How Did Zeus Influence Roman Culture

Jupiter, also known as Zeus, was a very large influence on Roman culture if not the biggest. Some may argue that He was only a small piece of religion that the Roman’s followed. However, Jupiter was the basis for a religion that created everyday morals, explanations, and guidelines for those absorbed in the ever-so-expansive Roman culture. Jupiter resembles an Indo-European god named Dyeus. Dyeus means “sky”, “clear”, and

“day.” These are used to resemble Jupiter as the king of gods, the god of heavens and sky, the god of justice (“light” here is used to represent Jupiter’s apparent fair, judging personality), and his overall ruling of the universe. During this time in history, many people were writing about Zeus (Jupiter). In Homer’s Odyssey,

Eventually, he became so strong that he decided to stand up to his father, Cronus. He had matured to the point that he could claim the Kingdom of the World, and this prompted him to start a war between the gods and his father and his titans. His first mission was very clear to him and was perhaps the most important mission to him; he needed to rescue his siblings. All of his siblings were stored in their father’s stomach due to his sketchy suspicions. So now that Zeus knew where his siblings were, the only objective now is to get them out without getting caught and devoured as well. The plan was to slip some sort of vomit-inducing herb into his father’s food and rescue the disgorged adolescents. This plan worked. Out came Zeus’s siblings and they all ran away to somewhere safe. They then planned to overthrow Cronus. This eventually would take place in Tartarus, the depths of the underworld. Tartarus to the people of this time represents our current representation of hell. To the people of Roman culture this was a huge feat. It showed his willingness to go to even the deepest depths of hell to do what was best for earth. Then, after he overthrew his father, he was able to successfully defeat giants and a monster named Typhon. All of earth rejoiced as Zeus and his siblings officially ruled the Kingdom of Earth. Seeing this may have sparked hope in the people. If they could get their hands on literature that portrayed

A lot of what he does through these myths and stories points to how things came to be. For instance, it is said that at one time in his life, he fell in love with a daughter of the river god Asopus. Her name was Aegina and she had 19 other sisters, but she was the most beautiful. Because of this, Zeus kidnapped her and took her to the island of Oenone. Then, she conceived and gave birth to a son named Aeacus. Aeacus grew up to become the king of the island and gave the island the name “Aegina” after his beautiful mother. Zeus realized that because the island was so beautiful, he would need to be able to protect it. He took the ants of the island and named them the protectors of the island. They were made into warriors and had black armor along with six hands. They would protect the island for generations to come and eventually be known as the fiercest fighters of Ancient Greece. This myth explains how the beauty of the island came to be and how the ants received their characteristics. Once again, a small action done by such an important character can be so explanatory and so impactful for centuries to