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Roman Religion
Roman Religion - Cosmogony
The religion of the Romans was a polytheistic religion (with
many gods, Polytheism). The Greek and then the Roman priests
needed a story or myth which centered around the main Gods
and Goddesses answering the questions of where they came
from and their relationship to each other (this is called a
Cosmogony). A 'family tree' of the Roman Gods and Goddesses
explained 'who was who' and what relationships they had with
each other. The mythology surrounding
Mount Olympus contributes to
the stories about the gods of the Roman Religion.
List of Roman Gods
Principles, Traditions and
Ceremonies of the Roman Religion
The Roman Religion
consisted of the following principles, traditions,
ceremonies, priests and other elements:
Roman
Religion was emphatically a state
religion ***
The pontiffs (religious
leaders) were presided over by one called Pontifex Maximus
Julius Caesar assumed the
position of Pontifex Maximus to gain control of the popular worship
of the Roman religion
Roman
Religion accepted the gods of all the
nations that composed the empire ***
The principal Roman
divinities were the Olympic gods such as Jupiter, Juno, Mars,
Minerva, Neptune, Vesta, Apollo, Venus, Ceres, and Diana ***
There were numerous secondary deities
Temples to worship the gods were built throughout
the Roman Empire and each family home would also have a small altar
and shrine
Roman
Religion was practical -
every Roman god had something to do and some
useful office to perform
Many of the secondary
deities were manufactured by the pontiffs for utilitarian purposes
(determined by its utility) or abstractions like Hope, Fear,
Concord, Justice and Clemency
In
the Roman
Religion every vocation and every
household transaction had its presiding gods or goddesses
The powers of Nature were
also worshipped, like the sun, the moon, and stars ***
Religion included many superstitious
rites and ceremonies such as interpreting the will of the gods by
studying omens, the flight of the birds, the behaviour of animals,
interpreting dreams and natural phenomena
Priests called Augurs
practised haruspicy which involved reading entrails of animal
sacrifices and augury which involved interpreting the behaviour of
birds
The Roman religion practised various ceremonies
which included blood sacrifices
The Vestal virgins were the
Roman priestesses of Vesta and were appointed by the Pontifex
Maximus ***
Every public assembly was opened by the
magistrate and augurs taking the auspices
Religion was taken extremely seriously
by the Romans and one day in four was set apart for the worship of
particular gods and were celebrated by feasts and games and
sacrifices
For additional
facts and information about priests and ceremonies please
click the following links:
Roman Priests
Ancient
Roman Religion and Ceremonies
Roman Religion - The
Penates
The Penates were the gods
who were supposed to attend to the welfare and prosperity of
the Roman family. The name 'penates' is derived from Penus,
the pantry, which was sacred to them. Every master of a
family was the priest to the Penates of his own house.
Roman Religion - The Lares
The Lares, or Lars, were also household gods, but
differed from the Penates in being regarded as the deified
spirits of mortals. The family Lars were held to be the
souls of the ancestors, who watched over and protected their
descendants.
Roman Religion - The
Genius
The Romans believed that
every man had his Genius, and every woman her Juno. The
Genius was a spirit who had given them being, and was
regarded as a protector through life. On birthdays men made
offerings or sacrifices to their Genius and Roman women to
their Juno. Regions, families, households and cities
of Rome also had a genius.
The Decline of the Roman
Religion and the Rise of Christianity
The Romans always adopted
the gods of the conquered nations. Consequently, when the
Empire became very extensive, the number of deities
became absurdly excessive and the variety of religious
worship perfectly ridiculous. This resulted in so much
confusion in their mythology that Roman philosophers
rejected the entire system and concepts of the Roman
religion. This greatly facilitated the rise of Christianity
which was simple in contrast to the Roman religion.
Christianity furnished a powerful contrast to the confused
and cumbrous mass of divinities who were worshipped during
the period of the emperors.
Roman Religion
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