Hello Peeps,

For those who want an exercise in the viture of Piety, write bios of your Pantheon's gods.  It is quite an eye opener since what you think you know, may be all wrong.  Such as Diana for me.

As a Goddess of the Latin League, Diana’s main temple was in Aricia, Italy.  Her sacred grove next to Lake Nemi held her open air altar. ( Read more... )

 
Worshipped in each of the curiae of Rome, Juno Curitis protected the citizen-soldiers of Rome.  In this aspect, She was the only deity universal to all of the curiae.  A traditional prayer to Juno Curitis: “June Curitis protect my fellow natives of the Curia with your Chariot and Shield.”

The sacred geese of Juno Moneta warned the Romans of an ( Read more... )

 
Because Vulcan is the God of the Raging Fire, Romans placed his temple far away from their City as possible.  In addition, they often worshipped the Goddesses Juturna (Goddess of Fountains) and Stata Mater (Goddess who puts out fires) near Him.  The Romans called upon Them to protect against Vulcan’s unpredictable fire.

Since He is also the God of ( Read more... )

As a Goddess of Spring and the Fertility of Gardens, Venus causes the tree and flower buds to open.  For her month of April, She is honored on April 1st at her festival, the Veneralia.  At this time, women would wash and redress her statue.  Later they would bathe themselves, asking the Goddess for help in relations with their men.

This ( Read more... )

 
 Themes in this myth, common to the myths of Prometheus and Pandora, are (1) Aesculapius disobeying the Gods, (2) upsetting the natural order of things, and (3) pushing human knowledge further into the domain of the Gods.  By raising people from the dead, Aesculapius accomplished all three. Zeus and the other Gods saw humans as the eventual ( Read more... )

Aesculapius was the orphaned son of Apollo, the God of Healing, and Cronis, the daughter of Phlegyas of Thessaly.  When He suspected her of infidelity, Apollo set the pregnant Coronis on fire.  However, He did rescue his unborn son from the inferno.

Raised by the Centaur Chiron, Aesculapius learned all the healing arts.  With his considerable gifts ( Read more... )

             In portraying Minerva, people often claim that She is the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Athena with a Roman name.  Wearing her military tunic and aegis, and carrying her shield and spear, Minerva does portray the martial aspects of Athena Promachos (Athena the Champion).  However, the Romans also see Her as one of the Capitoline Trio (with ( Read more... )

Just a note to say that if anyone wants to know their pantheon deeper, one way is to write mini-bios of them.  It is quite an exercise in piety.

As a Goddess of Agriculture, Ceres is another Greek God adopted by the Romans.  To end a famine in 496 BCE, the Sibylline Oracles counseled the Romans to accept Her.  Since then, her role in Roman life has ( Read more... )

 
VESTA

As the Hearth Fire, Vesta is as old as Rome itself.  Her only known temple is a small round building found at the foot of the Palatine Hill.  Said to be established by King Numa (Romulus’ successor), this temple housed important State documents and other sacred ojbects.  Because of this, Vesta’s temple is often associated with the continuance ( Read more... )

 
During a plague in 433 BCE, the Roman Senators consulted the Sibylline Books for advice.  They were told to dedicate a temple to Apollo Medicus (Apollo the Physician) on behalf of the health of the people.  Since Apollo was Greek, the temple was on the Flaminian Field outside the Pomerium (the ancient City boundary of Rome).  During the Second ( Read more... )