Roman mythology

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Romulus and Remus, theLupercal,Father Tiber, and thePalatineon arelieffrom a pedestal dating to the reign ofTrajan(AD 98-117)

Roman mythologyis the body of traditional stories pertaining toancient Rome'slegendary originsandreligious system, as represented in theliteratureandvisual arts of the Romans. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to the subject matter as represented in the literature and art of other cultures in any period.

The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as historical, even when these have miraculous or supernatural elements. The stories are often concerned with politics and morality, and how an individual's personal integrity relates to his or her responsibility to the community or Roman state. Heroism is an important theme. When the stories illuminate Roman religious practices, they are more concerned with ritual,augury, and institutions than withtheologyorcosmogony.[1]

The study of Roman religion andmythis complicated by the early influence ofGreek religionon theItalian peninsuladuring Rome'sprotohistory, and by the later artistic imitation ofGreek literary modelsby Roman authors. In matters of theology, the Romans were curiously eager to identifytheir own godswith those of theGreeks(interpretatio graeca), and to reinterpret stories aboutGreek deitiesunder the names of their Roman counterparts.[2]Rome's early myths and legends also have a dynamic relationship withEtruscan religion, less documented than that of the Greeks.

While Roman mythology may lack a body of divine narratives as extensive as that found in Greek literature,[3]Romulus and Remussuckling the she-wolf is as famous as any image fromGreek mythologyexcept for theTrojan Horse.[4]Because Latin literature was more widely known in Europe throughout theMiddle Agesand into theRenaissance, the interpretations of Greek myths by the Romans often had the greater influence on narrative and pictorial representations of "classical mythology" than Greek sources. In particular, the versions of Greek myths inOvid'sMetamorphoses, written during the reign ofAugustus, came to be regarded ascanonical.

Contents

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1The nature of Roman myth

1.1Founding myths

1.2Other myths

2Religion and myth

2.1Foreign gods

3Sources

4See also

5References

The nature of Roman myth[edit]

In this wall painting fromPompeii,Venuslooks on while the physicianIapyxtends to the wound of her son,Aeneas; the tearful boy is her grandsonAscanius, also known as Iulus, legendary ancestor ofJulius Caesarand theJulio-Claudian dynasty

Becauseritualplayed the central role in Roman religion that myth did for the Greeks, it is sometimes doubted that the Romans had much of a native mythology. This perception is a product ofRomanticismand theclassical scholarshipof the 19th century, which valued Greek civilization as more "authentically creative."[5]From theRenaissanceto the 18th century, however, Roman myths were an inspiration particularly forEuropean painting.[6]The Roman tradition is rich in historical myths, orlegends, concerning the foundation and rise of the city. These narratives focus on human actors, with only occasional intervention from deities but a pervasive sense of divinely ordered destiny. In Rome's earliest period, history and myth have a mutual and complementary relationship.[7]AsT.P. Wisemannotes:

The Roman stories stillmatter, as they mattered toDantein 1300 andShakespearein 1600 and thefounding fathers of the United Statesin 1776. What does it take to be afree citizen? Can asuperpowerstill be arepublic? How does well-meaningauthorityturn into murderoustyranny?[8]

Major sources for Roman myth include theAeneidofVergiland the first few books ofLivy's history as well as Dionysius' sRoman Antiquities. Other important sources are theFastiofOvid, a six-book poem structured by theRoman religious calendar, and the fourth book of elegies byPropertius. Scenes from Roman myth also appear in Romanwall painting,coins, andsculpture, particularlyreliefs.

Founding myths[edit]

Main article:Founding of Rome

TheAeneidand Livy's early history are the best extant sources forRome's founding myths. Material from Greek heroic legend was grafted onto this native stock at an early date. The Trojan princeAeneaswas cast as husband ofLavinia, daughter of KingLatinus, patronymical ancestor of theLatini, and therefore through aconvoluted revisionist genealogyas forebear ofRomulus and Remus. By extension, the Trojans were adopted as the mythical ancestors of the Roman people.[9]

Other myths[edit]

Mucius Scaevola in the Presence of Lars Porsenna(early 1640s) byMatthias Stom

The characteristic myths of Rome are often political or moral, that is, they deal with the development ofRoman governmentin accordance with divine law, as expressed byRoman religion, and with demonstrations of the individual's adherence to moral expectations(mos maiorum)or failures to do so.

Rape of the Sabine women, explaining the importance of theSabinesin the formation of Roman culture, and the growth of Rome through conflict and alliance.

Numa Pompilius, the Sabine secondking of Romewho consorted with thenymphEgeriaand established many of Rome's legal and religious institutions.

Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome, whose mysterious origins were freely mythologized and who was said to have been the lover of the goddessFortuna.

TheTarpeian Rock, and why it was used for the execution of traitors.

Lucretia, whose self-sacrifice prompted the overthrow of theearly Roman monarchyand led to the establishment of the Republic.

Horatius at the bridge, on the importance of individualvalor.

Mucius Scaevola, who thrust his right hand into the fire to prove his loyalty to Rome.

