Ashton Polak Latin 1 period 8

Roman Mythology

Before the time of Christ, the two major empires were the Greek and the Romans. They

were fierce in battle, innovative, and a large nation. While the nations themselves did not last, the

stories they told still thrive to this very day. Greece had stories such as the Odyssey and the Iliad.

While Rome had stories such as Aeneid. Even today most literature is inspired by the tales of the

Greeks and Romans. While Roman and Greek mythology is quite similar, there are some

differences between the two nations tales.

A major difference between the two mythologies is the naming and the appearances of

the gods and goddesses. The planets were named after the Roman gods and goddesses, for

example Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. They did not have physical forms but were given forms

from the imaginations of the Romans. In Contrast, the Greek gods and goddesses had

appearances that were beautiful with muscles and hair to enhance their looks. While it is

unknown how the people of Greece created with their gods and goddesses, the Romans received

inspiration from the Greek gods and myths. The Greek gods and goddesses were based off

emotions and personality traits, while the Roman gods and goddesses were based off personal

objects.

The start of Greek mythology began around 700 years before Roman civilization when

the book Iliad was distributed to the people of Greece by Homer, a blind poet. He would then go

on to write, the Odyssey a sequel to his first book of mythology. Then 1000 years later after the

Greeks, the book Aeneid would be distributed through Rome by an unknown author. Both
mythologies of the two nations are considered great by many people. Even though the mythology

of Greece and Rome are quite similar, they each have details that make them very unique.

Pluto is the god of death and the Underworld. There are many myths and stories relating

to Pluto and the Underworld, in which he ruled. These stories include the history of Pluto, how

he met Cerberus and abducted Proserpina. Pluto is also the name of the second largest dwarf

planet in the solar system that was originally the ninth planet from the sun. He is the Greek

equivalent to Hades, one of the most feared gods of all time. However, are these two gods

similar?

Pluto was the son of Saturnus and Ops, and was the husband of Proserpina. His name,

Pluto, is derived from the word Pluton meaning wealth and riches. Pluto was originally the god

of metals and all metals that lie underground, however, this changed later in his history. While

fighting in the Battle of the Titans, Pluto received the cap of invisibility by Vulcan, the god of

fire. He also befriended a three-headed dog-like beast named Cerberus. Cerberus guarded the

gates to the Underworld so that no one could leave. Romans were afraid to say Plutos name in

fear of being noticed by him and put to death. Pluto abducted the daughter of Jupiter, Proserpina,

and made her queen of the Underworld.

When the Olympic gods defeated the titans and giants everything was split between the

gods. Hades became the ruler of the Underworld and everything in it. Homer described Hades as

pitless and loathsome. Hades fell in love with Persephone, the daughter of Zeus, so he

abducted her and tricked her into staying in the Underworld for 6 months each year. Hades

received a helmet of invisibility from Hephaistos, the helmet was used by Athena. He kept the

Underworld guarded by a three- headed dog that kept the people of the Underworld inside.

Hades also had Charon, the boatman, bring people to the Underworld.
 As you can see from the two recent paragraphs, both Pluto and Hades are the gods and

rulers of the Underworld, have a three-headed dog-like beast that guards the Underworld,

abducted their wives, and have a hat of invisibility. However, in contrast Hades has a boatman by

the name of Charon, and Pluto is so feared in Rome that the people do not even mention him by

name. This shows how much the Romans were inspired by the Greeks when creating their own

mythology. The poet Homer was quite inspirational, and it would have been only a matter of

time until someone copied his work. However, even though the mythology of Rome is mostly

unoriginal, they ruled a great and furious nation that, like Pluto, was feared by many.

During the Time of Jesus Christ, Roman mythology was the common belief and most

people worshipped the different gods and goddesses. However, Jesus challenged the Romans to

think what if their whole array of gods and goddesses that represent a certain aspect of life was

false. Jesus said there was only one God that created life and that his son came down from

heaven to save us from our sins. While Jesus was alive, most Romans did not believe in the

beliefs of Jesus and even persecuted him. However, after his death and resurrection more people

began to believe that Jesus was the son of God even though it contradicted the beliefs of Roman

mythology.

Many people say that early Christians received inspiration from Roman mythology,

however, this is a false statement. The early Christians viewed paganism as a false worship and

did not acknowledge that pagan gods were real gods. It becomes obvious when you see that the

early Christians worshipped one God, while the Romans worshipped several different gods and

goddesses. St. Athanasius wrote that pagan gods are not real gods, but instead carvers art.

Also, St. Justin recorded that Christians refused to acknowledge the existence of the pagan gods.
 As a result of their views on paganism, the early Christians were put to death because of

what they believed in. That all changed when Emperor Constantine came into power and was

able to win an unfair battle with the aid of Christ on his side. This caused Rome to become a

nation of Christianity which, lead to widespread preaching and worshipping of the religion. In

todays world, Christianity and the other religions surrounding it are some of the most

worshipped religions in existence.

 Works Cited

"Greek Gods vs Roman Gods." Greek Gods vs Roman Gods - Difference and Comparison |
Diffen. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

"Pluto." Pluto ***. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

Cartwright, Mark. "Hades." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., 19 July 2012. Web. 11 Dec.
2016.

Sorenson, Jon. "The Early Church Fathers and Paganism." The Early Church Fathers and
Paganism | Catholic Answers. N.p., 17 June 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.