Dei Romani
The gods and
goddesses of
Olympus
Olympic gods
Iuppiter
omnipotens
Jupiter was the king of
gods and mortals. He had
many epithets. He was
called fulminator because
he hurled the thunderbolt
to subdue his enemies.
Zeus attacks a Titan
Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Jupiter, is about to hurl the
thunderbolt at one of the Titans during the war between the
Olympians and the Titans for supremacy on earth.
Jupiter was
the youngest
child of the
Titans
Saturn and
Ops.
Iuppiter
et Thetis
Jupiter loved many mortal women, but not Thetis, who was
destined to give birth to a child who would be more powerful
than the father. Thetis eventually became the mother of
Achilles but his father was Peleus, not Jupiter.
Zeus and Amalthea
Zeus was nourished in his infancy with milk from the goat
Amalthea.
Zeus’ oracle was at Dodona, in
Greece. His oracles (predictions
for the future) were revealed by
the rustling of oak leaves. The
oak tree was one of the symbols
of the god.
Bird omens were
very common
among the Greeks
and Romans.
Many of the gods
were associated
with specific
birds. The eagle
was the bird of
Jupiter.
Iuno was the
queen of the
gods, and both
the wife and
sister of
Iuppiter.
Juno’s bird was
the peacock,
whose tail
feathers were
decorated with
the eyes of
Argus.
Juno, although
she was the
goddess of
marriage, had a
very unhappy
marriage with
Jupiter, who often
had affairs with
other goddesses
and mortal
women.
Ceres, another sister of Jupiter, was
the goddess of grain and agriculture.
Ceres was called
Demeter by the
Greeks.
Vesta, the
oldest
Olympic
deity, was the
sister of
Jupiter and
goddess of
the hearth
and home.
Vesta, or Hestia to the
Greeks, was attended by
six Vestal Virgins in the
city of Rome. These
priestesses were charged
with guarding the sacred
flame which represented
the safety of the nation.
Vesta’s round
temple housed
this fire which
was said to have
been brought
from Troy by
Aeneas.
Pluto, or Hades to the Greeks,
was Jupiter’s brother who was
ruler of the Underworld, or
Erebus. The souls of all mortals
spent eternity in the Underworld.
Two of Pluto’s
symbols were the
three-headed guard
dog Cerberus and
the two-pronged
pitchfork, the
bident.
Neptunus, or Poseidon to
the Greeks, was another
of Jupiter’s brothers. He
was assigned command
over all waters after the
Olympians defeated the
Titans in their epic battle.
Neptune’s symbol
was the trident, a
three-pronged
pitchfork used by its
owner to cause
earthquakes.
Neptune’s wife and queen of the
sea was Amphitrite.
The six original Olympians
were: Iuppiter, Iuno, Ceres,
Vesta, Neptunus and Pluto.
The remaining Olympic gods
were the children of Jupiter and
his lovers.
Apollo
Apollo and Diana
were the twin
children of Jupiter
and Latona.
Phoebus was one of the epithets of
Apollo who was the god of the sun.
Phoebus means bright, shining.
Apollo was
also the god
of music,
healing and
truth. The
lyre was
one of his
symbols.
In Greek lore Apollo slew a monster
called the Python and established an
oracle at this site. His priestess was
called Pythia and the oracle was Delphi.
Apollo’s tree was
the laurel, the
existence of which
was the result of
an ill-fated love
between the god
and a nymph
named Daphne.
Rather than be
possessed by Apollo,
Daphne chose the fate
of being transformed
into the laurel tree.
Apollo forever wore a
laurel wreath on his
head to commemorate
his love for Daphne.
Diana was the
goddess of the
moon. Her Greek
counterpart was
Artemis.
Diana was also worshipped as the
goddess of the hunt and the
protector of wild animals in the
forest.
Diana was the goddess
of childbirth because
she assisted with the
delivery of her twin
brother Apollo
immediately after her
own birth.
Diana was called
Luna because of
her association with
the moon and
Cynthia because
she was born on
Mt. Cynthus on
the island of Delos.
