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Similarities and differences between Greek and Roman mythology
Greek vs roman mythology
Differences between Roman and Greek mythology
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In history everyone idolized something, whether it was God, Allah or other religious figures. Around 500-1,000 B.C. both Greece and the Romans created their own mythology, this became a part of their cultural tradition. Both Greek and Roman mythology shares many similar characteristics, but at the same time it had many differences. Many people know their Greek mythology, but lack of knowledge when it comes to Roman mythology. These mythologies are extremely ancient but plays a huge part in history, in fact, this topic is still being studied and appear in curriculums. This topic is fairly relevant the class Cities in History, because both of these countries had significant cites that did practice this culture and at one point this culture was a requirement in designated cities, for example like Athens and Rome. If it was not for these mythologies, then we would have a whole in history. …show more content…
They The Roman’s thought it was unique to have a cultural were it was allowed to worship a god or goddess. “This adoption of all that was Greek can be seen in the city’s relationship to the Trojan War, a war that ultimately led to the most basic of Roman mythology: the birth of Romulus and Remus and the founding of a city” (www.ancient.eu). This is just like history, everything always repeats itself after a while. The Roman mythology, but it is up to the people in that society to make sure history does not have a repetitive pattern. Even though, these are two different mythologies they have may thing in common. The Greek and Roman mythology both derived from a book. The main thing that they share are that the worship god and goddess. Both of the myths were polytheistic and believed that there were many gods who controlled all aspects of human existence. The also have a god or goddess for every trait. There is a god of all gods, god of love, war, water and
It is evident that the Romans emulated much or all of Greek culture into their lives, even down to their philosophies and complete blatancy of using the same gods and goddesses. However, there was an apparent shift of Greco-Roman polytheism to medieval monotheism, which is where persons in this period started to pivot their attention primarily on just God, disregarding old traditions of other gods. They went from issuing deities to make sense of their ancient world, and using rational thought (never was this used before) to probe for questions, to a reliance on just one god for all explanations (the medieval period). However, as time progressed, during the time of the Renaissance, people were using some of the same techniques as Greco-Roman
The ancient Greeks practiced a religion that was in effect, a building block to many ensuing pagan religions. This religion revolved around their reverence to the gods. Essentially, the Greeks worshipped numerous gods, making their religion polytheistic. They believed that exercising the opportunity to choose between a wide array of gods to worship offered them a great sense of freedom that they treasured. After all, the Greeks were known for their intellectual distinction of which their means of worship played a huge part. Each city-state, or polis, thus had an affiliated god who protected and guided its residents. Within a given polis, the belief in common gods unified the people. Ultimately, the Greeks yearned for this unity and order in the universe, which is a characteristic that is not unlike that of people today. It might seem contradictory that they believed in many gods and sought organization at the same time, for larger numbers are inherently unstable. But, to the god-fearing Greeks, each god represented a different facet of life that together upheld an organized universe if each of these gods was properly appeased. To satisfy these gods, the Greeks participated in activities such as prayer and sacrifice and erected divine temples and centers for oracles in honor of specific gods. There is evidence of this institutionalization early on in the reign of the Olympian gods, thus forming the Olympian religion.
Roman vs. Greek Civilization Although both Roman and Greek civilizations shared similarities in the areas of art and literature, their differences were many and prominent. Their contrasting aspects rest mainly upon political systems and engineering progress, but there are also several small discrepancies that distinguish between these two societies. This essay will examine these differences and explain why, ultimately, Rome was the more advanced civilization of the two. Greece, originally ruled by an oligarchy ("rule of the few"), operated under the premise that those selected to rule were selected based not upon birth but instead upon wealth.
The tales of Greek heroes and the gods are older than all of us. Most of these tales are thought to be myths, but every interpretation of Greek mythology and the stories that it contains correlates with something in the real world today. The story of the creation of the world, and the stories of the heroes Hercules, Perseus and Theseus, are only but a few of the compelling stories Greek mythology has to offer.
They had similar beliefs, but also immeasurable differences. It was composed of many meaningful gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average Roman and Greek person of that time.
