The Romans were extravagant in many things, religion among them. In their pantheon of hundreds of deities, the Romans revered twelve above all, and these are patterned after the Olympians of ancient Greece. The Romans thought of them in male-female pairings, either married (as in the case of Jupiter and Juno) or just casual (Hermes and Venus). The twelve appear as Dii Cosentes, a kind of divine council that watched over the Roman Forum.
Of the twelve, the Romans did not include Hades (Pluto); as Lord of the Underworld, he did not dwell in Olympus. And some deities differ depending on the source (Vesta does not always make the cut).
Of course, the Romans gave their adopted Greek deities Latin names. Below is a list of the gods and goddess with their Greek equivalents. Some of the Roman and Greek gods and goddesses—Apollo, for instance—answer to the same name in both languages.
For a more complete Roman listing, see Roman Gods and Goddesses.
For more on the Greek gods, see Olympian Greek Gods and Goddesses.
Major Gods and Goddesses | |||
Greek | Roman | ||
| Aphrodite | Venus | ||
| Apollo | Apollo | ||
| Ares | Mars | ||
| Artemis | Diana | ||
| Athena | Minerva | ||
| Demeter | Ceres | ||
| Hades | Pluto | ||
| Hephaistos | Vulcan | ||
| Hera | Juno | ||
| Hermes | Mercury | ||
| Hestia | Vesta | ||
| Kronos | Saturn | ||
| Persephone | Proserpina | ||
| Poseidon | Neptune | ||
| Zeus | Jupiter | ||
Minor Gods | |||
| Erinyes / Eumenides (Furies / Kindly Ones) | Dirae / Furiae | ||
| Eris | Discordia | ||
| Eros | Cupid | ||
| Moirai (Fates) | Moirae / Parcae | ||
| Charites (Graces) | Gratiae | ||
| Helios | Sol | ||
| Horai (Seasons) | Horae | ||
| Pan | Faunus | ||
| Tyche | Fortuna | ||
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