Name
Jupiter
Description of the Roman Gods
The Romans loved to tell stories about the magical family who ruled the heavens. The Romans truly believed that their gods
could interfere in their lives, to help or hinder them.
According to ancient Roman myth, Jupiter was the king of all the gods. Jupiter had two brothers and three sisters. When
Saturn, their father, died, the boys - Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto - divided the world up between themselves. Jupiter took all of
the heavens, Neptune took the sea, and Pluto took the underworld. Each was quite content with their selection.
Jupiter, the Roman god, was the god supreme. He ruled heaven and earth and all life. Jupiter listened to his various advisors;
especially the other gods who made up the Council of 12; he might even assign one of the other gods to make a decision, but
the final word was his.
Jupiter was married to his sister, Juno, and had a whole bunch of kids. Jupiter was very fond of all his children. Each of his
children had special magical powers. He could throw lightning bolts. His flying horse, Pegasus, carried his lightning bolts for
him.
Juno
Juno was married to Jupiter. She was the queen of all the gods, and also the goddess of marriage, worshipped as a housewife
and mother and matron. Although Juno watched over all Roman women, her special concern was Roman married women.
Juno's temples were mostly in Rome. Every March 1st, there was a big festival in ancient Rome, to honor Juno. It was a very
serious affair. Roman women counted on Juno to watch out for them. Still, even the best of wives get jealous now and then.
Neptune
Neptune was the Lord of the Sea. His brothers were Jupiter - the king of all the gods, and Pluto - the king of the underworld.
Neptune was a good looking fellow. He had deep blue eyes and streaming green hair. He was a restless fellow, always on the
move.
Neptune was very powerful. He could raise his hand and a new island would appear! People were terrified of Neptune,
especially those who lived in coastal towns. The ancient built temples to honor Neptune. They brought special gifts to the
temple every day, hoping to keep him happy. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. Neptune was very moody.
Ceres
Jupiter, the king of all the Roman gods, had three sisters. Hera, his wife and sister, was the goddess of marriage and the queen
of all the gods.
Vesta, another of his sisters, was a much loved goddess by the woman of Rome - Vesta was the goddess of home and hearth.
Minerva
His third sister, Ceres, was in charge of the harvest. If Ceres was upset, the crops could die. Everyone, gods and mortals,
worked hard to keep Ceres happy. What made her the happiest was enjoying the company of her daughter, Proserpine.
Minerva She had a strange birth. One day, Jupiter had a bad headache. Nothing would cure it. Eventually Vulcan split open
Jupiter's head. Out jumped Minerva in armour with shield and spear! Jupiter felt much better afterwards.
Jupiter loved all his children, but if he had to pick a favorite, it would probably have been Minerva, the goddess of wisdom.
Minerva was the goddess of arts and crafts. She was particularly good at weaving. Once a woman called Arachne wove a
beautiful picture. Minerva tried to find something wrong with it. When she couldn't, she tore it up and turned Arachne into a
spider. The spider still weaves beautiful webs.
Minerva was a powerful force, and one of the deities who made up the Dei Consentes, the Roman Council of 12 gods.
Apollo
Apollo and Diana were twins. They were the magical children of Jupiter and Latona. Apollo and his sister, Diana, adored their
mother. Apollo, especially, was very protective of his mother.
Apollo was the god of the sun, of music, of light. His twin sister Diana was the goddess of the moon and the hunt.
Diana
Diana was the daughter of Jupiter and Leto. She was Apollo's twin sister.
Diana was very different from her brother. It took a lot to get Apollo angry. He was usually gentle and full of warmth.
But Diana was nearly always cold and pitiless. The only thing Diana loved besides her family were her floppy-eared dogs.
Diana was the goddess of the hunt and of the moon.
Mars
Mars was the son of Jupiter and Juno. Nobody liked him much, not the gods and not the mortals.
Mars was tall and handsome, and mean and self-centered. His sidekick, Discordia, the spirit of disagreement, traveled
everywhere with him.
In Roman mythology, Mars did not care who won or lost a battle. He just liked to see bloodshed. Most of the other gods
stayed as far away from Mars as possible. He only caused trouble.
Venus
His Latin name, Mars, gave us the word "martial."
Some say Venus' parents were unknown, and that she was born of sea foam. Others, like the poet Homer, said she was the
daughter of the mighty Jupiter, king of all the gods.
However she was born, Venus was the goddess of love and beauty. She was an essential element of many ancient myths.
Legend says that Venus could be kind or merciless. To be fair to Venus, she was not at all like Mars, the god of war. Mars
loved to cause pain and havoc. Venus only caused havoc accidentally, or if you did something that truly angered her.
