Home›Roman Deities›Theology›Polytheistic: many godsBrowse ByPolytheistic: many godsThis page groups deities by the theological framework used to describe their nature, since traditions disagree about whether a god is a distinct being, an aspect of a single divine reality, or something else again. Wikipedia describes theology as "the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity and the history behind religion." Browsing this way lets a visitor compare how differently two traditions can explain what a deity actually is.FactsLearn MorePolytheistic: many godsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods of Roman public and household religion, a tradition defined more by correct performance of rite and by divine function than by narrative. Rome's major gods were progressively identified with Greek ones and much of the myth attached to them is Greek; the archaic priesthoods, the festival calendar and figures such as Janus and Vesta are where the native religion is clearest. 2AttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedAttested from the sixth century BCE in inscriptions and in the archaic festival calendar; the public cult ended with the imperial legislation of 391 to 392 CE. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe public cult was ended by law in late antiquity; no continuous worship survives. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1Learn MoreThe gods of Rome This group holds the deities of ancient Roman religion. Roman worship began with native Italic and household gods and a strong sense of divine functions and rites, and over time identified its major gods with those of Greece, adopting much of Greek myth in the process. The browser will find the Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, along with Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury and the rest of the Olympian equivalents, as well as distinctively Roman figures such as Janus, the two-faced god of doorways and beginnings, and Vesta of the hearth. The entries note the Greek counterpart of each syncretised god.Polytheistic: many godsFilter Results30 entriesPlanetary FaceAllChiron (1)Juno (1)Jupiter (1)Mars (1)Mercury (1)Moon (1)Neptune (1)Pluto (1)Saturn (1)Sun (1)Uranus (1)Venus (1)Child OfAllCeres (1)Juno (1)Jupiter (3)Leto (1)Maia (1)Zeus (1)Interpretatio OfAllHelios (1)HistoricityAllLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical record (2)Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (28)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (2)The Creator (1)The Explorer (1)The Hero (2)The Innocent (1)The Jester (1)The Lover (1)The Magician (2)The Orphan (1)The Rebel (1)The Ruler (2)The Sage (2)Veneration StatusAllHistorically attested; no continuous cult (30)Era Attested Start YearAll-753 (1)-700 (2)-600 (6)-500 (8)-493 (1)-300 (5)-249 (1)-200 (1)90 (1)274 (1)Worshipped InAllAncient Greek Religion (1)Roman Religion (26)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (4)Ancestors (1)Beauty (1)Childbirth (2)Commerce and wealth (2)Cosmic order and truth (1)Craft, metalwork and smithing (2)Dance and theatre (1)Death (1)Divine messenger (1)Earth (2)Fate and time (2)Fertility and generation (4)Fire (2)Fortune and luck (1)Guide of the dead (1)Healing and medicine (2)Hearth and domestic fire (1)Household (2)Justice, law and oaths (1)Kingship and sovereignty (2)Love and desire (3)Marriage and the household (1)Moon (2)Motherhood (1)Music and poetry (1)Primordial being (1)Prophecy and divination (1)Protection and guardianship (2)Rivers, lakes and springs (1)Sea and ocean (1)Seafaring and fishing (1)Sky (2)Spring and renewal (1)Storm and thunder (1)Sun (3)The hunt (1)The underworld (2)Travel, roads and boundaries (2)Vegetation and forests (1)War and battle (3)Wilderness and wild animals (1)Wine and intoxication (1)Wisdom and counsel (1)GenderAllAndrogynous / dual-gendered (1)Collective / plural, not a single figure (2)Female (12)Male (15)PantheonAllGreek (1)Roman (26)BrowseCompareSelect all 30ApolloPolytheistic: many godsBacchusPolytheistic: many godsBona DeaPolytheistic: many godsCaelusPolytheistic: many godsCeresPolytheistic: many godsDianaPolytheistic: many godsFortunaPolytheistic: many godsJanusPolytheistic: many godsJunoPolytheistic: many godsJupiterPolytheistic: many godsLaresPolytheistic: many godsLunaPolytheistic: many godsMaiaPolytheistic: many godsMarsPolytheistic: many godsMercuryPolytheistic: many godsMinervaPolytheistic: many godsMithrasPolytheistic: many godsNeptunePolytheistic: many godsPaliciPolytheistic: many godsPenatesPolytheistic: many godsPlutoPolytheistic: many godsProserpinaPolytheistic: many godsRomulus and RemusPolytheistic: many godsSaturnPolytheistic: many godsSol InvictusPolytheistic: many godsVenusPolytheistic: many godsVenus BarbataPolytheistic: many godsVenus CastinaPolytheistic: many godsVestaPolytheistic: many godsVulcanPolytheistic: many godsSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th editiontier 1Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth and Esther Eidinow (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2012s.v. religion, RomanView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.