The Temple of Artemis in
Ephesus was one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.
Athena, or
Minerva to the
Romans, was the
child of Zeus
and Metis.
Zeus swallowed Metis,
whom he had changed into
a fly after she became
pregnant, and he alone
gave birth to Athena when
she sprang fully grown
from his head.
Minerva was the
goddess of wisdom and
of the handicrafts of
spinning and weaving.
She was also the
goddess of defensive
warfare.
The city of Athens, Greece, was the center of
worship of the goddess Athena, particularly on
the Acropolis where the Parthenon, or Temple
of Athena Parthenos, was located.
The owl was
sacred to
Minerva.
Mercurius, or
Hermes to the
Greeks, was the
son of Jupiter and
Maia, for whom
the month of May
is named.
Mercurius
was the
messenger
of Jupiter
and was
worshipped
by travelers
and also by
thieves.
Mercury’s
symbols were his
wand, the
Caduceus; his
winged hat, the
Petasus; and his
winged sandals,
the Talaria.
Venus, or Aphrodite
to the Greeks, was the
daughter of Jupiter
and Dione in Roman
myth.
Aphrodite, in the Greek version, was
born from the foam of the sea.
One of the world’s most famous paintings is the
Birth of Venus by the Italian painter Alessandro
Botticelli.
Venus was the
goddess of love
and beauty.
Ironically, she was
married to the only
deformed deity,
Vulcanus.
Venus, or love,
was often found
romantically
involved with
Mars, or war.
Venus was
called
Cytherea
by the
Greeks.
The bird of Venus is the dove.
Vulcanus was the son
of Jupiter and Juno.
He was ugly at birth
and thrown from Mt.
Olympus by his
mother. He landed on
the island of Lemnos
and remained crippled
forever because of the
fall.
Vulcan’s symbols were the anvil and
hammer, and fire. His forge was said to be
under Mt. Oetna, on Sicily.
Vulcan, the
blacksmith of the
gods is shown here
forging armor for
Aeneas, the great
Trojan hero.
Cupid, the god
of love, was
called Eros by
the Greeks. He
was the son of
Venus and
Mars.
Mars, or Ares to
the Greeks, was
the son of
Jupiter and
Juno.
Mars was the
god of
offensive war.
His symbols
were the
vulture and
the dog.
Mars seduced Rhea Silvia and became
the father of Romulus and Remus.
Bacchus, or Dionysus to the Greeks,
was the son of Jupiter and Semele.
Bacchus was the god of wine,
vernal sap and drama. He was
called Liber by the Romans.
One of the
symbols of
Bacchus is
the Thyrsus,
a wand with a
pine cone on
top.
Heracles was the only mortal allowed to
achieve the status of god by the Greeks. His
father was Zeus and his mother was a mortal
named Alcmene. His heroic accomplishments
as a mortal probably paved the way for his
metamorphosis into a divinity.
Heracles performed
12 labors, the last of
which was to bring
Cerberus up from
the Underworld.
Pantheon
The Pantheon, built during the reign of Augustus, was dedicated to
Finis
Neptune and Amphitrite
Who are the king and queen of the sea?
On what mountain in Greece did
the gods and goddesses reside?
Mount Olympus
Who were the king and queen of
the gods and mortals?
Jupiter and Juno
Quis in picturā est?
Neptunus
Identify the three deities in this picture.
Minerva Jupiter Diana
Who are the parents of the twins
pictured here?
Jupiter and
Latona or
Zeus and
Leto
Identify these two gods.
Apollo and
Neptune
Identify this
wand. Whose
symbol is it?
Caduceus
Mercury’s
Identify this
priestess of
Apollo.
Pythia
At which Oracle did
Pythia preside?
Delphi
Apollo and
Diana are
being held
by their
mother;
who is she?
Latona
Identify this deity.
Bacchus or
Dionysus
What is the
name of his
wand?
Thyrsus
Diana est.
In picturā est virgo quae est dea
Romana. Quis est?
Petasus
Caduceus
Talaria
Identify the
three
symbols of
Mercury
shown here.