Legends of ancient Rome. Myths and gods of ancient Rome School curriculum read myths of ancient Rome

Roman mythology is part of such a broad topic as. And we talked about reading, about the importance of books among citizens in those days in the article.

But let's return to.

First of all, it should be said that Roman religion and mythology were subordinated to the politics, moral principles of Rome and civic duty. Citizens should not have doubts about the structure of their lives and the difference between classes. All rulers are the chosen ones of the gods, and the sons of the gods. Therefore, they are closer to the celestials and they know better what life should be like. Many myths and legends of ancient Rome glorified heroism, they were epic. And, of course, there were mostly emperors.

It should be noted that if among the Greeks religion played a more divine meaning, then among the Romans the gods were an integral part everyday life. They were necessary for plowing the land, sowing, successful germination, rich harvest, etc. The gods each patronized a certain type of activity among people, certain phenomena nature and needed sacrifices. In other words, rituals and cult occupied a central place in the religion of the ancient Romans. This could not but affect myths and legends.

This situation was partly due to the fact that religious scriptures were hidden from members of the Roman Senate. They were only accessible to the priests, who sometimes quoted the scriptures as recommendations for senators.

Many emperors supported poets, artists and sculptors who created their works based on myths and legends of ancient Rome. This contributed to the consolidation of power.

At the end of the 6th - beginning of the 5th century. BC the ancient Romans began to borrow, assigning Roman names to the Greek gods. So, the Romans got the Greek Zeus, whose name changed to Jupiter, the Greek goddess Aphrodite turned into Venus, Ares became Mars, etc. At the same time, the famous Roman myth about the twin brothers Romulus and Remus appeared.

The essence of the legend is that the boys, even in infancy, tried to drown their uncle, the king of one of the Latin cities, in fear of losing his power when the boys turned into young men and gained strength. The newborns were placed in a basket and thrown into the Tiber. But the basket got caught on a tree branch and was found by the she-wolf. She fed the children with her own milk. The boys were later found by a shepherd. He raised and educated them. The brothers became strong and mighty warriors. They rebelled against the king and killed him. Romulus and Reme decided to found a new city. But a dispute arose between them over the location of the building and who would be the ruler in the future. The result was a quarrel, during which Romulus killed Reme. In the place where the she-wolf once found the brothers, Romulus founded a city and named it in his honor, i.e. Rome.

This myth is of great importance for historians, because... The Romans counted from the legendary year of the founding of Rome, i.e. 753 BC Now in one of the Roman museums you can see a statue of the same wolf that once fed two twin brothers. This statue stood on the Capitoline Hill in Rome for a long time. It should be added that the myth of Rome in Virgil appears as an idea about the destiny of Rome to justly rule the world.

To the famous myths and legends of ancient Rome you can also add the myth about the hero of the Trojan War Enes, the legend about the battle of the Horatii and Curiatii, the myth about how geese saved Rome.

Main sources myths and legends of ancient Rome are:

"Aeneid"
Livy, first history books
Ovid "Fasti"
Propertius, 4th book of elegies

In general, the Romans borrowed gods not only from the Greeks, but also from all the peoples they conquered. They worshiped foreign gods as well as their own. The culture of Ancient Rome was intertwined with the achievements of other peoples. It cannot be said that the Romans blindly copied other people’s legends in their works. Much was processed, some were brought to perfection and surpassed in beauty the original sources.

Read myths and legends of ancient Rome no less interesting than fairy tales. Moreover, many of them are still pearls of literary art, on the creation of which many of the greatest ancient Roman poets spent many years. For example, “The Aeneid” took 10 long years to write. Subsequently, this work inspired many artists and poets to create their masterpieces. It should be remembered that the entire Western European culture was based on ancient art until the 19th century.

Happy reading!

Birth. Zeus's father Kronos, who overthrew his father, Zeus's grandfather Uranus (see ""), was not sure that power would remain in his hands. Then Cronus ordered his wife Rhea to bring him their children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, whom he ate. Rhea did not want to lose her sixth child Zeus and hid him on the island of Crete.

Fighting the Titans. When Zeus grew up and matured, he decided to bring back his brothers and sisters by forcing Cronus to vomit them out of his womb. Kron returned the children and they began a long and stubborn struggle with the Titans. Eventually the Titans were defeated and cast into Tartarus.

Fight against Typhon. After everyone thought that the battle was over, it turned out that everything was not so simple. The Mother of the Titans, Gaia-Earth, was angry with Zeus and gave birth to a terrible hundred-headed monster from Tartarus - Typhon, and Zeus sent him to Tartarus.

Olympus. As you know, Zeus is on, surrounded by a host of gods. Here are his wife Hera, golden-haired Apollo with his sister Artemis, Aphrodite and Athena. Zeus and the gods decide the fate of people and the whole world.

Wives of Zeus. Zeus's wife was Hera, the patroness of marriage and the birth of children. After Cronus disgorged his children, Rhea took Hera to the gray Ocean, where she was raised by Thetis, but Zeus fell in love with her and kidnapped her. Hera is very powerful and constantly argues at meetings of the gods, which infuriates Zeus.

Another wife of Zeus was Io, whom Zeus turned into a cow, protecting her from the jealous Hera, however, this did not help, Hera sent a huge gadfly to her, from which she got rid of according to the prediction of Prometheus, in Egypt she gave birth to a son, Epaphus.

Apollo

Birth. The god of light Apollo was born on the island of Delos. His mother Latona found refuge on this island, as Hera was hot on her heels and sent the terrible serpent Python. The birth of Apollo was marked by streams of bright light.

Fighting Python. Young Apollo threatened everything evil and gloomy, he went to Python’s home, challenged him to a duel and won. Apollo buried it in the ground of the sacred city of Delphi, where he created his sanctuary and oracle.