Caeculusand the founding ofPraeneste.[10]

Manlius and the geese, about divine intervention at theGallic siege of Rome.[11]

Stories pertaining to theNonae CaprotinaeandPoplifugiafestivals.[12]

Coriolanus, a story of politics and morality.

TheEtruscancity ofCorythusas the "cradle" of Trojan and Italian civilization.[13]

The arrival of theGreat Mother (Cybele)in Rome.[14]

Religion and myth[edit]

Main article:Religion in ancient Rome

Divine narrative played a more important role in the system of Greek religious belief than among the Romans, for whom ritual and cult were primary. Although Roman religion was not based onscripturesandexegesis, priestly literature was one of the earliest written forms ofLatin prose.[15]The books(libri)and commentaries(commentarii)of theCollege of Pontiffsand of theaugurscontained religious procedures, prayers, and rulings and opinions on points of religious law.[16]Although at least some of this archived material was available for consultation by theRoman senate, it was oftenoccultum genus litterarum,[17]an arcane form of literature to which by definition only priests had access.[18]Prophecies pertaining to world history and Rome's destiny turn up fortuitously at critical junctures in history, discovered suddenly in the nebulousSibylline books, which according to legend were purchased byTarquin the Proudin the late 6th century BC from theCumaean Sibyl. Some aspects of archaic Roman religion were preserved by the lost theological works of the 1st-century BC scholarVarro, known through other classical and Christian authors.

Capitoline Triad

At the head of the earliest pantheon were the so-calledArchaic Triadof Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, whoseflamens were of the highest order, and Janus andVesta. According to tradition, the founder of Roman religion wasNuma Pompilius, theSabinesecondking of Rome, who was believed to have had as his consort and adviser a Roman goddess ornymphof fountains and prophecy,Egeria. The Etruscan-influencedCapitoline Triadof Jupiter, Juno and Minerva later became central to official religion, replacing the Archaic Triad an unusual example withinIndo-European religionof a supreme triad formed of two female deities and only one male. The cult ofDianawas established on theAventine Hill, but the most famous Roman manifestation of this goddess may beDiana Nemorensis, owing to the attention paid to her cult byJ.G. Frazerin themythographicalclassicThe Golden Bough.

The gods represented distinctly the practical needs of daily life, and they were scrupulously accorded the rites and offerings considered proper. Early Roman divinities included a host of "specialist gods" whose names were invoked in the carrying out of various specific activities. Fragments of old ritual accompanying such acts as plowing or sowing reveal that at every stage of the operation a separate deity was invoked, the name of each deity being regularly derived from the verb for the operation.Tutelary deitieswere particularly important in ancient Rome.

Thus,JanusandVestaguarded the door and hearth, theLaresprotected the field and house,Palesthe pasture,Saturnthe sowing,Ceresthe growth of the grain,Pomonathe fruit, andConsusandOpsthe harvest. Even the majesticJupiter, the ruler of the gods, was honored for the aid his rains might give to the farms and vineyards. In his more encompassing character he was considered, through his weapon of lightning, the director of human activity and, by his widespread domain, the protector of the Romans in their military activities beyond the borders of their own community. Prominent in early times were the godsMarsandQuirinus, who were often identified with each other. Mars was a god of war; he was honored in March and October. Quirinus is thought by modern scholars to have been the patron of the armed community in time of peace.

The 19th-century scholarGeorg Wissowa[19]thought that the Romans distinguished two classes of gods, thedi indigetesand thedi novensidesornovensiles: theindigeteswere the original gods of the Roman state, their names and nature indicated by the titles of the earliest priests and by the fixed festivals of the calendar, with 30 such gods honored by special festivals; thenovensideswere later divinities whose cults were introduced to the city in the historical period, usually at a known date and in response to a specific crisis or felt need.Arnaldo Momiglianoand others, however, have argued that this distinction cannot be maintained.[20]During thewar with Hannibal, any distinction between "indigenous" and "immigrant" gods begins to fade, and the Romans embraced diverse gods from various cultures as a sign of strength and universal divine favor.[21]

Foreign gods[edit]

Mithrasin a Roman wall painting

The absorption of neighboring local gods took place as the Roman state conquered the surrounding territory. The Romans commonly granted the local gods of the conquered territory the same honors as the earlier gods of theRoman state religion. In addition toCastor and Pollux, the conquered settlements in Italy seem to have contributed to the Roman pantheonDiana,Minerva,Hercules,Venus, and deities of lesser rank, some of whom were Italic divinities, others originally derived from the Greek culture ofMagna Graecia. In 203 BC, the cult object embodyingCybelewas brought fromPessinusinPhrygiaand welcomed with dueceremonyto Rome, centuries before the territory was annexed formally. BothLucretiusandCatullus, poets contemporary in the mid-1st century BC, offer disapproving glimpses of her wildly ecstatic cult.

In some instances, deities of an enemy power were formally invited through the ritual ofevocatioto take up their abode in new sanctuaries at Rome.

Communities of foreigners(peregrini)and former slaves(libertini)continued their own religious practices within the city. In this wayMithrascame to Rome and his popularity within theRoman armyspread his cult as far afield asRoman Britain. The important Roman deities were eventually identified with the moreanthropomorphicGreek gods and goddesses, and assumed many of their attributes and myths.