Comparing the Pantheons

As much as we'd like to think of the Romans as just dumbed-down plagiarizers of the Greeks when it came to their gods, it's just not the case. What is far more likely is that both the Greek and Roman pantheons came from a shared source, one we call "Proto-Indo-European mythology."

This is the body of myths and deities associated with the prehistoric Proto-Indo-Europeans. Of course, the very definition of "prehistoric" means that we can't point to existing sources for this body of myths. But academics doing comparative mythology have been able to back-trace and reconstruct some salient points based on the similarities we see in historic Indo-European languages and mythological motifs.

Combine this with the processes of ancient religious syncretism — which is the blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions — and we see the Roman pantheon not as a devolved version of the Greek, but as a later manifestation of the same tradition, with other external influences beyond the Greeks.

	Aphrodite \| Venus Aphrodite was the first-born of the gods (according to Hesiod). She was the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. She was willing to act on her sexual impulses, lusting after both gods and mortals. She was so desirable that Zeus, fearing the gods would kill each other fighting for her hand, married her off to Hephaestos, the ugliest of the Olympians. She was so beautiful that Paris judged her to be worthy of the golden apple of Dis, a move that started the Trojan War. Venus was much more complex than Aphrodite. For the Romans, she was the mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas, and thus the mother of the Romans themselves. Along with love, beauty, and sexuality, she was also the goddess of vegetation, fertility, and the patroness of prostitutes.
	Apollo \| Apollo Apollo was the most beautiful god, and, for the Greeks, the ideal of the ephebe — the beardless, athletic youth. He was the patron of music, dance, architecture, archery, prophecy, truth, and healing, among other things. He represented light, order, design, harmony, and the functioning of a well-ordered society. As the chief patron and source of the gift of prophecy, he was thought to reside at Delphi, which was the omphalos, or navel, of the entire world. He was always associated with the Sun. The Greeks loved him the most, and considered him a "national divinity" because he represented all they aspired to be. He was the son of Zeus and Leto, the twin of Artemis/Diana, and was certainly the most complex being in the Pantheon. The Romans essentially copied and pasted all the Greek attributes of Apollo, and made no real attempt to "Romanize" him. So he was always an outsider to them, but also a reminder that the Romans saw themselves as the inheritors of Greek culture.
	Ares \| Mars Ares was the god of war. He was so destructive that the Greeks feared him far more than they loved him (yet Aphrodite, the goddess of love, loved him). He represented the carnage that war brings, encouraging bloodlust and the worst impulses of humanity. The Romans, however, favored Mars, because he was connected with the military and with male virility. He was more reasonable and less impulsive than Ares, and more virtuous. He was a defender of city borders and frontiers, and, perhaps most importantly, the father of Romulus and Remus, the mythical twin founders of Rome.
	Artemis \| Diana Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, the protector of virginity, and twin sister of Apollo. Like him, she was associated with a heaven;ly body; for her, it was the moon. Although she was a guardian of virginity, she also assisted in childbirth. Despite being a hunter, she also protected animals. In short, like the moon, she was always changing. Diana was a combination of an Etruscan (the indigenous Italians who pre-dated the Romans) deity who was a goddess of the woods, and the Roman understanding of Artemis. She was still a virgin, goddess of the hunt, and the protector of wild animals. But, in a complication for her virginity, she was also associated with fertility and children, as well as the moon.
