Ancient Roman Mythology
By: Kristyn, Misha, and Selina
How did the God’s come to be?
• “ In the begining there was a deep nothingness known as Chaos. The
out of this dark, empty space, two powerful beings slowly emerged”
• Gaia (motherly goddes of earth)
• Tartarus (Ruler of the underground)
• Eros (god of love) emerged next and created a hunsband for Gaia :
Uranus
• Gaia and Uranus had many children:
• 12 + 3 Cyclopes, 3 monsters
How did the God’s come to be?
• Uranus hated the sight of his children
• Cronus one of the 12 titans overthrew him and beame the new ruler
of the earth and sky
• Cronus married Rhea
• He had been told that of of his children would kill him so he
decided to kill all of his children at birth
• Rhea asked her mother Gaia for help
• Gaia took Rhea and to the island of crete where the baby was born
Rhea gave Cronus a bundle of rocks which he ate
convinced it was his last child, Jupiter.
How did the God’s come to be?
• Jupiter learned of his father and when old enough decided to take
revenge
• Jupiter posioned him
• Cronus began to choke then clutched his stomach and roared
• He vomited up first a massive stone, then the rest of his children
• Poseidon, Pluto, Juno, Vesta, and ceres (the new gods with
zeus as their leader)
• Jupiter created a kingdom on top of Mount Olympus. The olympians
also included gods Apollo, Mars, Mercury, Minerva, Diana and Venus
The Gods of Rome
• Jupiter
• Master of the gods
• God of the sky (thunder
and lightning)
• Symbols: Thunderbolt,
Eagle, Oak
The Gods of Rome
• Juno
• Queen of the Gods
• Goddess of women and
childbirth
• Symbols: Pomegrante,
Peacock
The Gods of Rome
• Mars
• God of war
• Agricultural guardian
• Second in command to Zeus
• Symbol:
The Gods of Rome
• Venus
• Goddess of love and
beauty
• Mother of Cupid
• Symbol:
The First Humans
• Zeus tried to make humans 4 times
• The Golden Age: Did absolutely nothing, eventually died but
spirits live on
• The Silver age : Men more like animals --> destroyed by
Jupiter
• The Bronze age: Smart but loved fighting. Killed each other
off
The First Humans
• The Heroic Age: SUCESSFUL!
• Jupiter refused to humans them fire in fear they would
become too powerful
• Prometheus worked on the side of the humans :Fire,
Animal Sacrifice
• He was punished for these deeds with endless
tourcher
• Humans punished with the creation of The Women
(Pandora)
Pandora’s Box
• Jupiter gave pandora a golden box and told her never to open it since
she has given everything that she could possibly need
• Epimetheus was Pandora’s husband and was given the key to the box
• One night Pandora stole the key and opend the box
• Out of it came all the things that make people suffer
• Sickness, hatred, greed, poverty, jealousy, and distrust
• Pandora did not let hope out, making life bearable for humans
The Ultimate Holiday- New Years!
• The month of March, named after the Roman God of War, Mars, was filled
with festivals, celebrations fasts, and even bloodletting!
• One of the biggest festivals was THE FESTIVAL OF ANNA PERNNA to
celebrate the news years!
• The festival occurs on the Ides of March.
• The identity of Anna Pernna is unknown, however many speculate that
she is a personification of the new year.
• The festival includes drunk-ness and sexual and verbal freedoms typical
of carnivalesque holidays like Lupercalia.
• An example is the inversion of gender role
• The Romans even needed a holiday just to rest from all the activities in
march!
The Mundus is Opened: October 5
• One of three times a year when the Mundus (gate to the
underwolrd is opened)
• The dead may communicate with the living
• No public business could be preformed,
• No battle fought
• No ships set sail
• No marraiges
Rituals
• Roman rituals and festivals
are often longer than a
single day and could last up
to a week.
• Through out the year
Romans dedicated days to
honor each god.
During festivals slaves were
excused from laws and
restrictions
Rituals - Lupercalia (February 15)
• Lupericalia has roots to pre-Roman traditions
• In Rome the ritual was used to purify the people from curses, bad luck,
and infertility
• The fesival begins with the sacrifice of goats and dogs by two chosen
young men.
• After the sacrifice, the men wipe the blood on their forehead(to
symbolize human sacrifice) then wipe themselves clean with wool
dipped in milk.
• The young men dressed themself in the skin of the sacrificed goat
and proceeded to run around the city walls striking woman with the
thong wolf skin
• A strike was said to prevent infertility in women
The objective was to secure the fruitfulnes of the
land, the increase of the flock and the prosperity of
the whole people
Saturnalia
• December 17
• Like the Christian
Christmas it was
a serious day in
that it honored
saturn
• However also like
Christmas, it was
filled with
celebration that
lasted for a week!
Fire
•
Every Roman house had a sacred fire.
•
It was believed that the lit fire protected the
family and if the fire went out, terrible things
could happen to them.
•
Fire had to stay pure; no bad thing could be
done in the presence of the sacred fire.
•
Believed it to have the power to bring them
good health as well as protection.
•
In return, the Romans made offerings of
flowers, wine, victims, and fruit.
Birth (dies lustricus  day of purification)
• Naming of baby is far more important than birth of baby.
