Roman Mythology: An Overview (Part I)

Why Mythology Matters

The word "complex" does not do Ancient Roman mythology justice. There are a nearly innumerable number of myths, and the amount of intermarriage and incest is enough to make even the most insensitive reader grimace. Too often, Latin students who did not grow up with a fascination with myths (although it sometimes seems like we are the minority in the broader Latin community, I can assure you we are not completely alone) end up ignorant of the broader context of many of the works they read. Decoding the grammar of a Latin text is truly only half the battle; appreciating the genius of Virgil, Ovid, and the like means appreciating the always layered and often intertextual analysis their work contains. Because these authors were writing for an educated Roman audience, they expected a level of prior knowledge of myth that modern-day readers often don't possess. Virgil does not explain who Juno is at the beginning of the Aeneid; yet, knowing the myths surrounding her is integral to fully appreciating the text. I am no Virgil or Ovid, but since they are not around to do it (and reading the Metamorphoses is a challenge in and of itself), I will take it upon myself to provide a brief amount of background here.

The Roman Pantheon

Roman religion, like many aspects of Roman life, was largely adapted from the Greeks; most of the Olympian gods arrived with Greek names and were promptly given Latin ones, without any change to their mythology. Yet, Roman poets quickly found it repetitive to call the gods by the same names, and thus epithets (alternate names and titles that invoke a god) became commonplace. Below, I have compiled a table of the main Roman gods (the Pantheon), their relationships with other gods, their domains, and their common epithets.

Roman name	Greek name	Domain	Key epithets	Relationships & family
Jupiter	Zeus	Sky, thunder, kingship	Optimus Maximus, Tonans, Pater	Son of Saturn and Ops. Brother and husband of Juno. Father of Mars, Vulcan (with Juno), Minerva (born from his head), Mercury, Apollo, Diana, Bacchus, Hercules, and many others. King of the gods.
Juno	Hera	Marriage, queens, women	Regina, Lucina	Daughter of Saturn and Ops; sister and wife of Jupiter. Mother of Mars, Vulcan, and Juventas. Her jealousy of Jupiter's affairs drives many myths. Additionally, her hatred of the Trojans stems in part from the Judgment of Paris.
Neptune	Poseidon	Sea, earthquakes, horses	Neptunus	Son of Saturn and Ops; brother of Jupiter and Pluto. The three brothers divided the cosmos: Jupiter took the sky, Neptune the sea, Pluto the underworld. Father of the Cyclops Polyphemus.
Mars	Ares	War, agriculture	Mavors, Gradivus, Pater	Son of Jupiter and Juno. Father of Romulus and Remus by the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia (making him Rome's divine ancestor). He had an affair with Venus (wife of Vulcan).
Venus	Aphrodite	Love, beauty, desire	Cytherea, Cypris, Dione	Born from sea-foam, or daughter of Jupiter and Dione. Wife of Vulcan, lover of Mars. Mother of Cupid and of Aeneas by the mortal Anchises. The Julian family (including Caesar and Augustus) claimed descent through her.
Apollo	Apollo	Sun, poetry, prophecy, healing	Phoebus, Paean, Cynthius	Son of Jupiter and Latona (Leto). Twin brother of Diana. Kept his Greek name (one of the few gods who did). Augustus adopted him as his personal patron deity.
Diana	Artemis	Moon, hunting, chastity	Phoebe, Cynthia, Luna, Trivia	Daughter of Jupiter and Latona; twin sister of Apollo. Perpetually virgin. As Trivia, she presides over the crossroads. Her chastity is a plot point in several myths (notably Actaeon, who saw her bathing and was transformed into a stag).
Minerva	Athena	Wisdom, crafts, strategic war	Pallas	Daughter of Jupiter alone. She sprang fully armed from his head after he swallowed her pregnant mother, Metis. Her epithet Pallas is used often in Latin poetry (calling her simply "Pallas" is standard).
Mercury	Hermes	Messengers, commerce, travelers, the dead	Cyllenius, Ales	Son of Jupiter and Maia (one of the Pleiades). Born on Mt. Cyllene, hence Cyllenius. Jupiter's primary messenger; in the Aeneid, he is sent to remind Aeneas of his duty. Also conducts souls of the dead to the underworld.
Vulcan	Hephaestus	Fire, forges, craftsmanship	Mulciber	Son of Jupiter and Juno. Lame. Thrown from Olympus as an infant. Husband of Venus, whose affair with Mars he exposed by trapping them in a net. Forges divine weapons, including Aeneas' shield.
Bacchus	Dionysus	Wine, ecstasy, theater	Liber, Bromius, Lyaeus	Son of Jupiter and the mortal Semele. Juno tricked Semele into destroying herself; Jupiter saved the unborn Bacchus by sewing him into his thigh. Born twice: once from his mother, once from his father. Associated with paradox and transform- ation.
Ceres	Demeter	Grain, fertility, agriculture	Alma Ceres	Daughter of Saturn and Ops; sister of Jupiter. Mother of Proserpina, abducted by Pluto. Ceres's grief caused the earth to become barren (winter). Her joy at Proserpina's partial return causes spring (Roman explanation for the seasons).
Pluto / Dis	Hades	The underworld, the dead	Dis Pater, Orcus	Son of Saturn and Ops; brother of Jupiter and Neptune. Rules the underworld with his queen Proserpina. His name was often avoided as an ill omen. Dis is the more common poetic form.