	Athena \| Minerva Athena was the virgin goddess of wisdom and crafts, as well as strategy in war. She was the patron goddess of Athens (beating Poseidon for the position, which he never forgot). She sprang, fully-formed, from Zeus' head (unlike most other beings at that time, who sprang, in one way or another, from his loins). Homer's depiction of her in The Iliad captures her paradoxical nature: she's seen dressed in full armor over a beautifully embroidered robe. So she is simultaneously the Greek goddess of "feminine" skills in handcraft and "masculine" skills in war. Minerva had her roots in another Etruscan deity, the goddess of both war and the weather. She was sometimes depicted hurling lightning bolts, something the Greeks reserved for Zeus alone. Although the Romans had other female gods for warfare (e.g., Bellona), Minerva was so revered that many festivals begun in celebration of Mars were later converted to worship her alone.
	Demeter \| Ceres Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, vegetation, and the harvest. She taught the art of sowing and reaping to Triptolemus, who spread this knowledge to the rest of humanity. She was also closely tied to fertility and motherhood, connected to the earth and the rise of agriculture. Demeter (and her daughter, Persephone) was associated with the Eleusian mysteries, a religious cult. She never lived on Olympus, but in her temple, so she could be close to humans and walk the earth. Ceres was pretty much a carbon copy of Demeter. Her association with grain ("cereal") survives today.
	Dionysus \| Bacchus Dionysus was the god of wine, revelry, vegetation, pleasure, the theater, and religious ecstasy. He was thought of as either an older, bearded god or an effeminate, long-haired youth. He stood for everything Apollo did not: disorder, lack of self-control, madness, etc. Bacchus was a conflation of Dionysus and Liber, an Etruscan god who was a son of Ceres. (Proserpina was also a combination of her Greek predecessor and Liber.) Liber was a god of viniculture and wine, but was also a patron of male procreation, and associated with freedom, free speech, and the rights of adulthood.
	Hephaestos \| Vulcan Hephaestos is proof that even gods can have pretty terrible lives. Dependng on who you believe, he was either the son of Zeus and Hera, or of Hera alone through parthenogenesis (aligning him to Athena). He was thrown from Olympus either by Hera, who was appalled by his shrivelled foot, or by Zeus, who was angry because he blocked the Thunder God's attempts to bed his mother. In either case, he became the lame god, and got around in a special chariot that he made. He wasn't very good-looking, but was incredibly strong (at least in his upper body). He was the god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges, and the art of sculpture. He made most of the implements of the gods, from Zeus' lightning bolts to Hermes' sandals to the chariot of the sun. He was married to Aphrodite by Zeus to prevent a war between the gods fighting for her hand. She cheated on him with Ares, so he's also the cuckolded god. Vulcan was another Roman knockoff of the Greek version, although his connection with Sicily and Mount Etna (a volcano) — where the Romans believed his forge to be located — was emphasized more by the Romans than by the Greeks.
	Hera \| Juno Hera was the Queen of the Gods, the sister/wife of Zeus. She was the goddess of marriage, birth, women, the sky and the stars of heaven. She was jealous and vengeful towards the many lovers and offspring of Zeus. Juno, on the other hand, was a bit less nasty. The Romans emphasized her gracefulness and regal manner, rather than focusing on her indignation about her husband's sexual self-indulgence.
	Hermes \| Mercury Hermes was the god of herds and flocks, travellers and hospitality, roads and trade, thievery and cunning, heralds and diplomacy, language and writing, athletic contests and gymnasiums, astronomy and astrology. He was Zeus' herald, and a special guide for those under Zeus' protection. He was the only god that could easily move between earth, Olympus and Hades, so he led shades to Charon, the ferryman on the River Styx. Mercury was closely associated with Hermes, and was a special patron of the grain trade. From there he became one of the principle deities of negotiatores, or Roman businessmen. He had access to great magic, often tricking humans, and his duplicity is seen in the idea of a "mercurial" personality.