Apollo at Admetus. Atonement for his sin, Apollo tended the flocks of King Admetus, he made them magnificent and helped to receive the hand of Queen Alcesta. Besides that, he ruled. It was composed of Calliope - the muse of epic poetry, Euterpe - the muse of lyric poetry, Erato - the muse of love songs, Melpomene - the muse of tragedy, Thalia - the muse of comedy, Terpsichore - the muse of dance, Clio - the muse of history, Urania - the muse of astronomy and Polyhymnia - the muse of sacred hymns. Apollo can also punish. It was he who punished the sons of Aloe - Ott and Ephialtes, they threatened to climb into the sky and kidnap Hera and Artemis. The Phrygian satyr Marsyas also suffered from the hand of Apollo; he dared to compete with him in playing the harp, which Athena abandoned, cursing the instrument, since it disfigured her face. Apollo won the competition and ordered Marsyas to be hanged, skinning him.

Myths about Artemis

Artemis, like Apollo, was born on the island of Delos at the same time as Apollo. She watches over everything that grows on earth and blesses weddings, marriages and the birth of children. When hunting, the goddess is always accompanied by nymphs.

Artemis can punish, which is what she did with Actaeon, the son of Autonoia and the daughter of Cadmus, who disturbed his peace by turning him into a deer, which was torn to pieces by his own dogs.

Athena-Pallas

Pallas Athena was born from the head of Zeus, since the Moiras told him that the son of the goddess Metis would take power from him, and before his daughter was born he swallowed his own wife. Soon Zeus began to have headaches and he ordered Hephaestus to split his head, and Athena appeared from his head.

Athena gives wise advice, protects cities, teaches girls how to weave, but she also knows how to punish. So Arachne was punished by her, she challenged Athena to a duel, which lasted a long time, but in the end Arachne could not stand it and hanged herself, but Athena took her out of the noose and turned her into a spider.

Hermes

Hermes was born in a grotto on Mount Cyllena in Arcadia. Hermes guards the roads, accompanies travelers during their lifetime and sends them to Hades. At the same time, Hermes is the deity of thieves and rogues. It was he who stole Apollo's cows.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite was born near the island of Cythera. She is the personification of beauty and eternal youth. She is constantly on Olympus among the gods. She gives happiness to those who serve her. This happened to the Cypriot artist Pygmalion, he blinded beautiful girl and constantly talked to her, then he asked Aphrodite to give him as a wife the same statue as his. Arriving home, he saw that his statue had come to life.

In addition, Aphrodite can punish, this is what happened to the proud son of the river god Cephisus, the cold Narcissus. When he got lost in the forest, the nymph Echo saw him, she wanted to touch him, but he pushed her away and disappeared into the forest, making the nymph suffer. Aphrodite sent a terrible punishment to Narcissus - when he came to a stream to drink, he fell in love with his own reflection in the water, she turned him into white near death - Narcissus.

Hephaestus

Hephaestus - the son of Hera and Zeus, the god of fire and a blacksmith, was born weak and lame, Hera threw him out of Olympus, and the goddesses of the ocean raised him when he fell. Hephaestus grew up lame and ugly, but he knew how to forge beautiful things. Remembering his mother’s act, he forged a beautiful chair and sent it to her as a gift, but as soon as Hera sat in it, she was trapped, no one except Hephaestus could free her, and he did not want to do this, then Hermes sent the god of wine, Dionysus, he drugged Hephaestus and he freed his mother, because he no longer remembered the insult. He built beautiful palaces for the gods on Olympus. However, Hephaestus can also be formidable; it was he who defeated the giants with his weapon.

Phaeton

Phaeton is the son of the sun god Helios and Klymene, the daughter of the sea goddess Thetis. When Phaeton's relative, the son of Zeus Epaphus, began to insult him, saying that he was the son of a mere mortal, Phaeton ran in tears to his mother and she sent him to Helios, who confirmed that he was his father. Phaeton asked his father to ride in his chariot, Helios fearfully allowed him and Phaeton, unable to resist, fell and crashed on the banks of Eridanus.

Dionysus

Dionysus was born to Zeus from the beautiful Semele, the daughter of King Cadmus. Zeus promised her to fulfill any of her requests and the jealous Hera made sure that Semele asked Zeus to appear to her in full majesty. Zeus appeared to her and Semele fell in horror and gave birth to Dionysus, weak and unable to live, but Zeus saved him by sewing him into his rib. Dionysus grew stronger and was born a second time, and then Zeus took him to his sister Ino and her husband Atamant, the king of Orkhomenes.

Hera became angry and sent madness to Atamant, in a fit of which he killed his son Learchus and rushed after Ino, but she fled and threw herself into the sea.

Hermes saved Dionysus from the mad Atamant and gave him to be raised by the nymphs, who were turned by Zeus into the constellation Hyades.

Dionysus always walks around the world accompanied by drunken satyrs. However, not everyone recognizes the power of Dionysus and then he punishes, this is exactly what happened with Lycurgus attacking Dionysus, along with his daughters who did not go to the festival of Dionysus, he turned him into bats. He also punished the pirates who tried to sell him into slavery by entwining the ship with vines, and he turned the pirates into dolphins, and he also punished King Midas by giving him donkey ears.

The myth of the generation of people

The myth talks about the generations of people that Zeus gave birth to. First, he made the first generation, who lived in the golden age, knowing neither sadness nor anxiety. The second genus was intelligent and had a short life. Cronus, angry with them, expelled them to the underworld; this was the Silver Age.

People of the third century did not know peace and loved to fight.

The people of the fourth century were heroes who fought for Troy and King Oedipus.

The fifth race of people was born in the age of iron - an age of debilitating sorrows that continues to this day.

Perseus

King Acrisius of Argos had a daughter, Danae. Acrisius was predicted that he would die at the hands of the son of Danae. And then Acrisius built an underground palace and imprisoned his daughter there. But Zeus fell in love with Danae and entered the palace in the form of golden rain, after which Danae had a son, Perseus. Hearing the laughter of Perseus, Acrisius was frightened and went down to the palace, imprisoned his daughter in a box and threw it into the sea. After long wanderings, Perseus found refuge with King Polydectes.

