This included the assimilation of the gods and goddesses that were worshipped by other nations, especially those from ancient Greek mythology. The Romans identified their own gods and goddesses with those of the Greeks, adapting the myths, legends and stories told about them and importing them into their own culture. The Roman gods and goddesses not adopted from other religions were called di indigetes. Roman Mythology
Who were the creatures and gods who featured in the stories of Roman Mythology? The following list provides a description and definition of the different gods, goddesses, heroes and mythical creatures of Roman mythology. Achilles was a demigod and the son of Thetis, a minor sea-goddess and Peleus, the king of Myrmidons
The Aeneid is an epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans
Abundantia, the Roman goddess of abundance and prosperity
Aeacus was a demigod and the son of a son of Jupiter and Aegina who was the daughter of a river god in Mythology. He was the father of Telamon and Peleus and grandfather of Ajax and Achilles
Aesculapius, the god of healing and medicine
Aeneas was a demigod and the son of the goddess Venus and Prince Anchises
Amphion was a demigod and a son of Jupiter and Antiope
Arcas was a demigod in Mythology and a son of Jupiter and Callisto a nymph and minor goddess associated with Venus
Apollo, god of poetry, music, and oracles
Aurora, goddess of the dawn
Appias was one of the Crinaeae and a naiad who lived in the Appian Well outside the temple to Venus Genitrix in the Roman Forum
The Blemmyae was a tribe which became fictionalized as a race of creatures believed to be headless monsters who had eyes and mouths on their chest
Bacchus, god of wine
Bellona war goddess
The Caucasian Eagle was an eagle that every day ate the liver of Prometheus in Mythology
Cacus was a fire-breathing giant and the son of Vulcan who was killed by Hercules after terrorizing the Palatine Hill before the founding of Rome
Clymene was a demigod and the daughter of the Titan gods Oceanus and Tethys
Ceres, goddess of the harvest and mother of Proserpina
Cerberus was the many-headed dog which guarded the gates of Hades in Mythology
Charon, the ferryman
In Mythology a centaur was a creature, part human and part horse
Crommyonian Sow was a wild pig killed by Theseus
Cupid, god of love and the son of Venus
The Colchian Dragon guarded the Golden Fleece in Mythology
Cybele, goddess of fertility in Roman Mythology
Coriolanus, a story of Roman story of politics and morality
The Chimera was a fire breathing beast that was part lion, part goat, and had a snake-headed
Dardanus was a demigod and a son of Jupiter and Electra who was the daughter of Atlas
Discordia was the Goddess of Strife and Discord
Diana, goddess of the hunt, the moon, virginity
Epaphus was a demigod and a son of Jupiter and Io, a priestess of the goddess Juno in Roman Mythology
Echidna was the mother by Typhon and of many monstrous offspring
The faun was a rustic forest god, half human–half goat, of Roman mythology
Fauna, goddess of nature and animals
Faunus, god of flocks
Flora, goddess of flowers
Fortuna, goddess of fortune
The Gorgons were three winged sister monsters, and Medusa, who had live snakes for hair in Roman Mythology
Gratiae, Roman term for the Charites or Graces
The Graeae were three gray witches in Mythology who possessed on one eye between them, consulted by the hero Perseus
Helen of Troy was a demigod and a daughter of Jupiter and Leda who was queen of Sparta
Hekate, goddess of Magic and the moon in Roman Mythology
Harmonia was a demigod and a daughter of Jupiter and Electra
Hercules (Heracles in Greek) was a demigod and a son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmene
The story of Horatius at the bridge related the importance of individual valor to Romans
Hyperion, Titan Lord of light
In Mythology the Hydra was the many-headed sea monster which when one of its heads was cut off grew two more
Iasus was a demigod and a son of Jupiter and Electra (one of the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione). He was the brother of Dardanus
Janus, double-faced or two-headed god of beginnings and endings and of doors in Roman Mythology
Juventas, goddess of Youth
Juno, Queen of the Gods and goddess of matrimony, and one of the Dii Consentes
Jupiter, King of the Gods and the storm, air, and sky god
In Mythology the Lernaean Hydra was the many-headed sea monster which when one of its heads was cut off grew two more
Luna, goddess of the moon
Lucretia, whose self-sacrifice prompted the overthrow of the early Roman monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic
Lares, household gods
Latona goddess of motherhood and modesty
In Mythology Ladon was the dragon which guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides Mater Matuta was an indigenous Roman goddess in Roman Mythology, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora
Mars the God of War
Memnon was a demigod in Mythology and the son of Tithonus and Eos who was a Titan goddess of the dawn
Mercury, messenger of the gods and bearer of souls to the underworld
Metamorphoses is a Latin narrative poem in fifteen books by the Roman poet Ovid
Mucius Scaevola, who thrust his right hand into the fire to prove his loyalty to Rome
Minerva, goddess of wisdom, war, the arts in Roman Mythology
Medusa was one of the Gorgons in Mythology, a winged monster who had live snakes for hair who could turn men to stone, slain by the hero Perseus
Mithras, god of soldiers, light, truth, and honor
Marcus Curtius was a mythological young Roman who sacrificed himself to the Underworld gods of Hades
The Nemean lion was an enormous lion in Mythology who was strangled by Hercules as the first of his 12 labors.
Neptune, god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses
Numa Pompilius was the Sabine second king of Rome who consorted with the nymph Egeria and established many of Rome's legal and religious institutions
Orion was a demigod and a son of the sea god Neptune and Euryale in Mythology
Orpheus was a demigod and a son of Calliope and the god Apollo in Roman Mythology
Ovid was a Roman poet who told stories of Roman mythology
Orthrus was the two-headed dog which guarded the Cattle of Geryon in Mythology
Perseus was a demigod in Mythology and a son of Jupiter and Danae
Proserpina, Queen of the Dead and a grain-goddess
The Parcae (Roman equivalent of the Moirai, the Fates)
Penates or Di Penates, household gods
Pyramus and Thisbe are two characters of Roman mythology, whose love story is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses
Pluto, god of the Underworld
Pollux was a demigod and a son of Jupiter and the mortal Leda. He was the twin brother of Castor
In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state
Roma, personification of the Roman state
Romulus and Remus were the twin brothers and central characters of Rome's foundation myth.
Rhea Silvia was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome.
Scylla was a female sea monster who devoured sailors when they tried to navigate the narrow channel between her cave and the whirlpool Charybdis
The Rape of the Sabine women was the story that explained the importance of the Sabines in the formation of Roman culture, and the growth of Rome through conflict and alliance
Saturnus, the god of time, harvest and agriculture in Roman Mythology
Servius Tullius was the sixth king of Rome, whose mysterious origins were freely mythologized and said to have been the lover of the goddess Fortuna
The Sibylline Books (Libri Sibyllini) were a collection of a collection of prophecies from an Oracle named the Sibyl of Cumae, bearing upon Roman religion and the welfare of Romans and the Roman state
Theseus was a demigod and a son of Neptune and Aethra
The Teumessian fox was destined never to be caught. It was sometimes called the Cadmean vixen
Trivia, goddess of crossroads
Tityos was a demigod and a son of Jupiter and Elara
The Tarpeian Rock was used for the execution of traitors to Rome
Uranus, Primordial god of the sky before Jupiter
Venus, goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, and gardens
Vesta, goddess of the hearth, the Roman state, and the sacred fire
Victoria, goddess of victory
Vulcan, god of the forge, fire, and blacksmiths
Zethes was a demigod and a son of Boreas (the Greek god of the cold north wind and the bringer of winter) and Oreithyia, daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens. His brother was Calais in Roman Mythology |
