Apollo

The ancient Romans had gods for nearly everything. There were temples all over the Roman Empire. There was a temple in the Forum. Every home had a household god. Most ancient Romans had some sort of shine in their home, which might be a small display or a grand, separate room, to honor the household god. The ancient Romans brought offerings of meat and other items to many temples. Honoring their gods was part of ancient Romans everyday life. Not all of the gods that the ancient Romans worshiped were originally Roman gods. The Romans did a lot of traveling about as they developed their empire. Each time the Romans heard a myth about a god or goddess or spirit or deity from the people they met (and conquered), if they liked it, they adopted it and made it their own. They enjoyed the Celtic gods. When they heard about the Greek gods - they adopted them all! The Roman changed many of the Greek god names to Roman names. Zeus became Jupiter. Hera was renamed Juno. But the Romans left their personalities intact, along with their position. Zeus/Jupiter became king of the Roman gods. All the deities listed below are Greek and Roman gods except for Romulus and Remus. Those particular twins do not exist in Greek mythology. They are a Roman invention.

Who's Who - Roman Deities

The world began with …
GAEA - Mother Earth (retired)
URANUS - Father Sky (retired)
SATURN - their son (retired)

The Next Generation
Saturn's Boys

Neptune/Poseidon God of the Sea	Jupiter/Zeus God of the Sky Ruler of the Gods (elected position) Sign: The Eagle	Pluto/Hades God of the Underworld

Saturn's Girls

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE		NO PHOTO AVAILABLE
Ceres/Demeter Goddess Agriculture	Juno/Hera Queen of Gods (Position gained by marriage) Goddess of Women	Vesta/Hestia Goddess Home and Hearth (fire)

Next Generation - Jupiter's Kids
 (Jupiter, King of the God)

APOLLO & DIANA (twins) 
Apollo - god of light and music, in charge of bringing out the sun
Diana - goddess of the hunt, in charge of bringing out the moon

HERCULES - known for his incredible strength.

MERCURY - god of speedy travel, god of omens, 
and Messenger of the gods (assigned position)

VENUS - goddess of love

MINERVA - goddess of wisdom (no mother, born directly from Jupiter's brain)

VULCAN - god of the forge, strong weapons (Jupiter and Juno's son)

MARS - god of war (Jupiter and Juno's son)

Next Generation 
Twin sons of the war god Mars

Romulus & Remus (Founders of Rome)

More about the Roman Gods

The story of Jupiter, Juno, and little Io 

Greek & Roman Mythology (Powerpoint)

Greek Myths. The stories are the same. Only the names have changed.

Greek to Roman Gods Matching 

Roman Gods & Goddesses  (Greek Gods)

Fact Monster - The Gods

What is the difference between myth, legend, folktale and folklore?

Ingredients for a myth

Greek Mythology - List of immortals with Roman and Greek names

See Also: Free PowerPoint Presentations about Ancient Rome