When Perseus grew up, Polydectes sent him to fetch the head of the Gorgon Medusa. Athena and Hermes came to the aid of Perseus. After a long journey, Perseus came to the country where the Gorgon lived and killed her, and put her head in a bag.

After a long journey, tired Perseus found refuge with Atlas, but he drove him away and then Perseus showed him the head of Medusa and Atlas turned into stone. Returning to Polydectes, he showed him the jellyfish, since he did not believe him. In Argos he killed his grandfather Acrisius.

Labors of Hercules

1. Nemean Lion. In the first labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to kill the Nemean lion, generated by Typhon and Echidna, which was devastating everything. Hercules found the lion's lair and waited, then he shot the lion and killed him by stunning him with a club and then strangling him. Putting the lion on his shoulders, he carried him to Mycenae.

2. Lernaean Hydra. This is the second labor of Hercules. He went to the Hydra's lair with Iolaus. He began to beat her with a club, but she still remained alive. Then, on the orders of Hercules, Iolaus burned the heads of the hydra. Hercules buried the immortal head, and cut the body and immersed the arrows in gall, the wounds from which were now incurable.

3. Stymphalian birds. After defeating the hydra, Eurytheus orders Hercules to kill the Stymphalian birds. Pallas Athena gave him tympanums, with which he made a noise and the birds began to circle above him, which he shot with arrows from a bow. Some of them flew away from Stymphalus in fear.

4. Kerynean fallow deer. Eurystheus then sent Hercules to fetch the Cerynean hind. For a whole year he pursued the doe and finally killed her. Artemis wanted to punish him, but he said, he killed the doe not of his own free will, but on the orders of Eurytheus, and the goddess forgave him.

5. Erymanthian bull. After the fallow deer, Eurystheus sent Hercules for the Erymanthmic bull. Before the battle, Hercules fought with the centaurs, during which he was wounded best friend Charon. This circumstance greatly saddened Hercules. He killed the bull and showed it to the king, after which he hid in a jug.

6. Animal Farm of King Augeas. Eurystheus then ordered Hercules to cleanse barnyard King Augeas, who stood dirty for years, Hercules agreed, but demanded a tenth of the herd as payment. He cleaned the barnyard with the waters of the river in one day.

7. Cretan bull. To catch the Cretan bull, Hercules went to Crete. This bull was devastating everything around. Hercules caught him and tamed him. But then he sent him back, where Theseus killed him.

8. Horses of Diomedes. After taming the bull, Hercules went to Thrace, where King Diomedes had horses. Hercules captured the horses and killed Diomedes. He released the horses and they were torn to pieces by wild animals.

9. Belt of Hippolyta. Eurystheus then sent Hercules to fetch Hippolyta's belt to the land of the Amazons. Hercules wanted to get the belt peacefully, but the jealous Hera did everything to start a war, in which the belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyta was obtained at the cost of captivity.

10. Cows of Geryon. After going to the Amazons, Eurystheus tells Hercules to bring him the cows of the giant Geryon. Along the way, Hercules killed the dog Orff and the giant Eurytion, and then Geryon himself. Bringing the cows cost him a lot of work.

11. Kerber. After receiving the cows, Eurystheus orders to go to Hades for the dog Kerberus. Hercules tamed the dog and brought him to Mycenae, but the cowardly Eurystheus asked to send the dog back to Hades.

12. Apples of the Hesperides. The last feat for Hercules was the most difficult - to get the apples of the Hesperides. On his way, he killed Antaeus, king of Busiris, and held the firmament for Atlas while he went for apples. But Eurystheus also gave the apples back to the garden.

Daedalus and Icarus

Being the greatest artist, Daedalus killed his nephew Tal out of envy. Fleeing from death, he fled to Crete, where he lived for many years. Together with his son, he wanted to fly away on wings made of wax, but Icarus died, and Daedalus reached Sicily, where Minos later died.

The Myth of Thisus

Birth and upbringing. Aegeus reigned carefree in Athens, but he was saddened by one circumstance - he had no children. The oracle gave him a prophecy that he would have a son and become greatest hero Greece. Leaving for Athens, Aegeus put his sword and sandals under the rock and told Ephra that when Theseus himself was able to move the rock, let him take them. Theseus himself grew up strong and handsome.

Theseus in Athens. After Theseus, at his mother’s request, took his father’s sword and sandals, he went to Athens to see his father. On the way, he defeated the greatest robbers: the giant Periphetus, Sinid and Procrustes, as well as the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, the pig. In Athens, Theseus also defeated the bull tamed by Hercules (see the 7th labor of Hercules).

Travel to Crete. When Theseus came to Crete, Attica was in sadness, since the townspeople had to give 7 young men and women to be devoured by the Minotaur every 9 years. With the help of Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, he killed the Minotaur and left the labyrinth, but forgot to replace the sails with white, which killed his father. Aegeus rushed into the sea, thinking that his son had died.

Theseus and the Amazons. Theseus ruled wisely in Athens, often leaving for various wars. So he brought Queen Antiope from Themiscyra, the city of the Amazons, and married her. The Amazons wanted to free their queen and invaded Athens. A war began, in which Antiope was killed, fighting on the side of Theseus.

Theseus and Peirithous. The leader of the Lapiths, Peirifoy, who lived in Thessaly, wanted to measure his strength with Theseus, thereby challenging him to a duel. But both were so majestic that they immediately stopped fighting. After this, Theseus went to the wedding of Peirifoy, where the battle with the Centaurs took place.

The abduction of Persephone. Death of Theseus. When Peirifoy's wife Hippodamia died, Peirifoy decided to marry again. Then they kidnapped Helen, and then wanted to kidnap the wife of Hades himself, Persephone, but were punished, power passed to Menestheus, and Theseus was overtaken by death.

