Roman and Greek mythology share similarities, but differences go beyond just renaming central characters. Greek mythology is a Hellenistic soap opera, while Roman mythology merged with Greek over time. Differences include the roles of Ares and Mars, with the latter being a multitasking god who used war to talk about peace. Other differences include personality aspects and offspring.
On the surface, it’s easy to assume that there are only minor differences between the gods worshiped by the Greeks and those beatified by the Romans. Twelve important gods and goddesses stood at the pinnacle of Mount Olympus of the Greeks. The Romans also centered their mythology around 12 very similar gods and goddesses, so many scholars have decided that after conquering Greece, the Romans adopted their mythology, renaming the central characters. There is some truth to that, but there are also some differences that go deeper than just a name change into the relationship between Roman and Greek mythology.
The Greeks weaved many stories around the adventures of Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Ares, among others, from love affairs with each other to love affairs with human beings that resulted in a race of heroes. Their mythological deities lived in a mysterious universe that seemed simultaneously of this world – albeit high on a mountain – and outside it. Greek storytellers used divine relationships to explain natural and historical events as well as for entertainment. Greek gods and goddesses were, essentially, a Hellenistic soap opera where each new chapter built on the previous ones.
During the 300 years of Roman rule, Roman and Greek mythology overlapped and merged. The Romans brought their pantheon with them, but were intrigued by Greece’s rich culture, complex society, and glorious art. Wherever a connection could be made between a Greek and Roman god or goddess, the Romans were eager to make it. In its earliest incarnation, Roman mythology continued to allow deities to live on Mount Olympus.
Over time, differences began to appear between Roman and Greek mythology. This is evident in the differences between the roles played by the Greek Ares, god of war, and the Roman character of him, Mars. Ares, the older of the two, is vengeful, terrifying, violent, and physical. His furious nature is tempered by his sister, Athena, who brings strategy, logic and leadership to the game of war.
To the Romans, Mars was a multitasking god who presided over the battlefields and agricultural fields. As the god of fertility, part of this job was to scatter the seed, just as the Romans did when they expanded their empire into the corners of the known world. Mars subsumed the Greek Athena’s skill in military strategy and used war less as an end in itself and more as a way to talk about peace. Other differences between Roman and Greek mythology had to do with both the more subtle aspects of personality in the 12 essential gods and goddesses as well as the generations of their legitimate and illegitimate offspring.
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