below is my roman world portfolio, finally landing on around the 7/8000 word mark with pics and headers/footers... the pics arent up here, but if you reeally wanna look at the pics, look at the sites in the bibliographies!!!
opinions appreciated.





Chapter One:
Roman religion
– Principal Gods and Goddesses and their origins.
The Romans as a people were highly polytheistic, and their religion was not based upon any beliefs of their own, ‘but on a mixture of fragmented rituals, taboos, superstitions, and traditions which they collected over the years from a number of sources.’ These sources included the Greeks (from which much of Roman culture can be linked to), the Etruscans, the Latium tribes and the Egyptians.
Because the Romans had so many gods and goddesses, there is not adequate time or space to consider all of them, so I am going to consider what is seen to be the Roman pantheon, which is the major gods and goddesses associated with ancient Rome.
Saturn is considered as being at the head of the genealogy of the religion of the Romans. Few details remain about him, except that he was the god of sowing and the father of Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. He was the original king of the gods but was soon overthrown by Jupiter. Saturn was one of the oldest existing gods of the Romans and was celebrated each year with the festival ‘Saturnalia’ which was a week long and brought normal life to a standstill for the Roman people. The king of the Roman gods was Jupiter (also known as Jove), who can be closely identified with Zeus in Greek mythology. Jupiter was god of the heavens, and was greatly feared by the Romans as he was rumoured to throw thunderbolts down to earth in his anger. His wife was Juno (Greek name Hera) and she was Queen of the gods, and was also the goddess of women, marriage and childbirth. She was prayed to especially with regards to things such as safe birth of a child, or a happy and long lived marriage.
The next god worth noting in this section is Neptune, the god of the sea and earthquakes, and brother of Jupiter. Neptune was an important god to the Roman people as he had the power to ensure a ships safe passage and return, and would often be beseeched, as sea travel was dangerous in those times.
Pluto was the god of the dead and death. He is very closely associated with Hades, his greek predecessor and it is suggested that ‘the Romans had no god of the dead before they came into contact with Greek culture in the 700's B.C.’
Venus was the goddess of love, and beauty. She was also the goddess of fields. She was an important figure in Roman mythology, associated with the building of Rome and as a result some of the major Roman temples were dedicated to her. She was married to Vulcan, the god of fire and also referred to as the ‘blacksmith of the gods’ however, it was rumoured that she fell in love with Mars, and as a result of an affair, gave birth to a son Cupid, who is well renowned throughout history for his arrows of love.
Mars was the god of war. He was given special significance by the Romans, who believed that he was the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. Prior to being the god of war, he was the god of farmland and fertility, and it was only after the Romans came into contact with Greek mythology that he took on the character with which he is best associated today.
Mercury, the son of Jupiter was seen as the ‘messenger’ of the gods. He was also the god of roads and travel and merchants in Roman mythology and as such would have been a regular person worshipped and prayed to by the Roman people, especially travellers and soldiers wanting safe passage down the roads. He was also considered a protector of criminals and some Romans regarded him as crafty and deceptive. He carried a winged staff with snakes curled round it, which is often associated with medicine today.
Apollo was the god of the arts, especially music and poetry, and was also regarded as a god of healing and prophecy, and as such would have been very important to the Romans. He was also deemed responsible for the daily passage of the sun across the sky. He was the twin sister of Diana, the goddess of light, especially the moon, and unity. She was also the goddess of the hunt and protector of children. In this respect she would have been an important figure to all Roman mothers.
Minerva was the goddess of crafts, industry, the arts and wisdom. She was also known as the goddess of war and the protector of heroes and as such would be an important figure to the Roman army on both a corporate and individual level. She would also have played an important part in the religious life of a craftsman.
Ceres was an important goddess to all Roman people. She was the goddess of agriculture, and as such would be worshipped so as to ensure a good harvest for the people, and thus enough food with which to live and trade. The ‘Cerealia’ was held in her honour, and ‘There was a women's 9-day fast and festival when women offered the first corn harvest to Ceres, originally celebrated every five years, but later - by the time of Augustus - held every October 4.’
Another intrinsically important goddess to the Roman people was Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and fire. She was worshipped daily, and was of particular importance to women ‘for the hearth was where the food was prepared and cooked, and beside it the meal was eaten.’
During the meals a portion of the food would be thrown into the fire as an offering to Vesta. Her temple was situated in Rome, and was attended by the Vestal Virgins, whose job was to keep the sacred eternal fire burning. The Vestal Virgins were ‘priestesses who were dedicated to the Goddess' service for thirty years, and who were headed by the Virgo Maxima, the eldest Vestal.’ Vesta was so well respected that if a condemned man were to find a Vestal, he would be pardoned of his crime, however, if a Vestal Virgin was found to have broken any of the laws given whilst in service, her punishment would be that of being buried alive.
The final god to be considered here is Janus, another god of the utmost importance to the household. Janus was the god of doorways. He had two faces, which looked in opposing directions, and there are many interpretations as to why this is: ‘that it represents opening and closing a door, going in and coming out, or viewing (and thus guarding) both the inside and outside of a house.’ Janus is also considered to be the god of beginnings, and it is therefore unsurprising to find that the first month of the Roman calendar is accredited to him. ‘He was invoked at the start of each new day and often referred to as the Porter of Heaven. He particularly presided over all that is double-edged in life and represented the transition between the primitive and civilisation.’



These are pictures of Roman deities.


Bibliography:
Books:
- Kamm, Antony ‘The Romans: An Introduction’ (London: Routledge 2003)
Websites:
- Gods and Goddesses, http://www.novaroma.org/religio_romana/deities.html

- Janus: Roman god of beginnings. http://www.novareinna.com/festive/janus.html

- Roman and Latin: Roman Gods: http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Fountain/5832/gods.htm

-Roman Mythology and Solar System. http://www.nashville.k12.tn.us/CurriculumAwards/Roman_Myth.html

-The Gods of Old http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Ring/5382/gods.html