Pluto, Mars, and Shooting Stars: How Greek and Roman Deities are Different

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In both Greek and Roman mythology there are multiple gods and heroes, but there are some differences in what these gods represent and the way that the heroes are portrayed. Different ideals are held in high regards for each culture not only for the gods and heroes but also for the people and their culture. The basic descriptions and origin stories of each have similarities but are also very different. It’s very easy to see why many would think that Greek and Roman traditional religion and culture are the same. There are many similarities after all not only in the culture of the people but also in the gods that the people worshiped. Both religions are polytheistic and have gods be they major or minor to represent almost every part of everyday life from something as simple as flowers to the skies and weather patterns and childbirth. Even though both the cultures and religions of Greece and Rome are similar they have many differences as well.
“The religions of ancient Greece and Rome are extinct. The so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshiper among living men.” (Bullfinch pg1) The religions of ancient Greece and Rome are very old religions and are believed to in many ways have correlating deities. However, to begin understanding these similarities and differences we must first take a look at the family tree of the Greek gods and then of the family tree of the Roman gods and what all of these gods represent. The Greek gods were a large family with many gods and demigods. There were however a group of gods who were considered the major gods that lived on Olympus and met to decide the laws and fates of the entire world. Zeus, the god of the skies, was considered the king of the gods as well as men and was the father o...

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