Roman Mythology Paper

Greek Mythology and Roman Mythology were the two largest and best known forms of
Mythology in the ancient world. Both are extremely old and few believe in them anymore.
Greek Mythology, however, existed long before Roman Mythology did. It was created around
the year 2000 B.C. and was likely based off beliefs of people who lived long before even the
Greeks did. Greek Mythology consisted of twelve commonly known gods, the twelve
Olympians, as well as many others that were added or taken out based on the time period, or
were just not very relevant. The Olympians consisted of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena,
Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes and either Hestia, or Dionysus.
It is said the Olympian gods resided on Mount Olympus, from where the world is watched over.
The gods in Roman Mythology were very closely based off the Greek gods. Some are exactly
the same, except with a change of name and description. Zeus, the king god of the Greek gods,
for example, was adopted by Romans who kept his role mainly the same only changing his name
to Jupiter. The Romans basically took the Greek Olympians and made them into the Dii
Consentes. The Dii Consentes contained Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Vesta, Ceres, Diana, Venus,
Mars, Mercurius, Neptunus, Volcanus, and Apollo.
Many other parts of the Greek Mythology are also present in Roman Mythology. Many
ways in which the Roman gods are worshipped were adopted from the Greeks. Methods like
bringing food and special offerings for the gods was based off the ideas of the Greek Mythology.
The Romans kept many myths from the Greeks or based stories off of old myths as well. One
major area in which the Romans differed from the Greeks in their Mythology was what the gods
were in essence. The Greeks gave their gods very specific appearances. The hair, body, and
face of the gods were common knowledge to all and the gods were always depicted in that way.

Romans, however, did not give their gods a set physical appearance. In fact, for some time some
people believed they did not have physical bodies at all. Later the belief similar to Greek
Mythology that the gods did indeed have physical bodies was implemented to Roman
Mythology. However, the Roman gods still were not given a defined look but instead their
appearance was left to the imagination of Romes citizens. The gods were depicted in paintings
and statues the way the people imagined them. Eventually they gained physical appearances that
were, once again, based off of the Greeks. Both Mythologies definitely have their differences,
but were really very similar. Because the Romans basically adopted the Mythology of the
Greeks, many aspects were close to identical, with the Romans making a few adjustments.
The Romans had a polytheistic religion, worshipping over a dozen gods. One of the
many gods worshipped in ancient Rome was Mars. In ancient Rome, Mars was the god of War
and the most prominent of the military gods. The Romans made Mars very similar to the Greek
god of war Ares, keeping many stories and legends the same. However, his story did not begin
this way. Mars was originally called the god of vegetation, the one who watched over farm
animals and crops. The Romans later realized just how many similarities Mars had to Ares, so
they changed his role. Mars was the son of the King of the gods, Jupiter and his wife, Juno and
the story of his birth was very odd. As the story goes, Juno was upset because Jupiters last child
was born from only Jupiter without involving a woman. Juno wanted to have a baby without a
man to get back at Jupiter. She asked Flora, the goddess of flowers and plants, for help. Flora
created a flower powerful enough to get Juno pregnant with a child by just a touch. The child
Juno had because of the flower was Mars. He got his name from the month in which he was
born, March. Many believe Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus, two brothers from one
of the most famous myths of Rome. It is said Jupiter was unhappy about their birth and cast them

off. Because Mars still cared for the boys, he sent a she-wolf to raise them since he could not
help them himself. Romulus would later go on to begin the great city of Rome that later became
an empire. Most other stories relating to Mars are nearly direct copies of the Roman stories
about Ares. When Mars was given a physical appearance, he, like Ares, was described as being
very tall and strong, as well as very good looking. Almost none of the Olympians liked him, not
even his parents, and they normally tried to avoid him. The one exception was Venus, with
whom he had multiple relations. Humans, unlike most gods, loved Mars very much. Whether it
was large scale wars or small fights, everyone prayed to have Mars on their side. Overall, Mars
was one of the most commonly prayed to gods in all of Roman Mythology, especially among
soldiers and men involved with the military. Soldiers individually prayed to Mars very
frequently while at war as well as participating in group prayers and sacrifices with much or all
of the army. People in those times believed having Mars on their side was an almost guaranteed
victory. Mars was not about choosing sides though. Most of the time Mars could not care less
about who won the battle. He just enjoyed watching violence, with the blood and death of
thousands of people. He was extremely violent and cruel to the people who loved him, but it did
not seem to matter to them. Romans likely loved Mars so much because they believed his son
Romulus founded their home of Rome. Romans often worshipped Mars by sacrificing animals
in groups of three. The animal that was most commonly sacrificed was a bull, with pigs, rams,
and horses being common as well. Mars is generally associated with wolves and woodpeckers.
Wolves were said to be special to Mars because of the she-wolf that cared for Romulus and
Remus after they were abandoned. The wolf was also a brave fighter so it represented strength
in a battle. Romans believed that if a soldier saw a wolf during or just before a large battle, they
were guaranteed to defeat their enemies. Woodpeckers were thought of as strong and

courageous birds in the ancient world. This was a large part of the reason Mars took a liking to
these birds.

Works Cited
Delgado, Jose. "Roman Mythology vs. Greek Mythology." Kean University. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
"God Mars, the Roman God of War." Greek Gods and Goddesses. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
"Mars (mythology)." Mars (mythology) - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.