	Hestia \| Vesta Although Aprodite precedes her by a generation or two, Hestia is the oldest of Kronos' children, those who became the original six Olympians. She was the goddess of the hearth and home, and probably the least-explored goddess in the Greek Pantheon. The Romans paid far more attention to Vesta, who was the goddess of the fire (both sacred and domestic) as well as the hearth, and the patroness of bakers. She was of the most worshipped of the Roman deities, and her virgin priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, were vital to the fortunes of Rome.
	Poseidon \| Neptune Poseidon was the middle brother of Hades and Zeus. He was the god of the sea, earthquakes, floods, drought and horses. He' was ill-tempered, moody, greedy, and really held a grudge. He made the first horse as a gift to the city of Athens in order to win dominion over that city. But the king gave Athena dominion instead, so Poseidon afflicted the city with drought. He was always changing (like Proteus, who is also associated with the sea), and didn't necessarily look out for the good of humanity. Neptune was the equivalent of Poseidon. Of course, the Romans didn't focus on his attempt to become the patron of Athens, but they knew that the sea itself could turn deadly in a heartbeat, so they tried continuously to placate and appease this god.
	Zeus \| Jupiter Sky god, thunder god, weather god, ruler of the Olympians and the most promiscuous of the gods, Zeus was a powerful human king writ large; he was full of violent passions, involved in squabbles with the other gods, and was always meddling in mortal affairs. But he was also the "Lord of Justice," punishing anyone who lied or broke an oath. He tried always to be fair and to hold all things in balance. Jupiter was certainly less prone to sleeping around than Zeus. He was the most important god for the Roman Legion (surpassing even Mars), the Senators and Consuls, and the city of Rome itself. He was the Patron of the city, and his temple was the official place of state business and sacrifices.
*Although technically not dwellers on Olympus, there are also*
	Hades \| Pluto Hades is the first of the three sons of Kronos (the birth order of the original six Olympians, according to Hesiod, is Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Zeus is never swallowed, but the "vomit order" of the other five siblings is reversed.) He was the ruler of the Underworld, married to Persephone, the daughter of Demeter (whom he abducted). He was a just ruler, but the Greeks didn't feature him in many myths. He owned the Helm of Darkness, which could make its wearer invisible. But he was kind enough to lend it to other gods (Hermes) and even a demigod (Perseus). Pluto was also the god of the dead, but also had under his aegis those who were ill and those wounded in battle. The Romans recognized Pluto's better nature; he was worshipped for his kindness. They also explained away his abduction of Proserpina by saying that Venus wanted him to find love, and sent Cupid to shoot him with his arrow. After being struck, Pluto saw Proserpina, and had no choice but to act on his desire for her.
	Persephone \| Proserpina Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the wife of Hades, and, like her mother, was important in religious mystery cults. She was associated with the changing of the seasons, because the earth would not bring forth its bounty while she was with her husband in the Underworld. In some texts she is the mother os Dionysus. Proserpina was a mash-up of the Greek Persephone and Libera, an Etruscan goddess of wine. The Romans combined these two traditions in myths, worship, and secret rituals.
*And just one more, to give the Romans their due:*
	Kronos \| Saturn Technically a Titan, Kronos was the father of the first six Olympians. Fearing they would overthrow him, he swallowed his children, until his youngest child, Zeus, forced him to regurgitate them all. He was considered the god of time ("chronological"). Saturn, however, was not only the god of time, but also of agriculture. Saturnalia, the most popular holiday on the ancient Roman calendar, derived from older farming-related rituals of midwinter and the winter solstice, especially the practice of offering gifts or sacrifices to the gods during the winter sowing season.

