Ancient Rome - Gods and Goddesses

Ancient Rome - Gods and Goddesses

The Romans believed in lots of gods. There were gods for just about everything. The Romans even took on many of the gods of the people they conquered. They especially liked the GREEK GODS. Many Romans had a shrine in their house to worship their personal household god.

Roman Gods

The Romans adopted much of Greek Mythology into their own. They took most all of the Greek gods, gave them Roman names, and then called them their own. Here are a few of major Roman gods that came from the Greeks:

Multiple Choice

What civilization did the Romans borrow many of their gods such as Jupiter from?

• Chinese

• Egyptian

• Greek

• Persian

JUPITER

• Came from the Greek god Zeus. Jupiter was the king of the gods and god of thunder and lighting. He was the Patron God of Rome

Multiple Choice

What Roman god was king of the gods and taken from the Greek god Zeus?

• Apollo

• Mars

• Jupiter

• Juno

Juno - Juno was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Hera. Juno was Jupiter's wife and queen of the gods. Juno was considered the protector of Rome.

Mars - Mars came from the Greek god Ares. Mars was the god of war and Jupiter and Juno's son.

Mercury - Mercury was the equivalent of the Greek god Hermes. He was the god of trade.

Neptune - Neptune came from the Greek god Poseidon. He was the god of the sea and brother to Jupiter.

Venus - Venus was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was the god of love and beauty.

Apollo - Apollo was taken directly from Greek god Apollo. He was the god of music, poetry, and archery. His twin sister was Diana

Diana - Diana was taken from the Greek goddess Artemis. She was goddess of the hunt, archery, and animals.

Minerva - Minerva comes from the Greek goddess Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom.

Ceres - Ceres was the equivalent of the Greek goddess Demeter. She was goddess of agriculture and the seasons.

Multiple Choice

What was Minerva goddess of?

• War

• Wisdom

• Agriculture

Imperial Cult

The Imperial Cult worshiped the Emperors of Rome. Starting with Julius Caesar.

Most of the emperors were made into gods except for certain bad ones like Nero and Tiberius. This practice lasted up until Emperor Constantine who converted to Christianity.

Multiple Choice

Who did the Imperial Cult worship?

• Emperors of Rome

• Gladiators

• Romulus and Remus

Christianity

Since the Romans had many gods and the Christians believed in just one true God, Christians were often persecuted by Rome. At one point they were told to either worship and sacrifice to the Roman gods or they would be killed. Many were killed in the arenas by lions. When Emperor Constantine came into power he converted to Christianity and the persecution stopped

Multiple Choice

What typically happened to Christians in Rome before the Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity?

• They were well thought of

• They were persecuted and killed

• All of the above