Important non-Olympians

Roman name	Greek name	Domain	Key epithets	Relationships & notes
Cupid	Eros	Desire, love's arrow	Amor, Puer	Son of Venus and (usually) Mars. Winged boy with bow and arrows whose shot causes sudden love or aversion. In the Aeneid, Venus disguises him as Aeneas's son Ascanius to bring about Dido's love.
Proserpina	Persephone	Queen of the underworld, spring	Persephone (Greek form used in Latin)	Daughter of Ceres and Jupiter. Abducted by Pluto. Because she ate pomegranate seeds in the underworld, she must spend part of each year there. Her return causes spring.
Janus	N/A	Beginnings, doorways, time	Bifrons ("two-faced")	Distinctly Roman; no Greek equivalent. Two-faced, looking forward and backward. Presides over all beginnings and transitions. January is named for him. The doors of his temple in Rome were open in wartime, closed in peace.
Saturn	Cronus	Agriculture, time, the Golden Age	Saturnus	Father of the Olympians (Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, Vesta). Swallowed his children, fearing a prophecy; Jupiter was saved and eventually overthrew him. He was said to have once ruled Italy during a Golden Age of peace. The festival of Saturnalia (December) honors him.
Hercules	Heracles	Strength, labor, heroic virtue	Alcides (from grandfather Alcaeus)	Son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena (a demigod). Juno persecuted him throughout his life, driving him to madness and causing the killing of his family. This led to his twelve labors as penance. Eventually deified. The epithet Alcides ("descendant of Alcaeus") appears frequently in Latin epic.

An Important Note

A patronymic is a name derived from a parent's (usually the father's) name. Latin poets use them as substitutes for a character's proper name. Often, they are formed with suffixes added to the father's name: -ides (masculine) and -is or -ides (feminine) are the most common.

Common patronymics you will encounter in Latin texts:

Patronymic	Derived from	Refers to
Pelides	son of Peleus	Achilles
Aeacides	descendant of Aeacus	Achilles or Pyrrhus
Anchisiades	son of Anchises	Aeneas
Tydides	son of Tydeus	Diomedes
Alcides	descendant of Alcaeus	Hercules
Saturnius / Saturnia	son/daughter of Saturn	Jupiter or Juno
Laertides	son of Laertes	Ulysses (Odysseus)
Atrides	son of Atreus	Agamemnon or Menelaus
Priamides	son of Priam	Hector, Paris, or another Trojan prince

In Conclusion...

This post BARELY scratches the surface of Roman mythology. Look out for future posts, which will dive deeper into Roman mythology! Let us know with a comment any questions you have and what myths you'd like us to write about!