Many people mistakenly assume, Greek and Roman mythology are the same and were practiced the same way in their respective empires, however – this is not the case.
We need only look to the pages of Rome’s own mythology, for further insight into the Greek influences on Roman life- just as the cultures were different, so were their beliefs.
Also, Greek mythology predates Roman mythology by about 700-1,000 years.
The main source of Greek mythology was chronicled in the epic Iliad by Homer.
Later, Roman mythology was chronicled in the book Aeneid.
Though you may not have heard of them, the Etruscans were the first “superpower” of the Western Mediterranean who, alongside the Greeks, developed the earliest true cities in Europe and used the same Greek alphabet.
It was these two main cultures, the Etruscans and Greeks, which influenced Rome. In fact, the name Rome is Etruscan, which was their name for the River Tiber.
Eventually, Rome overthrew the Etrucans and Greek culture began to have much more influence on Rome.
Though, Rome has it’s origin story as being founded by Romulus, the Greeks disagree.
To the Greeks, Aeneas, a Trojan hero who survived the Greek invasion and conquest of Troy, eventually founded Rome.
Hector, King Priam’s son, who had been slain by Achilles earlier in the Trojan War, appeared to Aeneas in a dream and told him that all was lost, and that he should take Troy’s gods of hearth and household (the Penatës) and seek a new city for them.
In 29 B.C., Virgil, wrote an epic which insinuates in the Aeneid, Rome’s eventual conquest over Greece somehow avenged Troy.
In the very first stanza, he wrote:
“Expelled and exiled, left the Trojan shore… before he won the Latian realm, and built the destined town; his banished Gods restored to rites divine and settled sure succession in his line. From whence the race of Alban fathers come, and the long glories of majestic Rome.”
The surviving Trojans sailed westward, being told by an oracle to return to their ancestral home. So, they went to Crete. Finding Crete to inhospitable for them, they moved further west and settled along the Tiber River in Italy.
This notion is further enforced in a prophecy that foretells that Carthage will be destroyed by the race descended from the Trojans.
MISCONCEPTION #1: GREEK AND ROMANS VIEWED MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION THE SAME WAY
In Greek mythology, the after life does not hold much importance.
In fact, gods and mortals are regularly snatched from the after life and brought into the present, showing no concern for the afterlife.
The Greek perspective is much more concerned with the physical life on earth as opposed to the after life. Mortals are remembered for participating in dangerous adventures and rewarded for their heroic deeds, such as the stories of Perseus and Hercules.
In contradiction, the Romans mostly disregarded the idea of mortality and that only life after death is important. Romans believed their good deeds would secure their place in Heaven. They could even earn a place among the gods and through their life on earth strove towards this goal. They also worshiped their ancestors as god-like figures.
If the Spartans destroyed the family, the Romans, like the Athenians, considered family to be the basic social institutions that gives the child his/her first taste of education.
However, the influence doesn’t stop there. For example, the development of the Roman educational system took place in two great divisions.
- Early Roman Education
- Greek Influence on Roman Education
The first period of Roman education( 753B.C – 250 B.C) coincided with the founding of the city of Rome.
Education was carried out largely in the home and schooling was purely through apprenticeship and hands-on training.
Fathers taught their sons the duties, rights, and obligations of a man, but that role never really ended in Roman families. The paterfamilias was the Roman head of the household. Adult sons with families of their own were still subject to their own father if he was the paterfamilias.
In the Greek family, or oikos, household, the situation was more what we consider the nuclear family normal. Sons could legally challenge the competence of their fathers.
Mothers trained their daughters to carry out their household chores and religious duties.
Education during this period was characterized as largely moral, while discipline was rigorous and severe.
Eventually education in ancient Rome progressed from an informal, familial system of education to a tuition-based system during the late Roman Republic and the Empire.
This second period (250B.C- 146 B.C) was marked by Greek Influence on Roman Education coinciding with their conquest of Greek civilization.
Once the Romans finally conquered Greece, they robbed Greece of many of her treasured books and art and brought them to Rome.
They even took Greek teachers as captives and forced them to teach the Roman students.
During this period, the ludus—a primary school—arose. the majority of Romans sent their young boys to this school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Children also were required to study and learn by memory the fundamental laws of the country as embodied in the Laws of the Twelve Tables.
These laws dealt with a citizen’s civil, religious, political, and military obligations.
They also constituted the framework of Roman society and embodied the Roman ideals of life that gave education its concrete ends.
Therefore, At the height of the Roman Republic, and even during the beginning of the Roman Empire under the Julio-Claudian line (from Augustus to Nero), if a Roman Patrician wanted to reach the highest levels of education, they attended the schools in Greece.
