The Romans believed that the world was controlled by many gods, and there was a god for every aspect of life.

 

The Romans had stories about their gods (which we call Roman Mythology). Many of the gods and stories were similar to the beliefs from Ancient Greece.

Statue of a Roman God. Photo by Griffin Wooldridge from Pexels

Statue of a Roman God

Temple Maison Carree in Nimes by ukdamian is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Temple Maison Carree in Nimes

 To worship these gods, the Romans built temples in their towns, and every home contained a shrine to the gods. They liked to sacrifice food and drink to their gods, and at shrines and temples, they would burn incense.

Some of the important gods were:

Jupiter
the King of the Gods
Juno
Jupiter’s wife (and Queen of the Gods)
Ceres
the god of grain (from which the word cereal comes)
Cupid
the god of love
Mars
the God of War
Mercury
the messenger of the gods
Venus
the goddess of love and beauty
Neptune
god of the sea
Minerva
the goddess of wisdom

Neptune, Roman god of the sea. Photo from Nauticashades on Wikimedia Commons licenced under CC-BY-SA

Neptune, Roman god of the sea

Emperors were elevated to the status of gods after their deaths.

 

During the time of the Romans, Christianity (where just one god is worshipped) became more important. Initially Christians were persecuted, but by the end of the Roman Empire, Christianity became the official religion of the Romans.