Orpheus and Eurydice

The great singer Orpheus had a beautiful wife, the nymph Eurydice, but his happiness did not last long, as Eurydice died from a snake bite. Orpheus went to Hades and asked to return her, Hades returned Eurydice, but asked Orpheus not to turn back when they returned, but he did not listen and lost Eurydice forever. Afterwards, Orpheus began to hate women and was torn to pieces by the Bacchantes.

Argonauts

Frixus and Hella. Athamas had children Phrixus and Gella, but he cheated on his wife Nephele and married Cadmus' daughter Ino, but she did not love his children. Ino bribed the ambassadors and they brought false news that the famine would end if Phrixus was sacrificed. But Nephele sent a golden-fleeced ram to save the children. Hella died when the ram flew over the sea, and the ram brought Frixus to Colchis to the son of the Sun god, the wizard Eet. The ram was sacrificed, and the fleece was hung in the grove, which was guarded by a vigilant dragon. The rumor about the rune spread throughout Greece; the prosperity of the entire family depended on it.

The birth and upbringing of Janson. Athamas' brother Creteus ruled in Thessaly. But after his death, Anson began to rule, but the cruel Pelias took power from him. When Anson's son was born, out of fear, he gave him up to be raised by the centaur Charon. When Janson grew up, he came back to Iolk, where he was born to his father. On the way, he met Pelias, and after meeting with Anson, Janson demanded that Pelias return power to him. But the cunning Pelias, planning to destroy Janson, demanded that he get the Golden Fleece.

Trip to Colchis. After a conversation with Pelius, Janson began preparing for the campaign to Colchis. He gathered many heroes, a ship was built and the gods patronized Janson.

Argonauts on the island of Lemnos. After swimming, the heroes landed on the island of Lemnos. They enjoyed the feasts for a long time, but Herax persuaded them to go further.

On the Cyzicus Peninsula. While traveling through Protontis, the Argonauts landed on the island of Cyzicus, where the Dolions lived. After defeating the six-armed giants at night, the Argonauts again arrived at the island, but the inhabitants did not recognize them and the war began; only in the morning did they realize their mistake.

Argonauts in Mysia. After a short voyage, the Argonauts arrived in Mysia, where Hercules and Hylas disappeared. The saddened Argonauts returned to the ship, but the sea god Glaucus said that Hercules must return to Greece and perform 12 labors with Eurystheus.

Amik's Argonauts. The next day, the Argonauts landed on the shore of Bethany. King Amik ruled there, who was proud of his strength and forced everyone to fight him. Amik was defeated and killed when Polydeuces fought with him, then the Bebriks attacked the Argonauts, but were put to flight by them.

Argonauts at Phineus. Soon the Argonauts arrived on the shores of Thrace. Coming ashore, they saw the house where Phineus, who used to be a king, lived. For abusing the gift of divination, Phineus became blind and the gods sent harpies to him, who spoiled his food. The sons of Boreas chased after them, but the messenger of the gods, Iris, forbade the harpy to touch Phineus’ food; after a hearty lunch, Phineus predicted the Argonauts’ future fate.

Symplegades. Phineus predicted to the Argonauts that on their way they would encounter the rocks of Symplegades, which converge and diverge. Then the Argonauts released a dove and it flew between the rocks, and a ship passed behind it, and then the rocks of Symplegades stopped.

Aretiada Island. Arrival in Colchis. The Argonauts sailed for a long time, but then a bird rose from the island and threw a copper feather, flying over the ship, the feather pierced Oilei’s shoulder. Taking the feather out of the wound, the Argonauts saw that it was an arrow. The Argonauts realized that these were Stymphalidae birds that lived on the island of Aretiada. The heroes arrived on the island and began to make noise and shout, while the birds rose into the sky and began throwing arrows, after which they disappeared over the horizon. On the island, the Argonauts met the sons of Phrixus, who were shipwrecked on their way back to Orchomen. The next morning the heroes arrived in Colchis.

Hera and Aphrodite. When the Argonauts arrived in Colchis, the gods began to consult how to help Janson. The goddesses Hera and Athena decided to go to Aphrodite, so that she would tell her son Eros to pierce the heart of Medea, the daughter of Eetus, with arrows.

Janson at Eet. In the morning, the Argonauts decided to go to Eetus to ask him to give the fleece. When they arrived at Eeta's palace, Medea saw them and screamed in amazement. At the palace, Argos informed Eetus that Janson had arrived for the Golden Fleece. Enraged, Eet decided to destroy Janson by ordering him to plow the field of Ares and sow it with the teeth of the dragon and then fight with the warriors from the teeth of the dragon.

The Argonauts turn to Medea. Returning to the ship, Janson spoke about Eet's instructions. Then Argos said that Medea, the great sorceress, lived in the palace of Eeta. When the Argonauts asked for help, she took out an ointment which she gave to Yanson, explaining how to use it.

Janson's feat. Deep at night Janson made a sacrifice to Hecate. In the morning he went to Eet and he gave him dragon teeth. Yanson rubbed the magic ointment on his shield and spear, and then anointed himself and his body acquired superhuman strength. Then he harnessed the oxen and plowed the field, sowed it with the teeth of the dragon, and when warriors grew from the teeth, he fought with them, killing every single one. Seeing this, Eet decided to destroy Janson.

Theft of the Golden Fleece. Eet guessed that Janson accomplished the feat with the help of Medea. Great danger threatened both of them, then Medea decided to help Janson steal the fleece. She put the dragon to sleep, and Janson took off the fleece and quickly untied Argo, he rushed away from Colchis. Eetus sent in pursuit of him.

Return of the Argonauts. When the Argonauts saw that the coast of Istra was occupied by the Colchians, they decided to destroy them by cunning. Janson sent the leader of the Colchian army, Absirit, expensive gifts, as if these were gifts from Medea, and convinced him to come to the temple, where he killed him. The Argonauts then set off, but a storm began and a voice from the bark told them to go to Circe for purification. Circe cleared the Argonauts of murder and they happily rode on and soon arrived in Iolcus.

