Whereas the Greek had a balanced view of the values inherent in both the physical and the intellectual, the Romans were more practical, and valued war above intellectual abilities. As mentioned, Rome freely adopted parts of other cultures and religions, including Greece. The Romans hoped for a better afterlife than the Greeks did, which explains the appeal of Christianity to the nation. While a good afterlife was a prospect for the common people, those in power had the option of becoming gods themselves, like the Egyptian pharaohs. The emperors were then worshiped as gods. As such, Rome had three types of religions that existed side by side: the state religion, with the emperor as god; the mystery religions with their promises of life after death, and many foreign religions, including those of the Greeks (Mullen). It was therefore by no means a simple system.

Roman and Greek Gods

According to Charlotte Kuchinsky, the gods and goddesses most commonly associated with Rome and Greece today were probably the closest to both the human form and personality of all the religions of the time. This includes the less desirable traits of humanity, such as dishonesty and bad parenting. They also were very much part of the human world, while those of most other religions were not. The Roman and Greek ideal of being kind to all strangers was inspired by the belief that any person may be a god or goddess in disguise. Being unkind would then be to offend the divine. Hence also the idea of the emperor as god. Some gods, taking human form, even had affairs with human beings, resulting in a race of half-human, half-god creatures, known as heroes.

When comparing the Greek and Roman gods, it becomes clear that, during the process of assimilation, the Romans used the Greek gods and goddesses as a template for creating their own. In many cases, they used the same god or goddess and simply gave the deity a Roman name. The most prominent of these is the Greek god of war,...

Well-known goddesses include the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, who became Venus; the hunter goddess Artemis, who became the Roman Diana, and Athena who became the Roman Minerva.
Roman and Greek Myth Today

According to Kuchinsky, many Roman myths, such as those depicted by the Iliad and the Aeneid, became generally accepted as history without necessarily being anything more than mythical. The Trojan War is such an example, with historians in some dispute regarding its reality: some are attempting to prove its nature as entirely mythical, while others point to proof that it is a fact of history (Kuchinsky). Although historical scientists are increasingly improving their research methods, it is difficult to say whether this dispute will ever be resolved.

What remains true, however, is the lasting influence of both Greek and Roman mythology in the world today. One common example is the planets Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and so on, named after Roman gods. The name of the mythical figure Atlas is also commonly used in language today to denote for example a book of maps. The city Athens takes its name from the Greek Athena. These examples prove the lasting fascination of the Western world with its origin in the form of Greek and Roman culture and mythology.