	Aphrodite \| Venus Aphrodite was the first-born of the gods (according to Hesiod). She was the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. She was willing to act on her sexual impulses, lusting after both gods and mortals. She was so desirable that Zeus, fearing the gods would kill each other fighting for her hand, married her off to Hephaestos, the ugliest of the Olympians. She was so beautiful that Paris judged her to be worthy of the golden apple of Dis, a move that started the Trojan War. Venus was much more complex than Aphrodite. For the Romans, she was the mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas, and thus the mother of the Romans themselves. Along with love, beauty, and sexuality, she was also the goddess of vegetation, fertility, and the patroness of prostitutes.
	Apollo \| Apollo Apollo was the most beautiful god, and, for the Greeks, the ideal of the ephebe — the beardless, athletic youth. He was the patron of music, dance, architecture, archery, prophecy, truth, and healing, among other things. He represented light, order, design, harmony, and the functioning of a well-ordered society. As the chief patron and source of the gift of prophecy, he was thought to reside at Delphi, which was the omphalos, or navel, of the entire world. He was always associated with the Sun. The Greeks loved him the most, and considered him a "national divinity" because he represented all they aspired to be. He was the son of Zeus and Leto, the twin of Artemis/Diana, and was certainly the most complex being in the Pantheon. The Romans essentially copied and pasted all the Greek attributes of Apollo, and made no real attempt to "Romanize" him. So he was always an outsider to them, but also a reminder that the Romans saw themselves as the inheritors of Greek culture.
	Ares \| Mars Ares was the god of war. He was so destructive that the Greeks feared him far more than they loved him (yet Aphrodite, the goddess of love, loved him). He represented the carnage that war brings, encouraging bloodlust and the worst impulses of humanity. The Romans, however, favored Mars, because he was connected with the military and with male virility. He was more reasonable and less impulsive than Ares, and more virtuous. He was a defender of city borders and frontiers, and, perhaps most importantly, the father of Romulus and Remus, the mythical twin founders of Rome.
	Artemis \| Diana Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, the protector of virginity, and twin sister of Apollo. Like him, she was associated with a heaven;ly body; for her, it was the moon. Although she was a guardian of virginity, she also assisted in childbirth. Despite being a hunter, she also protected animals. In short, like the moon, she was always changing. Diana was a combination of an Etruscan (the indigenous Italians who pre-dated the Romans) deity who was a goddess of the woods, and the Roman understanding of Artemis. She was still a virgin, goddess of the hunt, and the protector of wild animals. But, in a complication for her virginity, she was also associated with fertility and children, as well as the moon.
	Athena \| Minerva Athena was the virgin goddess of wisdom and crafts, as well as strategy in war. She was the patron goddess of Athens (beating Poseidon for the position, which he never forgot). She sprang, fully-formed, from Zeus' head (unlike most other beings at that time, who sprang, in one way or another, from his loins). Homer's depiction of her in The Iliad captures her paradoxical nature: she's seen dressed in full armor over a beautifully embroidered robe. So she is simultaneously the Greek goddess of "feminine" skills in handcraft and "masculine" skills in war. Minerva had her roots in another Etruscan deity, the goddess of both war and the weather. She was sometimes depicted hurling lightning bolts, something the Greeks reserved for Zeus alone. Although the Romans had other female gods for warfare (e.g., Bellona), Minerva was so revered that many festivals begun in celebration of Mars were later converted to worship her alone.
	Demeter \| Ceres Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, vegetation, and the harvest. She taught the art of sowing and reaping to Triptolemus, who spread this knowledge to the rest of humanity. She was also closely tied to fertility and motherhood, connected to the earth and the rise of agriculture. Demeter (and her daughter, Persephone) was associated with the Eleusian mysteries, a religious cult. She never lived on Olympus, but in her temple, so she could be close to humans and walk the earth. Ceres was pretty much a carbon copy of Demeter. Her association with grain ("cereal") survives today.
	Dionysus \| Bacchus Dionysus was the god of wine, revelry, vegetation, pleasure, the theater, and religious ecstasy. He was thought of as either an older, bearded god or an effeminate, long-haired youth. He stood for everything Apollo did not: disorder, lack of self-control, madness, etc. Bacchus was a conflation of Dionysus and Liber, an Etruscan god who was a son of Ceres. (Proserpina was also a combination of her Greek predecessor and Liber.) Liber was a god of viniculture and wine, but was also a patron of male procreation, and associated with freedom, free speech, and the rights of adulthood.
	Hephaestos \| Vulcan Hephaestos is proof that even gods can have pretty terrible lives. Dependng on who you believe, he was either the son of Zeus and Hera, or of Hera alone through parthenogenesis (aligning him to Athena). He was thrown from Olympus either by Hera, who was appalled by his shrivelled foot, or by Zeus, who was angry because he blocked the Thunder God's attempts to bed his mother. In either case, he became the lame god, and got around in a special chariot that he made. He wasn't very good-looking, but was incredibly strong (at least in his upper body). He was the god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges, and the art of sculpture. He made most of the implements of the gods, from Zeus' lightning bolts to Hermes' sandals to the chariot of the sun. He was married to Aphrodite by Zeus to prevent a war between the gods fighting for her hand. She cheated on him with Ares, so he's also the cuckolded god. Vulcan was another Roman knockoff of the Greek version, although his connection with Sicily and Mount Etna (a volcano) — where the Romans believed his forge to be located — was emphasized more by the Romans than by the Greeks.
