Pagan religions believed
in many gods and generally worshipped the earth, sea, sun, sky
and various other elements of nature. The Romans were polytheistic
and much of their lives were spent in a fervent effort to please
their gods. This was because ancient Romans believed that their
gods had great influence over their daily lives and fates. In
order to placate the gods, the Romans believed that certain
rituals and rites must be performed in appreciation of the gods
works. As the religion progressed, so too did the rituals, this
made it necessary to form priesthood’s with specific rituals
and traditions. In keeping with the Pagan tradition the Romans
had a deep respect for the earth and her cycles. The ancient
Roman religion is one of the better known pagan religions.
Early Roman religion was based on
spirits. The Romans did not build great mythologies like the
Greeks, rather they believed everything had a spirit. These
spirits were thought to influence for good or evil, daily life.
The Romans therefore had to keep them happy through worship
and sacrifice. If the rituals and sacrifices were performed
properly the Romans believed the gods would be happy and help
them.
Romans believed each God had a specific
"field" of expertise. There was a god of the sun,
Apollo, a god of the sea, a god of the sky and many others.
As Roman life had many different aspects there were many different
Gods. If a Roman wanted a good crop he would pray to Ceres,
the goddess of agriculture. The most important of all the
spirits was Vesta the goddess of the hearth and home and the
center of Roman family life. Each household had a small shrine
dedicated to the household spirits. The Romans were great
copiers. They borrowed many of their gods from the Greeks,
but unlike Greek gods, theirs did not have the same definitely
conceived personality, they were more cold and formal. The
Romans lived under the gods and constantly tried to please
them.
The Romans has a well defined state pantheon of gods. These
were the official gods led by Jupiter, the father of the gods.
Others included;
Mars; god of war, Ceres; Goddess of agriculture, Diana; moon
goddess, Juno; goddess of women and childbirth, Minerva; goddess
of wisdom and healing in war .
The Roman religion was based on
rituals and sacred rites. These rituals had become very complex
over the years and needed special people to perform them. This
is where the priests came in. The chief priesthood’s were
usually filled by distinguished statesmen or generals. Roman
religion and politics were intermeshed. There were two types
of priests;
• priests for the general supervision of religion
• priests of particular deities
As
the Roman empire expanded it came into contact with new and
different religions. Many were absorbed into the state religion.
Religious tolerance was a policy among the emperors. They
introduced a policy of syncretism designed to encourage the
merging of pagan religions to unite people and effect greater
political stability. This cemented and united the empire.
So it came to pass that Romans could worship whoever they
liked as long as it didn’t interfere with others.
The ancient Roman religion is one of
the most well known pagan religions. It was worshipped not
only by the Romans, but by the various communities which were
absorbed into the Roman empire. These communities added to
the state religion with their own specific beliefs until it
was a truly diverse and all encompassing religion. Throughout
the modern world, the ancient roman religion is known as one
of the world’s first and most famous pagan religions.
It is the Roman and the Greek religions which are the basic
from modern pagans take their beliefs.
