roman religion

Hercules in Olympus with Juno and Minerva, fresco from Herculaneum, 1st century CE

Hercules, son of Jupiter

Hercules: Origins and Iconography The Roman version of the Greek celestial hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the human Alcmene, is Hercules. Hercules is known … Read more

The Three Graces, from Sandro Botticelli's painting Primavera in the Uffizi Gallery

Gratiae, Charites, Graces

The Gratiae are the goddesses of nature and vegetation, beauty, human creativity, goodwill, in Roman mythology, equivalent to the Greek Charites. They are also the … Read more

Fascinus from Pompeii showing a phallus

Fascinus: Roman Phallic God

Fascinus was a phallic god who protected from invidia (envy) and the evil eye in the Roman tradition. The fascinus or fascinum represented the divine … Read more

Bregenz, Vorarlberg Museum, Epona relief, 70-100 AD

Epona

Epona served as the goddess of horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules in the Gallo-Roman pantheon. She was especially revered as a goddess of fertility, as … Read more

Murcia

In ancient Rome, Murcia was a little-known goddess. She goes by Venus as a last name. She supposedly had a temple at the base of … Read more

Juno Moneta denarius 46BC

Moneta

The term “Moneta” was used to refer to two different goddesses in Roman mythology: Juno Moneta and the goddess of memory, who was named after … Read more

Palatua

The protector god of the Palatine Hill was the Roman goddess Palatua, who had her own official priest or flamen, the Flamen Palatualis. Little else … Read more

Furrina

By the first century BC, the purpose of the ancient Roman goddess Furrina (Furina) had become unclear. Since she was one of the fifteen goddesses … Read more

Fauna

According to several ancient texts, the Roman goddess Fauna is either Faunus’ wife, sister, or daughter, the Roman counterpart of Pan. She was seen by … Read more

Falacer

According to Varro, Falacer was an ancient Italic deity, or more precisely, dīvus pater falacer. Despite the fact that his origins are unknown, he was … Read more