Greek Mythology – What the Romans Borrowed

The Proper Relationship With the Gods

All historical religions had been about having the precise relationship with the gods and never about believing the precise issues. The Greeks and Romans had been very comparable on this manner. There weren’t actually any heretical beliefs on this time as a result of faith was usually a extra private matter (though state faith definitely existed). Everyone had their very own manner of referring to the gods. They might have adopted some basic tips, however there weren’t any competing spiritual sects. That is the primary main attribute that the Romans borrowed from the Greeks.

The Gods: Totally different and The Identical

It’s true that the Romans borrowed many gods from the Greeks however they virtually all the time put their very own native or nationwide spin on these gods. An instance is the capitoline triad of gods: Jupiter, Minerva and Juno. These gods are just like Zeus, Athena and Hera. These gods had been seen by the Romans as gods of the Capitoline hill and gods of town of Rome particularly. Jupiter was not the identical because the Zeus worshipped in Greece.

The Proper Technique to Worship

Each Greeks and Romans sacrificed to the gods in the identical manner. They’d make choices of animals, different meals or libations of wine. Sacrifice coincides with the pagan perception of getting a proper relationship with the gods. These choices had been meant to appease wrath and supply thanksgiving to try to sway the unknowable will of the gods.

The Odyssey and The Aeneid

The similarities between Greek and Roman myths are highlighted by the similarities between Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid. Virgil was a Roman poet who wrote his epic poem in the course of the reign of the emperor Augustus. The author of the Odyssey, Homer in all probability wrote round 850 BC; many centuries earlier than. The 2 works are very comparable: they each occur after the Trojan struggle they usually each comply with the journey of former soldier within the struggle. The structure of each poems is analogous, however as soon as once more the Romans have taken a Greek custom and made it their very own. The Aeneid is in regards to the discovery of the longer term website of Rome by Aeneas and his interactions with each gods and males alongside the way in which. Whereas each Homer and Virgil current tales born from the Greek fantasy of the Trojan struggle, Virgil makes use of this basic setting to inform the story of how Rome was based.

In conclusion, the Romans borrowed quite a bit from the Greeks however we won’t overlook how they took the Greek myths and faith and made them their very own.



Source by Collin P Earnest

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