Greek Mythology originated around 775 B.C.E. It all started with Homer’s Iliad and continued on with Hesiod’s Theogany. These were the first two myths to be recorded in Greek Mythology. Both of these myths reveal to us about their understanding of the universe, and about their culture. Not only do they talk about their various gods, and heroes, but they also talk about how they viewed the universe in general (Rosenberg 79). Greek Mythology evolved from two early civilizations, the Mycenaean’s and the Minoans. It was the combining of these different Greek cities and Kingdoms during 10th century B.C. that created Greek Mythology. Its Geographic isolation gave it a place for mythologies to evolve (Gale Virtual Reference Library: Greek Mythology 454-456). Roman mythology, on the other hand grew around the same time as Greek Mythology. It all began around 800 B.C. when the Roman Empire was at its peak. However the unique about the Romans is that their origin traces back to Latin and Italian cultures. They also share the same gods and heroes with Greek but with different names. Moreover Rome was the first nation to have a set government that is similar to ours today. They were the first empire to have elected officials who ruled their nation. (Gale Virtual Reference Library: Roman Mythology 896). Both of these mythologies portray how life was different back then during the B.C times. The reveal us their culture, their religion, and how they viewed universe as a whole. However what caused a collapse between these two civilizations is the relationship between man, gods, and their children.
A mythology is an important feature of many cultures. A myth is a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humankind assumed their present form. In a broad sense, it can refer to any traditional story. A myth’s function is to provide a model for behavior and to provide a religious experience. By reenacting myths societies bring themselves closer to the divine.
Roman mythology applies to the religious system, and origins of ancient Rome. These attributes are found through the art and literature that the Romans provide. Although, the Romans have supernatural elements they still proceeded to treat their traditional stories historically. The Romans focused on how a person contributes to the Roman community, and merely concentrate on politics and morality. Catholicism is one of the most common known religions. Catholicism focuses on the traditions, and values of the Christian churches. The two main things that differentiate Roman mythology, and modern day catholicism is their: beliefs and religion.
...uing the belief in various gods and goddesses. After the expansion of Rome they started developing other forms of deities based on Greek culture, basically meaning “Greco-Roman” religion. Although many religious cults that were connected to Rome including Greece were often accepted, many were banished.
"When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere." Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Roman or Greek? Well, Ancient Greece and Rome have influenced American society throughout the Roman Republic, Greek architecture, and Greek Olympics. There are many interesting facts you should know about Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome! Did you know that the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. at the Greek city of Olympia? Or that the Colosseum received millions of visitors every year, and is the most famous tourist attraction of Rome? You can learn many things about how American society has been influenced by the Ancient Romans and Greeks.
Each god will have their own corresponding god from the other mythology. Although they might be from different mythologies, in essence they are all very similar. If this is an essay about the similarities and differences between the Greek and Roman gods, then it would only make sense to start with the kings of the gods, Zeus and Jupiter. They are both the rulers of the heavens, and are the gods of lightning. Since they are both the rulers of the gods, they also uphold the rules of Greece and Rome.
The Romans believed in many gods and goddesses. They believed that they would come down to earth and change anyone’s life at any time. The people felt the need to keep the gods happy at all times. The Romans believed that for every aspect of their lives a separate god or goddesses was in control of their fate, and worshipped him or her separately. For example during times of war the people would pray to Mars, the god of war, in order to win (Shuter). The Romans built large temples to their state gods, and had small shrine in their homes and so they could pray to the household gods. “They believed in two kinds of gods, the powerful gods and goddesses of the state religion and the friendly household spirits who protected their homes (Chandler)....
Zeus hurls his thunderbolt and the world trembles. Odin invites fallen warriors in the halls of Valhalla for a drink. Jesus Christ spreads the words of his father and gathers disciples. Buddha sits and meditates the meaning of the universe. Across the world there have always been mythological stories. From the first civilization to modern times, mythologies help explain the vents of the world and attempt to provide answers for unanswerable questions. Though every mythology appears different, if one looks close enough, commonalities appear. Joseph Campbell spent his life studying mythologies and religions along with compiling the commonalities amongst them. This study on the works of Joseph Campbell focuses on the following areas:
Both the Greek and the Roman civilization were polytheistic. Greeks were a very religious people. In Greece each city-state had a patron god or goddess that protected their city. Greeks believed that their Gods appeared in human form but had superhuman strength and ageless beauty. Many of the Gods are depicted on various painted scenes on vases, and stone, terracotta and bronze sculptures by themselves or in mythological scenes interacting with humans and lesser Gods (Realign and Death). Rome’s Gods and Goddesses were from a blend of a variety of cultures including Greece. They too believed the gods were actively involved in their everyday life, so much so that they held sacred meals for their Gods during religious festivals in which the invitations were sent in the God’s name and a place was set for them at the table. The oldest male in the family preformed religious rituals for the whole household to the family God, while the state employed priests and Priestesses to worship at the temple. Though they could not predict the future the priests were the one who could read signs to see if the Gods were happy or angry with the people. In the first century a new religion was born in the Rome that spread all throughout the empire and corners of the world, Christianity (Life in
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.