Marcus Tulius Cicero, for example, one of Rome’s leading philosophers and politicians, introduced the ‘common’ Roman to the Greek philosophers by translating many of the texts from Greek to Latin.
As did Livius Andronicus, a Greek slave from Southern Italy, who translated the Odyssey of Homer from Greek into Latin, which Roman boys used as a textbook Greek teachers opened private schools attended only by a few children of the elite class.
In this manner, the Greeks influenced the philosophy, literature, art, and even the religion of Rome.
MISCONCEPTION #2: ALL ANCIENT GREEKS BELIEVED IN THE SAME GODS AND STORIES.
Like many religions, ancient Greek mythology evolved and changed over time.
Scholars believe the mythologies of Greece started evolving around 2000 BC and they probably came from other ancient religions, like ones from the island of Crete, but original sources are still unknown.
The empires ancient Greeks belonged to were very large places, too, so there wasn’t necessarily religious consistency during the same time period.
For instance, during the Hellenistic empire, some of the population honored the founders of their cities; however, other portions living near water viewed nymphs as more important.
Another consideration, is many myths were oral traditions which are assumed to have changed over time. By the time, Rome finally conquered Greece, they robbed Greece of many of her treasured books and art to bring back and to Rome.
MISCONCEPTION #3: GREEK AND ROMANS GODS HAD THE SAME TRAITS AND FUNCTIONS
An interesting difference between the two mythologies is the fact that Roman gods did not have an actual personality. Instead the looks of the god had to be inferred by the reader or listener.
In Greek mythology however “the physical appearance of a god was a major deal.”(What’s the Difference ) The gods in Greek mythology are portrayed as elegant and gorgeous beings, Romans are more realistic.
Individual gods and demi gods, were similar but did have differences.
For example, In Greek mythology, Zeus made Kronos free his siblings and kicking him out of power, the three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, drew lots for the different realms to rule. Zeus got the skies, Poseidon got the sea, and Hades got (you guessed it!) the Underworld.
Hades is the Greek god of the Underworld , who’s counterpart in Roman mythology is Pluto has the same position, but the major difference between the two was that Pluto was also the god of wealth because of the minerals that were found under the earth.
MISCONCEPTION #4: THE GODS WERE ALL FICTIONAL CHARACTERS.
In Greek mythology, the poets wrote about half-gods, who were not divine at all. These were often real people who were considered heroes,so they were described as gods.
Later, the Romans declared many real people to be demi-gods, like Julius Cesar, Augustus and Pompey.
Comparison chart
| Greek Gods | Roman Gods | |
| Description | Gods in Greek Mythology, i.e. the collection of stories or myths of the ancient Greeks about their gods, heroes and the natural world. | Gods in Roman mythology, i.e. the mythological beliefs about gods in the city of Ancient Rome. |
| Time period | Iliad distributed 700 years before the Roman civilization. No exact date for start of civilization. | Came 1000 years after the Greeks. |
| Literary source | Greek myths chronicled in the book The Iliad by Homer. | Roman myths chronicled in the book Aeneid. |
| Origin of mythology | Not known. | Many Roman gods borrowed from Greek mythology and myths of Roman creation from Greeks. |
| Nature of gods | Gods and goddesses based on human personality traits such as Love, Honor, Hatred, Dignity, as well as their roles in life determined by what they were god of, like: Zeus:Sky/weather, Hades: The underworld, Poseidon: Sea, Aquatics, etc. | Deities named after objects rather than human personality traits. |
| Afterlife | Importance of the physical life on earth rather than eventuality of the afterlife. | Mortals did good deeds on earth to be rewarded in the afterlife. They strove to gain their place among the gods in heaven in the afterlife. |
| Traits | As gods were based on human traits they each had characteristics that determined their actions. | Gods and goddesses not gender specific so their individual characteristics were not central to the myths. |
| Role of mortals | Deities were important for the progression of life but mortals were just as important as it was their contribution in society that in the end mattered. | Myths rooted in brave, heroic deeds of gods not mortals as mortal life was not important after death. |
| Actions of mortals and gods | Individualistic: actions of the individual were of more consequences than actions of the group. | Not individualistic. |
| Revered traits | Creativity more important than physical works. They revered the poet. | Focused on actions rather than words. They revered the warrior as sacred. |
| Physical forms | Greek gods had beautiful bodies where gorgeous muscles, eyes and hair would enhance their looks. | Gods did not have a physical appearance – represented only in the imagination of the people. |