Death of Pelias. Pelias did not keep his word to give power to Janson. Then Janson decided to take revenge on Pelias and asked Medea to rejuvenate Anson and she fulfilled his wishes, the daughters of Pelias found out about this and asked to rejuvenate Pelias. Medea made a slightly different potion and, having put Pelia to sleep, killed him, but Janson never managed to gain power. The son of Pelia expelled Janson from Iolcus, Janson retired with Medea to Corinth.

Death of Janson. After the expulsion, Janson and Medea began to live in Corinth with King Creon, but Janson cheated on Medea and when their children were born, he fell in love with the king’s daughter Glauca. Medea became angry and planned to destroy both of them. She sent Glavka a poisoned dress and crown, which killed her, then Medea killed her children, and Janson also died under the rubble of the Argo.

The myth of Aeneas. The myth is about Aeneas's journey to Italy to found a city there. He overcame many wanderings, participated in the war with Turnus, which he won. After the war, he founded a new city and was taken to heaven.

Legends of Rome. A descendant of Aeneas, Numitor, reigned in the city of Alba Longo; his brother Apulius was jealous of him and overthrew him from the throne, then killed Numitor’s son, and made his daughter a priestess of the goddess Vesta.

When Rhea gave birth to Numitor's daughter from her marriage to Mirs, Amulius ordered the twins to be thrown into the Tiber. The children were thrown into the Tiber, but a she-wolf found them and took them to her lair, where they were later found by the shepherd Faustulus; the boys were named Romulus and Remus. The brothers were brave; it was Romulus who killed Amulius and freed his brother. Romulus founded a city called Rome after the death of Remus.

About Roman mythology

Before we begin the story about Roman myths, we should say a few words about the essence of ancient Roman mythology as such. We often perceive Roman mythology as borrowed from the Greeks, which is hardly true. In fact, the ancient Roman religion is very original and all the Greek influence on it is quite late, although impressive. The Roman pantheon is extremely vast and complex in its composition and the functions of the deities included in it, while various aspects of beliefs permeated all spheres of life of the ancient Romans.

The Roman religion developed over many centuries as the Roman state grew - from a small city to a huge empire. Let's try to briefly and superficially understand various aspects of the formation of the classical Roman pantheon - the one with which we are all most likely familiar from Greek mythology.

The most ancient objects of religious veneration among the Romans were spirits - the patrons of the family, whose cult is older than the city of Rome itself. The Romans themselves believed that the veneration of these spirits came to Rome from Lavinium and Alba Longa, more ancient cities of Italy. Such patron spirits include manas - the shadows of the dead, protecting their family after death, household deities penates and lares. Penates, Lares and Manes did not have their own names, were not personified and were revered by the Romans as a kind of nameless multitude. They will be discussed in more detail in the relevant sections.

The cult of the patrons of the clan had, of course, a private, family character. Often the patron of the clan was a certain legendary ancestor, for example, the Yuliev clan honored Yul, the son of Aeneas, in this capacity. As the state formed and the clan organization lost its significance, some clan gods began to be revered within the whole state, changing the functions attributed to them. There is an opinion, for example, that the cult of Faun, the cheerful god - patron of shepherds, originally belonged to the families of the Fabii and Quinctilians.

Like most ancient peoples known to us, the Romans also deified streams and springs. Like the Penates and Lares, these forces were represented by the Romans as a nameless multitude of spirits. The Romans revered a group of such water spirits under the name “stones.” The legendary Roman king Numa Pompilius dedicated a source in Rome to the stones; small bronze chapels were built in their honor in the groves, where water and milk were sacrificed. Their analogues, in some way, were the Greek nymphs, and subsequently the stones were identified with the Greek muses, goddesses of the arts and sciences.

The most important starting point for the formation of the classical Roman pantheon are the so-called agrarian cults: rituals and beliefs associated with agriculture and cattle breeding. Many of the most important gods of the Roman pantheon, who received other functions in the future, trace their origins precisely to agrarian cults. For example, Mars, the god of war in the classical era, in ancient times was considered the god of fertilization, the patron saint of agriculture and cattle breeding; Venus, later identified with the Greek Aphrodite and transformed into the goddess of love and beauty, was originally the deity of gardening and viticulture.

To a large extent, the complex composition of the Roman pantheon was generated by the diversity of groups that made up the Roman community: it included Latin, Sabine and Etruscan tribes. Each tribe, each clan brought their own deities into the Roman pantheon. Over time, the Roman state grew, and when its territory included new lands, the Roman pantheon acquired new gods from all over Italy.

It should be noted that ancient Roman mythology, in comparison with Greek, is rather poor in vivid images of gods and memorable myths about their deeds. We have already mentioned the veneration of nameless multitudes of spirits; cults of such deities as Peace, Hope, Valor, and Justice were also common. These abstract concepts were practically impersonal; they could not even be considered real personifications. Nevertheless, sacrifices were made in their honor and temples were built.

It is curious that some of the ancient Roman gods did not have a specific gender, for example, the ancient deity of the shepherds Pales is mentioned as both a god and a goddess. Often the priests themselves were not sure which gender the deity belonged to, and addressed him “sive deus, sive dea” - “either a god or a goddess.”

Roman rites were just as stingy and formal. The veneration of the gods was reduced to performing clearly regulated actions and pronouncing legal formulas. The most terrible thing was the deviation from the verified ritual, which promised divine punishment. In his prayers, the Roman listed in detail what he wanted to receive from God and what he was ready to give him in return. Often such punctuality in relationships came down to the art of deceiving God so as not to give him anything extra, for example, instead of how many heads (of cattle), the Roman offered God the same number of heads of garlic and put himself in the calculations with higher powers.

The ancient Roman religion, dry and practical, turned out to be very susceptible to the influence of the Greeks with their vivid poetic myths and complex relationships between the gods, each of which had its own history and distinct character. The earliest influence on the Romans came through the Greek colonies on the west coast of Italy: Cumae and Naples. Then the god Apollo and Hercules, a deified hero, who, by virtue of consonance, united with the Roman Hercules and became first the national patron of war, and then of trade, came to the Romans.

