gods are functionally the same, certain specifics about each one differs.
This is most broadly seen in how they're interpreted today.
Dionysus is seen as a jovial, respectful figure in myth and classical literature.
He is even included among the 12 Olympians in certain readings, his cult being instrumental
in the development of theatre in Greece.
Bacchus, on the other hand, is often seen as a debaucherous partier, the Romans even
inventing the word bakkheia to refer to the drunken frenzy he was said to induce in his
followers.
His cult also painted him as a much more vengeful god, using his thyrsus staff as equal parts
magic wand and a weapon to destroy those who opposed the cult and its ideals of freedom.
I hope you liked the video and I hope that you learned new things about the resemblances
and differences between the Roman and Greek Gods.
If you know other Roman Gods that have counterparts in Greek mythology please tell us about them
in the comments below.
Thanks for watching, and don’t forget to like and subscribe to be notified when new
videos arrive.
Yours Truly,
Mythos, The Historian