Ancient gods of Rome: peculiarities of paganism. Who was worshiped by the Romans?

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

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 collection of a large number of ancient cults. The ancient gods of Rome were responsible for various aspects of human life and natural elements. In each family rites were honored - they were conducted by the head of the family. The gods asked for help in domestic and personal matters.

There were rituals that were held at the state level - they were held at different times by priests, consuls, dictators, praetors. The gods were asked for help in battles, intercession and promotion in battle with the enemy. Divination and rituals were assigned a big role in solving state problems.

During the reign of Numa Pompilius, the concept of "priest" appeared. It was a representative of a closed caste. Priests had a huge influence on the ruler, they had secrets of rituals and fellowship with the gods. In the time of the empire, the emperor became the pontiff's function. It is characteristic that the gods of ancient Greece and Rome were similar in terms of functions performed - they only had different names.

The main features of the religion of Rome

Important characteristics of Roman beliefs were:

• A great influence of foreign borrowing. The Romans often contacted other nations during the conquests. Contacts with Greece were particularly close;
• Religion was closely linked with politics. This can be judged from the existence of a cult of imperial power;
• Characterized by the allocation of divine qualities such concepts as happiness, love, justice;
• A close connection of myth and beliefs - defines, but does not distinguish the Roman religion from other pagan systems;
• A huge number of cults, rituals. They differed in scale, but covered all aspects of public and private life;
• The Romans deified even such trifles as the return from the hike, the first word of the baby and much more.

Ancient Roman pantheon

Gods, the Romans, like the Greeks, represented humanoid. Believed in the forces of nature and spirits. The main god was Jupiter. His element was the sky, he was the master of thunder and lightning. In honor of Jupiter, the Great Games were held, the temple on the 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 were the god-fathers - the most revered of all, and the lower deities. They also believed in spirits who were present in everything that surrounds a person. Researchers believe that the 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 were born. It was believed that every estate and noble family is protected by a certain god. There were cults in the clan Klavdiev, Korneliev and other representatives of the top of society.

At the state level, Saturnalia was celebrated in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. They arranged grandiose festivities, thanked the patron for the harvest.

Social struggle in society led to the design of a triad of gods or the "plebeian triad" - Ceres, Liber and Liber. The Romans also distinguished heavenly, chthonic and earthly deities. There was faith in the demons. They were divided into good and evil. The first group included penates, lairs and geniuses. They kept the traditions of the house, the hearth and guarded the head of the family. Evil demons - lemurs and laurels prevented the good and harmed man. Such creatures appeared, if the deceased was buried, not observing 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 has changed on the consciousness of the people.

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

What kind of gods did the Romans borrow?

As a result of frequent contacts with other peoples, the Romans began to include in their culture other people's beliefs and rituals. Researchers tend to think, the whole religion is a complex of borrowings. The main reason for this is that the Romans respected the beliefs of the people they conquered. There was a ritual that officially introduced a foreign deity into the pantheon of Rome. This rite was called evocatia.

The ancient gods of Rome appeared in the pantheon as a result of close cultural ties with conquered peoples and the active development of their own culture. The most vivid borrowings are Mitra 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. The subject of Roman myths is traditional - the foundation of the city and the state, the creation of the world and the birth of the gods. This is one of the most interesting aspects of the culture. Researchers on the mythological system can trace the entire evolution of the beliefs of the Romans.

Traditionally, legends contain many descriptions of miraculous, supernatural events, in which ancient people believed . From such narratives it is possible to distinguish features of political views of the people, which are hidden in a fantastic text.

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

The heroes were of semi-divine origin. The legendary founders of Rome - Romulus and Remus - were the children of martial Mars and the priestess-vestal, and their great ancestor Enei - the son of the beautiful Aphrodite and the king.

The gods of Ancient Rome, whose list includes both borrowed and local deities, has more than 50 names.