The Greeks had a serious influence on the Roman religion even after their subjugation to Rome. Greek colonies in Southern Italy; this influence increased even more after the conquest of Greece itself in the 2nd century BC. e. Gradually, the Romans adopted the rich Greek mythology and transferred it to their gods. This is how the syncretic Greco-Roman pantheon emerged, and the believers themselves ceased to distinguish between the origins of the gods.

The Roman poet Ennius writes about the twelve main gods of Ancient Rome, in many ways similar to the ancient Greek Olympian pantheon. Together these deities formed the council of Jupiter and were responsible for maintaining world order. Here they are:

Jupiter (Zeus among the Greeks) is the god of the sky, thunder and lightning, the father of the gods, the supreme deity of the Roman pantheon;

Neptune (Poseidon among the Greeks) is the god of the seas;

Vulcan (among the Greeks Hephaestus) is the god of fire and blacksmithing;

Apollo - god of light, sciences and arts;

Mercury (Hermes among the Greeks) is the god of trade;

Mars (Greeks Ares) - god of war;

Juno (among the Greeks Hera) - goddess of marriage, wife of Jupiter;

Minerva (Athena among the Greeks) is the goddess of wisdom and crafts;

Ceres (Demeter among the Greeks) is the goddess of fertility;

Venus (Aphrodite among the Greeks) is the goddess of love and beauty;

Vesta (Hestia among the Greeks) is the goddess of the family hearth;

Diana (Greeks Artemis) is the goddess of the hunt.

They were called dii consentes, advisory gods. Subsequently, eight more gods were added to them: Janus, Saturn (for the Greeks Kronos), Genius, Pluto (for the Greeks Hades), Liber the Father, Earth, Sun and Moon. Collectively they were called dii magni, the great gods. There were also a huge number of different dii minores, minor gods.

Most of the Roman myths about the great and lesser gods are identical to the Greek ones. We see no need to retell them in this book and recommend that the interested reader turn to works on Greek mythology for them. Our goal in this chapter is to acquaint the reader with specific Roman beliefs and myths that have no analogues among the Greeks, as well as characteristic features Roman religious holidays and superstitions.

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The origin of ancient mythology To complete the presentation of the issue, let us briefly compare the myths about the origin of the world among the Greeks and in the Jewish Torah. The first book of Deuteronomy “Genesis” begins algorithmically similar to the Greek creation (the latter is given by us in the subchapter

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Introduction

1. The history of ancient Roman mythology

2. Pantheon of Roman gods

3. Myths of Ancient Rome “Romulus and Remus. Founding of Rome"

4. “Seven Kings of Ancient Rome”

List of sources used

INTRODUCTION

The worldview of the ancient Romans was based on the idea that the gods destined Rome for power over the world. This contributed to the emergence of the cult of Rome itself and the formation of the so-called “Roman myth,” reflecting the legendary Roman history. Researchers divide the plots of the “Roman myth” into three groups. The first is associated with the founding of the Roman state by the legendary hero Aeneas, the second with the emergence of Rome itself and the so-called “time of kings.”

The third group of subjects of the “Roman myth” is associated with the establishment and early stage of the existence of the Roman Republic. These tales tell of heroes sacrificing themselves for the glory and prosperity of Rome. The Romans regarded such self-sacrifice not only as a manifestation of patriotism, but also as the fulfillment of the will of the gods, who destined Rome for a dominant position in the world.

1. HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROMAN MYTHOLOGY

There are several opinions about the stages of development of Roman mythology. Some historians take as a basis the books of the priests “Indigitamenta”, which tell us about impersonal harmful or beneficial forces - numina (numina), characteristic of individual objects, living beings, actions. Initially, the gods were represented in the form of symbols: - stone, Mars - spear, Vesta - fire.

Characteristic feature early stage In the development of mythology, there was uncertainty about the gender of deities (Pales), which was reflected in the presence of male and female hypostases in some of them (Faun - Faun, Pomon - Pomona), in referring to the gods as “god or goddess”. According to some historians, myths in Ancient Rome appeared only under the influence of Etruscan and Greek mythology. The Greeks brought their gods and the myths associated with them to Rome, and taught the Romans to build temples. Modern researchers are debating this theory, since the compilers of the “Indigitamenta” were priests, not the people. Over time, Greek and Etruscan influences began to receive less and less attention, focusing on the originality of Roman culture.

The formation of the ancient Roman religion developed in parallel with the process of unification of communities on which the emergence of Rome was based. The gods of individual communities merged with each other. As clan ties were replaced by neighbors and clans by surnames, the main role began to be played by cults of surnames grouped around Vesta, Lares and Penates. Along with them, there were cults of neighboring communities - curiae, cults of the entire Roman civil community, which, however, were not fenced off from each other. All of them were under the control of the college of pontiffs, which pushed aside the flamenian priests. It was believed that what was done for the benefit of the community also served the benefit of individual citizens, and vice versa.

The development of Roman mythology was influenced by the following factors:

· The democratization of society made it possible for plebeians to become priests. This did not allow the caste to develop. The civil community itself became the highest authority, which led to the absence of religious dogma. Citizens are required to honor the gods, as they were a major part of their community. But, at the same time, they could think, speak and write anything about them, even denying their existence

· The victorious Roman aggression, which cost the people considerable sacrifices, is justified by the myth of Rome as a city founded by the destinies of the gods, who destined it for power over the world, of the Roman people as chosen by the gods

· Exposure to more advanced cultures and religions

Borrowing greek gods began no later than the end of the 6th - beginning of the 5th century. BC with the introduction of the cult of Apollo, then the Romans began to get acquainted with Greek myths and mysteries dedicated to Dionysus, with Greek religious and philosophical movements. Interpreting myths statesmen began to claim divine origin (the first was Scipio Africanus), the special protection of the deity (Sulla and Caesar - the patronage of Venus, Anthony - Hercules and Dionysus), the immortality of souls and special places for their stay after death. The cult of generals spread in the provinces. Thus was prepared the imperial cult, which began with the deification of Caesar and Augustus, and then his successors. Emperors identified themselves with gods, their wives with goddesses. With the establishment of the empire, the “Roman myth”, due to the exclusion of the people from participation in state affairs, the loss by Rome of its character of a civil community, began to lose its popularity.

