ROMAN GODS AND GODDESSES
Diana -Goddess of the Moon
She is also called Cynthia, from her birthplace,
Mount Cynthus in Delos
Apollo's twin sister, daughter of Zeus and Leto
Roman goddess of the moon and hunting
Greek name: Artemis
Fortuna-the Goddess of Luck
She was called upon to bring good luck, but she
sometimes wore a blindfold, depicting the
unknowable qualities of the future.
Greek name: Tyche
Janus-God of Doors and Gates
The god of beginnings and transitions.
He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the
future and the past.
Jupiter-The King of the Gods and God of Lightning and the
Sky
Protector of the state and its laws.
He is a son of Saturn and brother of Neptune and
Juno (who is also his wife).
Greek name: Zeus
Juno-Wife of Jupiter, Queen of the Gods and Goddess of
Marriage
Protector and special counselor of the Roman
state and queen of the gods.
Greek name: Hera
Mars-The God of War
one of the most prominent and worshipped gods.
he was a god of spring, growth in nature, and
fertility, and the protector of cattle.
Greek name: Ares
Bellona-The Goddess of War
She is depicted wearing a helmet and armed with
a spear and a torch.
Her festival was celebrated on June 3 and she had
a temple on the Capitoline Hill.
Greek Name: Enyo
Mercury-The God of Thieves, Commerce and Travelers.
Also the Messenger of Gods
god of trade and profit, merchants and travelers,
but originally of the trade in corn.
Greek name: Hermes
Neptune-the God of the Sea.
brother of Jupiter and Pluto.
was associated as well with fresh water, as
opposed to Oceanus, god of the world-ocean.
Greek name: Poseidon
Pluto- God of death, and the riches under the Earth.
He abducted Proserpina (Gr. Persephone), and her
mother Ceres (Gr. Demeter) who then caused
winter in her grief.
Greek name: Hades
Proserpina-Wife of Pluto, goddess of the underworld.
is an ancient Roman goddess whose story is the
basis of a myth of Springtime.
Greek name: Persephone
Saturn
God of time
was a god of agriculture, liberation
He was thus a god of wealth, and the Temple of
Saturn in the Roman Forum housed the state
treasury.
Ceres-Daughter of Saturn, goddess of farming and
the Earth.
daughter of Saturn and Rhea, wife-sister of
Jupiter, mother of Proserpina by Jupiter, sister of
Juno, Vesta, Neptune and Pluto, and patron of
Sicily.
Greek name: Demeter
Venus-Goddess of Love and Beauty
she was the mother of the Roman people through
her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and
fled to Italy.
Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor.
Greek name: Aphrodite
Vulcan-husband of Venus- the God of Fire and
Blacksmiths. Vulcan was seen as a blacksmith.
the manufacturer of art, arms, iron, and armor for
gods and heroes
Greek name: Hephaestus
Cupid-Son of Venus and Vulcan
is the god of desire, affection and erotic love.
He is often portrayed as the son of the goddess
Venus, with a father rarely mentioned.
Cupid is also known in Latin as Amor ("Love").
The Amores (plural) or amorini in the later
terminology of art history are the equivalent of
the Greek Erotes.
Greek name: Eros
Minerva-virgin goddess of Wisdom, Handicrafts.
goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce,
weaving, crafts, magic.
She is often depicted with her sacred creature, an
owl usually named as the "owl of Minerva", which
symbolizes her ties to wisdom.
Greek name: Athena
Bacchus-god of wine, parties/festivals, madness, and
merriment
His name in Linear B tablets shows he was
worshipped from c. 1500-1100 BC by Mycenean
Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have
been found in ancient Minoan Crete.
Greek name: Dionysus
Vesta-virgin goddess of home and hearth
Vesta's presence is symbolized by the sacred fire
that burned at her hearth and temples.
The importance of Vesta to Roman religion is
indicated by the prominence of the priesthood
devoted to her, the Vestal Virgins, Rome's only
college of full-time priests.
Greek name: Hesti