About This Quiz
The Romans may have borrowed heavily from the Greeks, but you might be surprised to learn how they forged a mythological history all their own. Intrigued? Take our quiz to learn more!The Romans celebrated Venus — known to the Greeks as Aphrodite — as the goddess of love and beauty.
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The arrow-slinging Cupid was described at times as either the companion or son of Venus.
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Priapus, the son of Venus, was a Roman god of fertility and procreation. While he was often overlooked by the Greeks, he was very popular with the Romans.
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The Romans kept the Greek name Apollo when naming their god of light. The use of laurel crowns at the Olympics hails back to a failed relationship between Apollo and a nymph named Daphne.
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When Rome became the dominant power around 100 B.C.E., Greek god of war Ares was given the moniker Mars.
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Mars and Venus were blessed with two children, Phobos and Deimos — or panic and fear.
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Apollo's twin sister was Diana, the virgin goddess and goddess of the hunt.
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Minerva was the patron of Athens and the goddess of war. She was important to the military-minded Romans, while Mars appealed more to the battle-minded Greeks.
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Known to the Greeks as Demeter, Ceres was the goddess of crops and mother to the famous Persephone.
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Greek myth transformed him into a goat, but Bacchus was still celebrated by the Romans as the god of wine and male life force.
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Pluto was the Roman ruler of the underworld.
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Vulcan was the god of fire and blacksmithing. He was also the son of Juno and a well-known prankster.
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The Greeks called her Hera, and the Romans called her Juno, but both revered her as the queen of the gods.
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Mercury used wings on his helmet and feet to travel rapidly as he delivered messages for the gods.
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God of the sea and earthquakes Neptune was rarely seen without his trusty trident.
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The Romans rechristened king of gods Zeus as Jupiter. He was also the god of thunder and weather.
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Janus watched over doors and gates — entrances, or beginnings. His name later served as the basis for the first month of the year.
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Mars gave birth to twin sons, who later went on to found the great city of Rome.
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Mars' twin sons Remus and Remulus fought bitterly. After killing his brother, Romulus built Rome in 753 B.C.E.
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To bring more women to the male-oriented city, the Romans captured the Sabine women and forced them to move to Rome.
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Romulus was the first Roman king, ruling for 40 years before disappearing in a thundercloud.
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Virgil drafted "The Aeneid," which was inspired — or just straight-up copied from — "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey."
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The rowdy Bacchanalia, which celebrated god of wine Bacchus, was nearly banned in 186 B.C.E. by the government.
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Saturnalia celebrated the winter solstice as well as Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.
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Taking advantage of the existing Roman holiday of Saturnalia, Pope Julius I declared that December 25th was also the date that Jesus was born.
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The Greeks and Romans shared a common heritage, but the earliest Romans had their own gods that were independent of those of the Greeks.
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Pre-Greek influence, the original three Roman Gods were Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus, a god of agriculture.
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Neptune is as celebrated for giving the first horses to man as he is for his connections to the sea.
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While Apollo was the god of the underworld, he was not death. The Greeks called "Death" Thanatos, while the Romans called him Orus.
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Diana, whom the Greeks called Artemis, rose to life from sea foam to become the goddess wife of Vulcan.
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