The ancient gods of Rome: features of paganism. Who did the Romans worship?

The religious beliefs of the ancient Romans evolved. Initially, there was a polytheistic religion - paganism. The Romans believed in many gods.

The structure and main concepts of the ancient Roman religion

Like any other polytheistic faith, Roman paganism did not have a clear organization. In fact, this is a collection of a large number of ancient cults. The ancient gods of Rome were responsible for various aspects of human life and natural elements. Rites were honored in each family - they were conducted by the head of the family. The gods were asked for help in household and personal affairs.

There were ceremonies that were held at the state level - at different times they were performed by priests, consuls, dictators, praetors. The gods were asked for help in battles, intercession and assistance in the battle with the enemy. Fortune-telling and rituals were given a large role in solving state issues.

During the reign of Numa Pompilia , the concept of "priest" appeared. This was a representative of a closed caste. The priests had a great influence on the ruler, they possessed the secrets of rituals and communication with the gods. During the empire, the emperor began to perform the function of the pontiff. It is characteristic that the gods of ancient Greece and Rome were similar in their functions - they only bore different names.

The main features of the religion of Rome

Important characteristics of Roman beliefs were:

• a large influence of foreign borrowing. The Romans often contacted other nations during conquests. Particularly close were contacts with Greece;
• religion was closely linked to politics. This can be judged on the basis of the existence of a cult of imperial power;
• endowment with divine qualities of such concepts as happiness, love, justice;
• the close connection of myth and beliefs - defines, but does not distinguish the Roman religion from other pagan systems;
• a huge number of cults, ceremonies. They differed in scale, but covered all aspects of state and personal life;
• the Romans even deified such trifles as returning from a campaign, the first word of a baby, and much more.

Ancient Roman Pantheon

The gods of the Romans, like the Greeks, were humanlike. They believed in the forces of nature and spirits. The main deity was Jupiter. His element was heaven, he was the master of thunder and lightning. The Great Games were held in honor of Jupiter; a temple on Capitol Hill was dedicated to him. The ancient gods of Rome took care of various aspects of human life: Venus - love, Juno - marriage, Diana - hunting, Minevra - craft, Vesta - home.

In the Roman pantheon there were gods-fathers - the most revered of all, and lower deities. They also believed in the spirits that were present in everything that surrounds man. Researchers believe that worship of spirits was present only at an early stage in the development of the religion of Rome. Initially, the main gods were Mars, Quirin and Jupiter. At the time of the institution of the priesthood, tribal cults arose. It was believed that a certain god patronizes every estate and noble family. Cults appeared among the clan Klavdiev, Corneliev and other representatives of the elite of society.

Saturnalia was celebrated at the state level - in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. Arranged grandiose festivities, thanked the patron for the harvest.

The social struggle in society led to the design of the triad of the gods or the "plebeian triad" - Ceres, Liber and Liber. The Romans also distinguished heavenly, chthonic, and earthly deities. There was faith in demons. They were divided into good and evil. The first group included penates, laras and geniuses. They kept the traditions of the house, the hearth and guarded the head of the family. Evil demons - lemurs and laurels interfered with the good and harm man. Such creatures appeared if the deceased was buried without observing the rituals.

The gods of ancient Rome, the list of which includes more than 50 different creatures, have been objects of worship for many centuries - only the degree of influence of each of them on the consciousness of the people has changed.

During the empire, the goddess Roma is popularized - the patroness of the whole state.

What gods did the Romans borrow?

As a result of frequent contacts with other nations, the Romans began to incorporate foreign beliefs and rites into their culture. Researchers are inclined to think that the whole religion is a complex of borrowings. The main reason for this is that the Romans respected the beliefs of the conquered people. There was a ritual that officially introduced a foreign deity into the pantheon of Rome. This rite was called evocacy.

The ancient gods of Rome appeared in the pantheon as a result of close cultural ties with the conquered peoples and the active development of their own culture. The most striking borrowings are Mithra and Cybele.

Table "Gods of Ancient Rome and Greek correspondences":

Mythology of Ancient Rome

In all pagan cultures, myths and religious beliefs are closely related. Theme of Roman myths is traditional - the founding of a city and state, the creation of the world and the birth of gods. This is one of the most interesting to study cultural aspect. Mythological scholars can track the entire evolution of Roman beliefs.

Traditionally, legends contain many descriptions of miraculous, supernatural events that ancient people believed in . From such narratives, one can distinguish features of the political views of the people that are hidden in a fantastic text.

In mythology of almost all nations, the creation of the world, cosmogony, is in the first place. But not in this case. It mainly describes the heroic events, the ancient gods of Rome, the rituals and rituals that must be performed.

Heroes were of semi-divine origin. the legendary founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus - were the children of warlike Mars and the priestess-vestal, and their great ancestor Aeneas - the son of the beautiful Aphrodite and the king.

The gods of ancient Rome, the list of which includes both borrowed and local deities, has more than 50 names.