• Babies were given 3 names:
• Praenomen: First/Personal name
• Nomen: Clan of Child’s family
• Cognomen: Family Branch
• Ex: Marcus Tullius Cicero
Birth
• Bulla: locket that contained charms to ward off the power of evil.
• Gold  Wealthy, Leather  Poor
• Boys: only to remove bulla after receiving a toga.
• Toga signifies Roman citizenship
• Girls: only to remove on wedding day.
Marriage
• Confarratio: oldest and most sacred form of marriage
• Divorce was only an option for men incase of infertility or adultery.
• Man is master of woman
• Occurred in June-July
• Sacrifices for gods and wedding feasts
• Similar to any other festival of ancient roman religion.
Death
• Once a member of a family died, they became one of the
family deities.
• The family made many offerings to them and asked them for
protection.
• Ancient Roman Law: if you stepped on a tomb of someone
who wasn't in your family you must repent or the dead would
haunt you.
• A funeral was a requirement, or the spirits ignored and
punished families by causing pain and diseases until the
funeral was established
What happens when one dies?
• The soul begins the journey to the rivers styx.
• There the dead would be met by Charon the ferrymen.
• When someone died a coin would be placed in their mouth which
would then be given to Charon.
• After crossing the river, the dead passed Cerberus, a three headed
dog owned by the god of the underworld,
• The dog was believed to be a judge of character
• He would become ferocious to people who had committed
wrong doings in their lifetime.
What happens when one dies?
• The next stage was judgment
• There were three judges of life
• Usually, one would be given water from the River Lethe which the
Romans believed made a person forget their past life.
• Souls were then sent to different places based on their good or bad
deeds.
• Elysian Fields. This was a place for warriors and heros.
• It was generally believed that good Emperors also met their
final resting place here.
Resting Places Continued
• The Plain of Asphodel
• Good people lived as Shades.
• Tartarus was reserved for the evil.
• Punished until one had repaid their debt to society.
• The Romans did not adhere to the idea of a Hell but this
believe correlates with the dogma of Purgatory as adhered to
by the Roman Catholic Church.
• Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld Acted as a
reprieve .
• She would bribe for a specific soul to be sent back across the
Styx to life again
Rituals: Parentalia
• February 13-21:
Romans remember
their dead
• On the 21 of
February: Romans
visited cemeteries,
placed flowers, milk,
and wine on graves
• On the 22 of
February: Family
Reunions where
offerings were made
to household deities
Mithraism
• Mithras was a Persian God from the Zoroastrian pantheon
• Zoroastrianism is a Persian religion based on the balance of good and
evil
• Mithras was a helper and assistant to the power of good against the
power of evil
• Mithras was born from a rock
• His main service in the fight against evil was the slay of a bull created
by the evil lord.
• He killed the bull in a cave, and from its blood sprang all life
Mithras in Rome
• Mithraism came to Rome in the first century BCE and gained a
following from:
• soldiers, public servants and merchants.
• It peaked in the third century before being supressed along with
every other non-christian religion.
• Little is known about Mithraism and it is considered a
Mystery religion in which the meaning of its iconography
and rituals was a secrete known only to initates
Mithraism - What we know
• Member had to go through a seven step initiation
• Ceremonies and rituals were held in caves similar to the one where
Mithras was described killing the bull
• Mithraism is known almost entirely from physical artifacts and
dedicatory inscriptions.
• It is also mentioned in works by: Pultarch, Porphyry and Origen
• This religion shows that the Romans interacted and shared with
other cultures!
Cave Typically Used
for Ceremonies
Mithras Slitting the
Cow
Multiple Choice- Question 1
• All of the following were names of Jupiter’s attempt
to make humans EXCEPT
• The Bronze Age
• The Golden Age
• The Glorious Age
• The Heroic Age
Multiple Choice- Question 2
• What remained in Pandora’s Box
• Evil
• Hope
• Success
• Failure
Multiple Choice- Question 3
• The Festival if Anna Pernna was held on
• The Ides of December
• The Ides of February
• The Ides of March
• The Ides of June
Multiple Choice- Question 4
• According to the Romans the soul begins its journey to
what river after death?
• Styx
• Mars
• Charon
• Stones
Multiple Choice- Question 5
• In the Lupercalia ritual, what two animals are sacrificed?
• Goat and Pig
• Wolf and Dog
• Bird and Cat
• Goat and Dog
Works Cited
1.Gill, N.S. "Roman Burial Practices."Ancient/Classical History. The New York Times
Company, 2011. Web. 18 Sep 2011.
2.Bassette, D. "Religion in Ancient Rome." N.p., 04/19/2000. Web. 18 Sep 2011.
3.O'Connell, Amanda. "Paganism; Past & Present." Ancient Roman Religion. Oracle,
Somerset College, 1999. Web. 18 Sep. 2011.
4.Bytes, Bizarre. "A Halloween History."Bizarre Bytes. Bizarre Bytes, 18/10/2010. Web.
18 Sep 2011.
5.Stewart. Roman Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick, 1969. Print.
6.Bingham, Jane. Classical Myth: a Treasury of Greek and Roman Legends, Art, and
History. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2008. Print.
7. Hunt, Jenni. "Major Holidays of Rome October (Mensis October)." Major Holidays of
Rome October. A Druid Fellowship, Inc. Web. 18 Sep. 2011.