Expert: Maria - 4/30/2004

Question
Dear Maria;
    I am a seventh grader at the Springfield Middle School of Pennsylvania. Right now, a current project involves researching the Roman gods. I have procured a variety of information already, but I can't figure out how the Roman gods reflect upon the Romans, or how the Roman gods were like the Romans in Physical as well as emotional aspects. If possible, I would also like to know why more and more Roman gods were constantly being created. Any possible bit of information would be of the utmost help. A prompt resonse would also help. Thank You much,
                        Tim Ramdeen  

Answer
FOLLOW UP

I'd like to point out that I've answered your question within three hours, which is a shortest lapse of time.

Therefore I'm wondering why you gave me 7 in timeliness, as if I had answered after three days.

Bye
Maria

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Dear Tim,

here are my answers to your questions.

1st. QUESTION:” I can't figure out how the Roman gods were like the Romans in physical as well as emotional aspects.”

ANSWER:
First of all I must point out that in Roman religion, as well as in Greek mythology, the gods had a bodily form resembling that of human beings, and possessing qualities of thought, will, or emotion that were similar to those experienced by humans, but  they were  immortal, of course.
This  attribution of human form or behaviour to a deity  is called ANTHROPOMORPHISM  meaning literally “in the form of man” (derived from the Greek words ‘anthropos', “man,” and  ‘ morphé', “form”).
So that's  why the Roman gods were  like the Romans in physical as well as emotional aspects, though they had the privilege of having perpetual life.

2nd.QUESTION:” I can't figure out  how the Roman gods reflect upon the Romans”.
ANSWER:
The Roman gods and goddesses reflected upon the Romans as well as all divine being  has an influence on men that pray to gods(in paganism) or to God (in Christianity)  in order to be helped in their hour of need.
Anyway,  to the Romans  religion was less a spiritual experience than a contractual relationship between mankind and the forces which were believed to control people's existence and well-being.
The result of such religious attitudes were two things: a state cult, i.e. a significant influence on political and military events, and a private concern, in which the head of the family oversaw the domestic rituals and   prayers in the same way as the representatives of the people performed the public ceremonials.

3rd.QUESTION:” I would also like to know why more and more Roman gods were constantly being created.”
ANSWER:
It's not true that more and more Roman gods were constantly being created.
Most of the Roman gods and goddesses were a blend of several religious influences. Many were introduced via the Greek  colonies of southern Italy. Many also had their roots in old religions of the Etruscans or Latin tribes.  Often the  old Etruscan or Latin name survived but the deity over time became to be seen as the Greek god of  equivalent or similar nature. And so it is that the Greek and Roman pantheon look very similar, but for different names.
See for example Venus/Aphrodite, Diana/Artemis, Iuppiter/Zeus, Juno/Hera, Mars/Ares, Neptunus/Poseidon, Minerva/Athena, Vulcanus/Hephaestus, Ceres/Demetra, and so on.
Moreover the survival of a religious faith depends on a continual renewal and affirmation of its beliefs, and sometimes on adapting its  rituals to changes in social conditions and attitudes.
To the Romans, the observance of religious rites was a public duty   rather than a private impulse. their beliefs were founded on a variety of unconnected and often inconsistent mythological  traditions, many of them derived from the Greek rather than Italian models.
Since Roman religion was not founded on some core belief which ruled out other religions, foreign religions found it  relatively easy to establish themselves in the imperial capital itself.

Hope this brief outline can give you a first insight on this interesting matter.
Anyway, should you have other queries, feel free to ask me again.

Have a nice day.
Maria