2. PANTHEON OF ROMAN GODS

Unlike most ancient peoples, the Romans extremely rarely depicted their gods and did not create myths about them - about their birth and family ties, relationships with each other and with people, quarrels and love affairs. The Romans deliberately refused to give their gods any appearance or character. Often even their gender and name remained uncertain. According to Jan Parandovsky, it was precisely this principle that elevated the Romans above all other ancient peoples who defamed the honor of the gods with myths.

The gods were divided into heavenly, earthly and underground, but could act in all three worlds. The worlds of gods, people and the dead were delimited (the right of the gods, fas, did not mix with the right of man, ius) and at the same time interconnected (people did not start a single important business without knowing how the gods would react to it). Big role At the same time, augurs and haruspices played, explaining the will of the gods by the flight and behavior of birds, the entrails (especially the liver) of sacrificial animals, and lightning strikes. The books of the Sibyl, associated with the cult of Apollo, served the same purpose. They were kept secret by the college of priests. When, in the opinion of the oracles, the signs were threatening, then the priests, by order of the Senate, sought advice in these books. It was believed that the gods of Rome's Enemies could be lured to their side using the formula evocatio. When Rome became the head of the Latin Union, it adopted the cults of its gods Diana of Aricia and Jupiter Latiaris. The center of the cult in Rome, which finally took shape as a single city, became the Capitoline Temple, and the god of Roman power and glory was Jupiter Capitolinus.

There is an assumption that the Romans once had a myth about the creation of the world by the god Janus. His name means "door", "gate". He was the god of entry and exit, as well as every beginning, the new year, the beginning of war, the first day of the month, the birth of the man. Janus was depicted with keys, three hundred and sixty-five fingers (according to the number of days in the year) and with two faces, meaning that one face is turned to the past, the other to the future.

The ancient Romans believed that every object and phenomenon - regardless of its significance - has a special patron god. In the Roman pantheon there was the god of sowing and the god of seed growth, the god of the birth of a child, the god of his first cry, the god of going for a walk, the god of returning home, and so on.

The Romans, like all ancient peoples, deified the forces of nature, worshiped trees and springs, animals and birds. Of the trees, they most revered the oak and fig tree, among the animals - the wolf, among the birds - the eagle and the woodpecker. Faun was considered the god of fields, forests and pastures, the patron of animals, whose cult was associated with the cult of the wolf. In honor of Faun, the Lupercalia festival was held (“lupus” means “wolf”). At this festival, a goat was sacrificed to Faun, and then the Luperc priests ran around the sanctuary, waving belts cut from the skin of the sacrificial goat and whipped them at women passing by, which was supposed to ensure their fertility. The faun was especially revered by shepherds, as he helped protect the flock from wolves.

Silvanus is the god of the forest and wildlife. His name comes from the word “silva” - “forest”. He had no official cult, but was popular among slaves and peasants. They thanked him for healing the disease and unexpected luck.

Vertumnus is the god of all kinds of changes - changes of seasons, stages of fruit ripening, changes in human moods.

Fone is the god of water sources. On his holiday - fontanalia - the wells were decorated with flowers, and flower garlands were thrown into the sources

Pomona is the goddess of ripening tree fruits. A sacred grove was dedicated to her.

Among the gods directly related to human life and activity, the brothers Pilumnus and Picumnus are known - the patrons of marriage and birth. In addition, it was believed that Pilumnus invented the pestle for crushing grain, and Picumnus taught people to fertilize fields with manure (his other name is Sterculin, which means “dung”).

Fortune was also originally the patroness of birth; later she was revered as the goddess of fate, happiness and good fortune. Fortune was depicted standing on a ball or wheel - a symbol of the instability of happiness.

The patroness of the hearth was the goddess Vesta. The unquenchable fire in the temple was maintained by the priestesses of Vesta - the Vestals. The home was also patronized by special deities - Lares. The Laras also patronized good neighborly relations.

3. MYTHS OF ANCIENT ROME “ROMULUUS AND REMUS. FOUNDATION OF ROME"

roman god cult mythology

In the glorious city of Alba Longa reigned the descendant of the great Trojan hero Aeneas - Numitor, who was a just and merciful ruler. But his brother Amulius, who was jealous of Numitor and himself aspired to royal power, bribed the king’s associates and, taking advantage of Numitor’s gullibility, overthrew him from the throne. However, Amulius did not dare to kill his brother. In order to secure royal power for himself, he decided to kill the son of Numitor, and made the beautiful Rhea Silvia, the king’s daughter, a priestess of the goddess Vesta.

The priestesses of this goddess had to take a vow of celibacy and maintain an unquenchable sacred fire that burned day and night in the sanctuary. A Vestal Virgin who violated her vow of purity and thus desecrated the sanctity of Vesta’s hearth was condemned to a terrible execution - she was buried alive in the ground. Captivated by the beauty of Rhea Silvia, the god Mars entered into a relationship with her, and the daughter of the overthrown king gave birth to twin boys. As soon as they were born, they amazed King Amulius with their unusual appearance: some incomprehensible power emanated from them.

Enraged and frightened by the appearance of the twins, in whom he saw contenders for the throne, Amulius ordered the newborns to be thrown into the waters of the Tiber, and their mother to be buried in the ground for breaking her vow. However, the god Mars did not allow the death of his children and their beloved mother. When, by order of Amulius, the royal slave brought a basket with crying babies to the shore of the Tiber, he saw that the water was high and raging waves threatened everyone who dared to approach the river. The frightened slave, not daring to go down close to the water, threw the basket on the shore and ran away. The raging waves swept over the basket with the babies lying in it and would have carried it downstream if it had not been held back by the branches of a fig tree growing near the water. And then, as if by magic, the water in the river began to subside, the storm stopped, and the twins, falling out of the leaning basket, raised a loud cry. At this time, a she-wolf, who had recently given birth to cubs, approached the river to quench her thirst. She warmed the twins, who greedily clung to her breasts, full of milk. The she-wolf brought them to her lair, where they were soon discovered by the royal swineherd named Faustulus. Seeing two beautiful babies in a wolf's den, Faustulus took them to his hut and, together with his wife, raised the boys, who were named Romulus and Remus.

