Ancient Roman Religion

By: Manny, James, Michael, and Enrique

Role of Religion in Rome• The roots of the faith can be

traced back to Hellenistic Greek culture

• This is why they are both so similar

• Faith was central to each Roman citizen’s life

• Much like the Greek faith, Romans believed in numerous gods

• They are often used to explain fortune or disaster

Some Various Gods

• Jupiter – King of the gods. Basically Zeus.• Juno – The sister (and wife) of Jupiter• Neptune - Brother of Jupiter; lord of the sea• Pluto – Brother of Jupiter; lord of the underworld• Mars – Jupiter’s son; god of war• Mercury – Jupiter’s son; messenger of the gods• Apollo – Jupiter’s son; god of sun, light, and music• Diana – twin sister of Apollo; goddess of the hunt• Venus – Goddess of love and beauty• Hercules – son of Jupiter and a mortal woman;

renowned for his strength and wacky adventures

• (now is a good time for a video)

Prayer• The Romans spent a good deal of the day praying

to the gods• Most households have a shrine where prayer and

offerings can be done• The head of the family lead the prayers• They were considered so important that slaves

were always invited• In addition, neighborhoods had their own shrines

and “sacred places” (think springs, groves, etc) for people to pray at

• Each god has a festival based around it, and this was usually a holiday

• Everybody could participate, including slaves, women, and children

• Religious leaders were often (if not always) political leaders as well

• (another good time for a video)

Causes of the Decline of Traditional Roman/Greek Faith• Christians

Ancient Roman Philosophy

• The predominant school of thought throughout Ancient Rome’s history is “Stoicism”

• The most important teaching is that destructive emotions, like anger or envy, resulted from clouded judgment

• A perfect thinker would not experience these

• Stolen from the Greeks, like everything else

• Founded in Athens, by this guy =>

Major Contributions to Philosophy

• ………….

• Most of Roman philosophy was derivative of the Greeks• Almost every

philosopher followed Stoicism, Plato, Aristotle, or Socrates

Some Philosophers• Cicero (106 – 43 BCE)• Lucretius (94 – 55 BCE)• Seneca (4 BCE – 65 CE)• Musonius Rufus (30 – 100 CE)• Plutarch (45 – 120 CE)• Epictetus (55 – 135 CE)• Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 CE)• Clement of Alexandria (150 – 215 CE)• Alcinous (philosopher) (2nd century CE)• Sextus Empiricus (3rd century CE)• Alexander of Aphrodisias (3rd century CE)• Ammonius Saccas (3rd century CE)• Plotinus (205 – 270 CE)• Porphyry (232 – 304 CE)• Iamblichus (242 – 327 CE)• Themistius (317 – 388 CE)• Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 CE)• Proclus (411 – 485 CE)• Damascius (462 – 540 CE)• Boethius (472 – 524 CE)• Simplicius of Cilicia (490 – 560 CE)• Philoponus of Alexandria (490 – 570 CE)

Just a few.

References• http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greekphilosophy/a/

TimeLPhilosophr.htm• http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/romanempire.html• historylearningsite.co.uk