Greek and Roman mythology

Greek and Roman mythology is often seen as a single area of study today, the fact is that the two cultures never existed side by side. The Greek culture preceded Rome, and was then also the basis for many of the Roman myths that followed. On the other hand, it must also be recognized that Rome had unique myths of its own. Furthermore, Roman mythology was not only influenced by Greece, but also by several other philosophies that existed at the time, including Egyptian religions and Christianity.

The Rise of Rome

In order to describe the history of Roman and Greek mythology, it is important to consider the origins and growth of the cultures involved in its development. The early imperial beginnings of Rome were for example heavily influenced by Western Greek colonization and the Etruscans (N.K. -- Associated Content). In addition, Rome's own myths, related orally from generation to generation, combined with tales from other cultures to form a single mythical body. The most well-known popular Roman myth was that of Romulus and Remus, existing among others such as the fall of Tarquinius Superbus.

In order to reconcile Greece and Rome into a single Roman imperial structure, historians began an attempt to consolidate the histories of the two nations. According to N.K. (Associated Content), this was most successfully done by Polybius, with his "Histories," depicting the rise of Rome. The work describes how Rome was gradually able to build its empire by means of control over its subjects, which contrasted with Greek democracy. According to Polybius, the longevity and stability of the Roman empire was a direct result of its empirical rather than democratic nature. Interestingly, although the Roman empire succeeded the Greek, its success was in fact in large part due to its assimilation of Greek ideas, education, and philosophies. In other words, Rome did not discard all things Greek, but rather accepted them into its culture in order to make it stronger. The same is true of Greek myths.

Greek Myth

According to Patrick Mullen, the Greek culture, having been established for centuries when the Roman empire was only at its beginning, featured a strong basis of mythology. The most significant of these was the Iliad. This was one of the earliest written Greek work. The Roman counterpart, the Aeneid, appeared only about 700 years later (Mullen).

Greece also featured a rich religious life, with myths relating the adventures of their gods, goddesses and heroes. An interesting point here is that, although the Greeks did believe in an afterlife, this was hardly seen as a reward for a life well lived. Instead, the human spirit was reduced to an eternity of degraded suffering. Hence the importance the mythical heroes attached to being remembered for their great deeds (Mullen). This belief also inspired the Greeks to live life as well as they could, and do as well as they could in whatever area they chose. Both warriors and intellectuals were highly regarded.

The Greek democracy was based upon a strong sense of individualism, with great importance attached to differences in personality and character. In addition to being highly cultured, educated and intellectual, the Greeks were also subtle thinkers, and recognized that a person's very virtues could lead to his or her downfall.

This is a theme often considered in myth and religion. Their religious figures included both the mortal and the immortal. Immortal figures were gods, while the mortal ones were known as "heroes." Both gods and heroes were not only flawed, but also capable of development, improvement, and wise action. Heroes were often called upon to win battles for the gods. Given the nature of the afterlife, the goal of the heroes in myth was often to retrieve a soul from the underworld. This strongly contrasts with may later religions, including those promoted by Rome, whose purpose was to arrive at a favorable afterlife.

Comparing Rome and Greece

Compared to the Greek community, the Romans considered more disciplined arts such as engineering as more valuable than poetry and other feats of the imagination. 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, Ares, who became the Roman god Mars; the Greek sea god Zeus who became the Roman Jupiter, and the Greek god of the Underworld, Cronos, who became the Roman Saturn. 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.