For example, if you believe the old myths, it was not a quarrel over land or goods, but was instead Venus' vanity that caused
the Trojan War.
Vulcan
Vulcan was the son of Juno and Jupiter. He was born with a limp.
Just the same, Vulcan was married (and deeply loved) by Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.
Vulcan is the Roman god of fire and forge. He was always making things.
Like all Romans, he was a great builder. He made all the homes, palaces actually, for the top 12 gods in the heavens
Bacchus
His Latin name, Vulcan, gave us the word "volcano."
Bacchus was the god of wine. He was also the god of the theatre, since the first plays in Greece were performed in his honour.
There were tragedies, serious stories about heroes and gods, and comedies, which laughed at politicians and were often very
rude!
Mercury
Jupiter was the king of all the gods. And Mercury was his youngest son.
Even as young boy, Mercury was incredibly mischievous. He stole Venus' girdle. He borrowed Diana's arrows. He played with
Mars' spear without permission. But he was so charming and fun and funny that he was forgiven every time. He was the
universal favorite of all the gods.
Even as a baby, Jupiter could tell that Mercury was going to be a whole lot of fun to have around. He liked his son Mercury
very much.
Jupiter wanted Mercury to have an important job in the world of the Greek gods. Mercury was fast on his feet and very clever.
Jupiter decided he would make a wonderful messenger.
Things were always going on in the mythical world. The job of messenger to the gods allowed Mercury to have the inside
scoop on just about everything. It is no wonder that there are probably more myths that include Mercury than any other god.
The other gods trusted Mercury. Mercury had a true warmth. He was playful enough to be interesting. He was very bright and
very loyal. He was the best negotiator in the world. He was always cracking deals to get himself and others out of trouble.
Vesta
Vesta was the goddess of hearth and home. She was Jupiter's sister. She had three famous brothers, actually - Jupiter, Neptune,
and Pluto. She had two very famous sisters - Juno, queen of the gods, and Ceres, queen of the harvest.
You would think there would be lots of myths about such an important goddess. But there are not a lot of myths about
Vesta. Still, she was quite important to the women in ancient times. Every day, when the women gathered in the central
courtyard of their homes to do their sewing and cooking, they knew that Vesta was keeping watch over them.
Cupid
Vesta was not, perhaps, as important a goddess in ancient Rome as she was in ancient Greece. Roman women had far more
freedom, especially under the empire. But both Roman and Greek women took comfort in Vesta.
Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.
When Cupid shot his little arrows into an unwary victim, that victim fell in love with the very next person they saw! You
would not think the gods would need help falling in love, as they seemed to do that all the time. But his arrows worked on
mortals as well as deities, which, according to myth, caused the Romans all kinds of trouble!
Pluto
Pluto and Jupiter and Neptune were three very powerful gods. They were also brothers.
Way back when their father, the might Saturn, died, and the brothers first divided up the world, Jupiter took the sky, Neptune
took the sea, and Pluto took the underworld. In time, Jupiter became the king of all the gods. Neptune married happily. As for
Pluto, he was quite was content, living in the Underworld.
Pluto was NOT the lord of death. His job was to run the Underworld. He was a good ruler. Parts of the Underworld, where
heroes dwelled after they died, were very nice. Parts were not so nice. Those were for people who were not so nice during
their lifetime.
You might think Pluto would be terribly lonely, surrounded by the souls of the dead. But he wasn't lonely. Not at all. Unless
they were in a lot of trouble with the gods, souls didn't stay around forever. They were reborn and sent back to earth. And,
Pluto had visitors. His brother Jupiter visited, as did his nephews Apollo, Mercury, and Mars. As well, Pluto came up to the
surface now and then, if he had to be on Mount Olympus for a meeting of the gods or something. The thing was, Pluto
preferred the Underworld. It was home.
Hercules
All the gods knew that Hercules was half man and half god. His mother was a mortal. But his father was a king - the king of
all the gods, the mighty Jupiter. But Hercules did not know he was part god until he had grown into a man.
Juno, Jupiter' wife, was very jealous of Hercules. She tried all kinds of ways to kill him, including sending a couple of really
big snakes into his crib. He was just a baby, but Hercules crushed those snakes and barely noticed. Hercules was incredibly
strong, magically strong, even as a baby!
Jupiter admired strength. He loved his little son. He figured that sooner or later, Juno might actually find a way to kill little
Hercules. To keep Hercules safe from attack, Jupiter sent him to live with a mortal family on earth.
Hercules grew up loved and noble. But he didn't fit in on earth. He was too big and too strong. One day, his earth father told
him he was a god, well, part god anyway.
The rest of the story of Hercules is a series of stories, tasks, and adventures, as Hercules earned his way into the heavens, to
take his place with the gods.