THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR BELIEFS, DOCTRINES AND RELIGIONS
3. ROMAN RELIGION.
.
.
Estimated year of creation of the Roman religion: It is not possible to trace the exact origins of the Roman religion and its transformation after the fall of the Empire of Alexander the Great, since there are no sufficiently reliable archaeological data and documents, however, the origins mythical mark them around 2,000 BC
Headquarters / Capital in the world: Rome.
Number of faithful around the world: Unknown.
Main gods of the Roman religion: Jupiter and Juno.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Main symbol of the Roman religion:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
SPQR is the acronym of a famous phrase that synthesizes the power of Rome: "Senatus PopulusQue Romanus" that is to say Senate and People of Rome. These four words were part of the city from the republican era until the IV century of our era, when the Christian symbols of the cross or the interlaced Greek letters "X P" that symbolized Christ, began to be coined in the numismatic backs.
.
Main books of the Roman religion:
.
Main deities of the Roman religion: Multiple gods were worshiped in Rome. Many of them were typical of Roman mythology, but there were also many incorporated from other mythologies, mainly the Greek, so that the Romans practically adopted them as their own, only changing their name to Latin.
The Romans developed a highly elaborate system of temples, rites, and priests and upheld divine intervention in the founding of Rome . The primitive Roman religion was modified and expanded as territories were conquered. The conquered local gods were frequently adopted as their own and even invited to move to Rome .
.
List of the main gods of Rome
.
.
Bacchus in Rome or Dionysus in Greece is known as the Roman god of wine, of ecstasy. Son of the god Zeus ( Jupiter ) and the human Semele. He is usually depicted raising a glass of wine or carrying a bunch of grapes. Its origin is not clear and the Greeks themselves considered it to come from a distant country.
To know more about Bacchus ...
.
.
Diana in Rome or Artemis in Greece is the hunting goddess, armed with a bow. She was also considered the goddess of the Moon. She was considered the daughter of Jupiter and Latona and the twin sister of Phoebus . She always remained young and a virgin, a concession from her father. That is why it was considered a representative of chastity
.
.
Phoebus in Rome or Apollo in Greece, son of Jupiter and brother of Diana , was one of the most revered gods in Rome. Impulsive, only his father was able to stop him. He was depicted as a strong, young, naked man who could carry a quiver with arrows or a lyre. His oracle at Delphi was famous
To know more about Phoebus ...
.
.
Juno in Rome or Hera in Greece, was the wife of Jupiter and was part of the Capitoline Triad.
.
Together with Jupiter he headed the Roman pantheon. She is the mother of Mars , Vulcan and Lucina. She was the Roman goddess of motherhood and women entrusted her with their protection.
To learn more about Juno ...
.
.
Jupiter in Rome or Zeus in Greece is the main Roman god being his maximum protector and from whom the power emanated.
.
He is the son of Saturn whom he dethroned and of Ops.
He is usually represented with a scepter, a thunderbolt or an eagle.
The main temple dedicated to Jupiter was the one built on the Capitoline Hill, the Temple of Jupiter Optimum Maximus, which dates from approximately 509 BC.
To know more about Jupiter ...
.
.
Mars in Rome or Ares in Greece was the god of war who protected from enemies and led the army to victory.
.
Son of Jupiter and Juno was represented as a warrior with armor, helmet and a spear in hand.
He was considered the father of Romulus and therefore also of all the Romans.
To know more about Mars ...
.
.
Mercury in Rome or Hermes in Greece was the messenger and protector god of merchants and travelers, shepherds and flocks.
His cult is an influence from Greek mythology. He was the son of Jupiter and Maia Maiestas.
To know more about Mercury ...
.
.
Minerva in Rome or Athena in Greece was the goddess of arts, craftsmen and wisdom. Also of the arts of war and protector of Rome.
She was the daughter of Jupiter and is usually represented with a helmet, spear and shield.
To know more about Minerva ...
.
.
Neptune in Rome or Poseidon in Greece was the god of the seas and waters, and was always characterized with his horses and his trident. He was the eldest son of Saturn and Ops. It was capable of causing storms, tempests and earthquakes. All aquatic living beings owed him homage.
To know more about Neptune ...
