Honoring their gods was big part of ancient
Roman daily life. There
were many thousands of Roman gods, and the gods lived everywhere -
in trees, under a bush, by the side of the road, in a
burrow, in a flower, in a stream, under the bed, and perhaps in the stove in your
house. There was even a deity who lived inside the
latch that opened the door to their home. In ancient Rome, everything
had a spirit in charge of it. Remember Io, the little spirit who Jupiter
turned into a little white cow? Io’s job, before her run in with the gods,
was to guard the creek where she lived.
Temples:
There were impressive temples all over the Roman Empire. Every day, the
ancient Romans brought offerings of meat and other items to at least one
nearby temple, and usually more than one temple.
Household Gods: Each home had a
personal household god that kept
things running smoothly at home. Some ancient Romans kept a whole room of
their house for a grand display to honor their household god. Others had a
small display somewhere in the kitchen. Whenever the ancient Romans prepared a
meal, they ate it in honor of the household god.
New Gods: Not all of the gods that the ancient Romans worshiped were originally
Roman gods. The Romans did a lot of traveling as they expanded 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, and all
of the myths and legends.