The twins, both when they were children and when they became young men, stood out for their beauty, strength and proud bearing among other children of the shepherds. The milk of the she-wolf who suckled them made young Romulus and Remus bold and daring in the face of any danger, their hearts were courageous, their arms and legs were strong and muscular. True, both of them were hot-tempered and stubborn, but Romulus still turned out to be more reasonable than his brother. And at community gatherings, when it came to hunting or grazing livestock, Romulus not only spoke with wise advice, but also made those around him understand that he was born to command rather than to be subordinate to others. Both brothers were universally loved, they were distinguished by their strength and dexterity, they were excellent hunters, defenders from the robbers who devastated their native lands. Both Romulus and Remus stood up for the unjustly offended, and the most willingly gathered around them. different people, among whom one could meet not only shepherds, but also tramps and even runaway slaves. Thus, each of the brothers had a whole detachment.

4. “SEVEN KINGS OF ANCIENT ROME”

The Palatine Hill, on which Romulus founded his city, had a quadrangular shape. Accordingly, ancient walls were built, made of stone blocks carved from the slopes of the hill itself. That is why the city itself was called “square Rome”.

Having reigned in Rome, Romulus, following the customs adopted by the leaders of neighboring tribes, especially the rich Etruscan kings, decided to surround his throne with no less pomp and splendor. He had a retinue of special bodyguards called lictors. Each lictor carried a bundle of rods with an ax stuck in the middle. By order of the king, the lictors rushed at the culprit, flogged him with rods, and for a particularly serious crime they immediately cut off his head. The king appeared before the people in a purple cloak, with a staff in his hands, surrounded by lictors and attendants.

Romulus was a far-sighted and reasonable ruler. Wanting to strengthen the power of the city he founded, he divided all the inhabitants who could bear arms into detachments consisting of 3,000 infantry and 300 horsemen. Each such detachment was called a legion. Of the hundred most authoritative citizens, Romulus formed a council of elders, which was called the Senate, and the members of the Senate were patricians, in contrast to the common people, who flocked to the new city from a variety of places and were often completely poor.

In order to strengthen ties with neighboring tribes, Romulus sent embassies to them with proposals to enter into marriage alliances between women from these tribes and his subjects. However, the neighbors, considering the Romans to be poor fugitives, refused to hand over their girls to this “suspicious rabble.” But the cunning Romulus decided to insist on his own and win over women under the pretext of a festival to which residents of neighboring cities and settlements were convened. Romulus ordered a rumor to be spread that a buried altar of the god Poseidon had been found on his land.

Generous sacrifices were made and games and horse races were held. The largest part of the guests were the Sabines, who brought their wives and daughters to the celebration. Romulus himself, sitting in a purple cloak, had to give a conventional sign to the soldiers by rising on the spot, folding the cloak and throwing it back over his shoulders. Many Romans did not take their eyes off the king and, at his signal, rushed screaming at the Sabine women, dragging them along with them. No one pursued the fleeing Sabines. And although the Sabines tried to negotiate the return of their kidnapped daughters, Romulus refused to do so. He invited the Sabines to move to Rome with him. Then the indignant Sabines began to prepare for a campaign against the city.

CONCLUSIONS

The Roman Empire fought numerous and, as a rule, victorious wars. She united a vast territory under her rule. But while conquering and conquering various peoples, the Romans absorbed their culture, including religious beliefs and mythology.

In the end, the Roman pantheon included a myriad of gods of various origins, the religion of the ancient Romans lost its integrity and originality and after some time was replaced by Christianity. Rome became the first center of the Christian world.

LIST OF SOURCES USED

1. Anun R., Shade D., Civilization of Ancient Rome: Textbook - M.: AST, Astrel, 2004. - 176 p.

2. Gurycheva M. S., Folk Latin: Textbook - M.: LKI, 2008. - 210 p.

3. Kochkareva A. G., Ryzhkina Z. A. Ancient legends: [Electronic resource] / Kochkareva A. G., Ryzhkina Z. A., Access mode: http://www.foxdesign.ru

4. Mommsen T., Legends of Rome: [Electronic resource]/ Mommsen T., Access mode: http://rome-history.info/2008/02/rimskaya-mifologiya/

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Myths of Ancient Rome read

Ancient mythology is of great importance for children, their upbringing and laying the educational foundation. Here you can read legends online, and we provide the opportunity to download a free book of interest to your child.

Distinctive features of Roman mythology

The legends of Rome are distinguished by their representation of the gods, which is very unlike the Greek ones. This is manifested in the fact that the Greeks saw their heroes in human form, and the Romans could not even figure out the gender of their patrons.

The Romans imagined the world as a territory inhabited by good and evil entities. Reading the myths of Ancient Rome means realizing that a person from birth is protected by a number of divine representatives who are responsible for every step, thought and deed. Over time, some deities left a person, while others came into his life. For example, the god of marriage, luck, health and wealth.

The exact number of gods is not known, because there were a lot of them, these are entities such as Chaos, Cupid, Ocean, etc. The most recognizable myths of Ancient Rome, the gods, are stories about 12 representatives:

Jupiter or Zeus - god of thunder and lightning;

Juno - the faithful of Zeus, the goddess of family and marriage;

Demeter is responsible for fertility.

You can also read online about personified characters, such as Victoria, personifying victory, Fatum - fate, Libertas - freedom, Psyche - soul, Mania - madness, Fortuna - luck, Juventa - youth.