.
.
Pluto in Rome or Hades in Greece son of Saturn and Ops, was the god of the underworld, of the underworld and the dead. For this reason he was especially feared and respected since all living beings ended up forever in his domain. No one ever rebelled against him.
To know more about Pluto ...
.
.
Venus in Rome or Aphrodite in Greece was the goddess of fertility, love, and beauty. She is frequently depicted as the "apple of discord." Its cult was very extensive and fundamental in the Roman festivities.
To know more about Venus ...
.
.
Vulcan in Rome or Hephaestus in Greece was the god of fire and the creator of the weapons of the gods and heroes. He married Venus but she was unfaithful to Mars . He is usually depicted as an older, strong, lame, and unpleasant-looking man.
To know more about Vulcano ...
.
Basic principles of Roman religion:
.
For the Romans , religion was first and foremost fear of the supernatural. In Rome, religion had two aspects: one public, the state worship, and the other private, the worship of family members. As in Greece , religion was not a matter of personal religiosity; Rather, it was of a contractual nature: the gods were honored in exchange for their protection. In principle, they lacked images, temples and doctrines, although rites were instituted to attract the favor of the gods. The Roman pantheon was created influenced by the Greek and Etruscan. The gods are almost the same, although they change their names. The cult of the dead led to the deification of kings, and later emperors.
.
To understand the Roman religion it is important to understand that for them it did not imply the assumption of a philosophy, a morality and a life program (which is what we understand today, after the influence of Christianity or Islam ), but the participation in the rites . The religious man was the one who participated in the rite (not the believer), in this way it is explained that in Rome all the religions of the Empire settled, since they did not modify individual beliefs, but allowed to participate in their celebrations. This also explains why emperors became gods, that is, instituted rites in their honor. Saving the distances we can understand this if we look at our current society, and see how foreign customs are imported, such as the celebration of the Chinese New Year, or Halloween in a country like Spain , or the celebration of Christmas with symbols every time less attached to local traditions.
.
The Romans worshiped a large number of gods. The most revered were Jupiter , Minerva and Juno . In his honor they built temples and offered animal sacrifices.
.
The emperor was worshiped as a god and imperial worship was practiced throughout the Empire.
.
The Romans also worshiped, at home, the protective gods of the home and family: in each house there was an altar dedicated to these gods.
.
In addition, the Romans were very superstitious and, before making a decision, they consulted the will of the gods, expressed through oracles .
.
Small description of the Roman religion.
.
Roman religion was based on practices such as sacrifices and rituals aimed at establishing the link between gods and men so that they could obtain their favor. It was not a revealed religion with definite dogmas or an institution to which to affiliate; rituals were the center of practice, not belief, what was important was everyone's participation, which helped to strengthen the communal and cohesive character of religion in society. In Rome, the state religious apparatus was represented by religious magistrates such as the various priests gathered in colleges headed by the maximum pontiff, who together with the flamines, the pontiffs and the vestals formed the religious structure. Other actors were the augurs who took care of the religious formalities in the assemblies to ensure that the procedures were adequate and that the supernatural signs indicated divine approval. For their part, the haruspices interpreted the livers of the sacrificed animals to see if they were favorable. The quindecimviri were the guardians of the sibylline books and provided ritual recommendations, their basic function being to seek divine consent and suggest rites to obtain or win it again. 1 It is worth noting that religious practices were not the monopoly of the magistrates, since they were public officials who owed their position to their social prestige, which was reaffirmed thanks to the exercise of religious magistracies that, although they were not part of the of the cursus honorum of the most important political figures, they were a source of reputation. The heads of families were in charge of family worship and anyone could make sacrifices and worship their preferred god; the Romans were tolerant regarding the acceptance of other gods and cults, as long as it did not bring problems or disturbances like the Bacchanalia of 186 BC. C., or practices that were believed excessive such as human sacrifices were carried out. 2 These magistrates were in charge of the correct execution of the rituals that the Roman people as a whole gave to their gods, which had a fairly marked state and collective character, in order to maintain good relations with the gods.
.
Reference:
.
https://es.marenostrum.info/index.php?title=Principales_dioses_romanos
http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0185-30582009000100009
.
.