	Hera \| Juno Hera was the Queen of the Gods, the sister/wife of Zeus. She was the goddess of marriage, birth, women, the sky and the stars of heaven. She was jealous and vengeful towards the many lovers and offspring of Zeus. Juno, on the other hand, was a bit less nasty. The Romans emphasized her gracefulness and regal manner, rather than focusing on her indignation about her husband's sexual self-indulgence.
	Hermes \| Mercury Hermes was the god of herds and flocks, travellers and hospitality, roads and trade, thievery and cunning, heralds and diplomacy, language and writing, athletic contests and gymnasiums, astronomy and astrology. He was Zeus' herald, and a special guide for those under Zeus' protection. He was the only god that could easily move between earth, Olympus and Hades, so he led shades to Charon, the ferryman on the River Styx. Mercury was closely associated with Hermes, and was a special patron of the grain trade. From there he became one of the principle deities of negotiatores, or Roman businessmen. He had access to great magic, often tricking humans, and his duplicity is seen in the idea of a "mercurial" personality.
	Hestia \| Vesta Although Aprodite precedes her by a generation or two, Hestia is the oldest of Kronos' children, those who became the original six Olympians. She was the goddess of the hearth and home, and probably the least-explored goddess in the Greek Pantheon. The Romans paid far more attention to Vesta, who was the goddess of the fire (both sacred and domestic) as well as the hearth, and the patroness of bakers. She was of the most worshipped of the Roman deities, and her virgin priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, were vital to the fortunes of Rome.
	Poseidon \| Neptune Poseidon was the middle brother of Hades and Zeus. He was the god of the sea, earthquakes, floods, drought and horses. He' was ill-tempered, moody, greedy, and really held a grudge. He made the first horse as a gift to the city of Athens in order to win dominion over that city. But the king gave Athena dominion instead, so Poseidon afflicted the city with drought. He was always changing (like Proteus, who is also associated with the sea), and didn't necessarily look out for the good of humanity. Neptune was the equivalent of Poseidon. Of course, the Romans didn't focus on his attempt to become the patron of Athens, but they knew that the sea itself could turn deadly in a heartbeat, so they tried continuously to placate and appease this god.
	Zeus \| Jupiter Sky god, thunder god, weather god, ruler of the Olympians and the most promiscuous of the gods, Zeus was a powerful human king writ large; he was full of violent passions, involved in squabbles with the other gods, and was always meddling in mortal affairs. But he was also the "Lord of Justice," punishing anyone who lied or broke an oath. He tried always to be fair and to hold all things in balance. Jupiter was certainly less prone to sleeping around than Zeus. He was the most important god for the Roman Legion (surpassing even Mars), the Senators and Consuls, and the city of Rome itself. He was the Patron of the city, and his temple was the official place of state business and sacrifices.
*Although technically not dwellers on Olympus, there are also*
	Hades \| Pluto Hades is the first of the three sons of Kronos (the birth order of the original six Olympians, according to Hesiod, is Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Zeus is never swallowed, but the "vomit order" of the other five siblings is reversed.) He was the ruler of the Underworld, married to Persephone, the daughter of Demeter (whom he abducted). He was a just ruler, but the Greeks didn't feature him in many myths. He owned the Helm of Darkness, which could make its wearer invisible. But he was kind enough to lend it to other gods (Hermes) and even a demigod (Perseus). Pluto was also the god of the dead, but also had under his aegis those who were ill and those wounded in battle. The Romans recognized Pluto's better nature; he was worshipped for his kindness. They also explained away his abduction of Proserpina by saying that Venus wanted him to find love, and sent Cupid to shoot him with his arrow. After being struck, Pluto saw Proserpina, and had no choice but to act on his desire for her.
	Persephone \| Proserpina Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the wife of Hades, and, like her mother, was important in religious mystery cults. She was associated with the changing of the seasons, because the earth would not bring forth its bounty while she was with her husband in the Underworld. In some texts she is the mother os Dionysus. Proserpina was a mash-up of the Greek Persephone and Libera, an Etruscan goddess of wine. The Romans combined these two traditions in myths, worship, and secret rituals.
*And just one more, to give the Romans their due:*
	Kronos \| Saturn Technically a Titan, Kronos was the father of the first six Olympians. Fearing they would overthrow him, he swallowed his children, until his youngest child, Zeus, forced him to regurgitate them all. He was considered the god of time ("chronological"). Saturn, however, was not only the god of time, but also of agriculture. Saturnalia, the most popular holiday on the ancient Roman calendar, derived from older farming-related rituals of midwinter and the winter solstice, especially the practice of offering gifts or sacrifices to the gods during the winter sowing season.

Comparing the Pantheons

Aphrodite | Venus

Apollo | Apollo

Ares | Mars

Artemis | Diana

Athena | Minerva

Demeter | Ceres

Dionysus | Bacchus

Hephaestos | Vulcan

Hera | Juno

Hermes | Mercury

Hestia | Vesta

Poseidon | Neptune

Zeus | Jupiter

Although technically not dwellers on Olympus, there are also

Hades | Pluto

Persephone | Proserpina

And just one more, to give the Romans their due:

Kronos | Saturn