Analyzing Greek and Roman mythology we can see some similarities, but there are very few differences. In much of Roman mythology we see a strong influence of Greek mythology. However, by examining the mythology further, we might find some differences, such as how the myths describe the time period, were they created to explain events that happened or were they created to glorify the land and events? This is what we see through Greek and Roman mythology. Even after finding small differences in mythology, it is still very clear how prevalent Greek mythology features were within them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Many Roman gods and goddesses derive from Greek mythology. Roman gods tended to be anthropomorphic, however they did not display the same dramatic emotion as Greek gods. Roman mythology tends to be made up of stories that paint a grand portrait of how Rome laid its foundations. The stories we find in Roman mythology are often centered on politics and morality. Roman mythology focuses more on rituals, wishes, and institutions rather than theology or cosmogony. The Roman tradition was to create stories full of historical meaning, legends, myths, centered on the rise of Rome. In many works written by Roman writers we see that they employed Greek beliefs to fill gaps in current Roman traditions. The gods in Roman mythology clearly represented the practical needs of everyday life, even the gods whose names were invoked to carry out everyday tasks such as harvesting and more. There are two classes of deities in Roman mythology, the first is indigetes and the second novensiles. The indigenous people were gods who had not been adopted by other religions. Novels were gods found more obscurely in other religions and were also applied to Roman gods (“Roman Mythology, Crystalinks,” 2016). No creation story could be found for Roman mythology, however there were a similar set of initial brothers called Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. Greek mythology did not follow the events of history to fit them and make sense of them. Myths were not created just to solve problems or make sense of events that were happening. (Johnston, S.I., 2015, p. 182). Greek mythology tells a story that explains creation, initially Chaos, which was a void ruled by the god Eurynome. Eurynome gave birth to Eros after mating with Ophion, a powerful serpent. Gaia, called Earth or Mother Earth, was also born from Eurynome. Gaia eventually mated with Uranus and gave birth to the Titans. The most formidable, Kronos. Cronus eventually had children with his wife Rhea, who would eventually give birth to a son who would surpass Cronus, this child was Zues, who became king of all the gods. This is where Greek mythology begins (“Encyclopedia Mythica: Greek Creation Myths,” 2016). Looking at the numerous gods and goddesses that exist between Greek and Roman mythology, it became clear that almost every one of them reflected a countertrend. part in the opposite set of mythology. There are three common ones that initially stood out, which are the brothers from Greek mythology known as Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades are almost mirror images of the Roman gods called Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. Zeus' counterpart would be Jupiter. Zeus was the king of all gods and possessed many magical powers such as casting lightning, he could also create natural phenomena with the air and sky, he could create huge storms, thunder and lightning, extreme darkness and much moreonly with his hands. Zeus also had a flying horse named Pegasus, Zeus would fly to Pegasus and make him hold his lightning bolts, and he would also make a trained eagle retrieve these lightning bolts. Zeus seemed to represent the main parts of nature that are in balance with each other. Zeus was the ruler of all the gods and by becoming such he ensured that the gods performed actions as they were intended and that any misdeeds would be punished. Zeus also saw mortals, rewarded mortals when they were kind and just. He would also punish mortals for any wrong deed. Jupiter was also the king of all gods, Jupiter became king of all gods after the death of his father Saturn. Jupiter had many similarities to Zeus, he was also the seer of all the things the other gods did, and made sure they followed what they were supposed to do, if they did things he disapproved of he would punish them. Jupiter also had a flying horse called Pegasus, he also possessed the same abilities as Zeus, he could control the elements of the weather and also throw lightning. Looking at Jupiter and Zeus, however, we can find some differences. The first difference is the way these gods can be governed. Zeus was controlled in part by the Fates, he could have been defeated by other gods, but they never did this to him, instead Zues eventually retreated from his position. Jupiter however could not be defeated by anyone, he had always been the most powerful god who reigned supreme above all else and no one tried to throw him from his place of power (“Encyclopedia Mythica: Greek vs. Roman”, 2015). Overall, when analyzing Zeus and Jupiter, we see so many similarities that it seems as if the god was taken directly from Greek mythology and simply renamed and placed on the side of Roman mythology under the name Jupiter. Secondly, analyzing Zeus' brother, called Poseidon, also shows many similarities with his counterpart Neptune from Roman mythology. Poseidon was god, or better known as "Lord of the Sea". Poseidon possessed many magical powers, he could make islands appear and raise tidal waves. Poseidon also had a trident powerful enough to shake the Earth. Poseidon could cause earthquakes, he could also cause storms, submerge the lands, he could even shatter rocks. The people who lived inland did not fear Poseidon, however the people who lived on the coastline were terrified of what he would do if they displeased him. The people built a temple in his honor near the coastline. They brought gifts to this place in the hope of pleasing the god and convincing him to calm things down. Neptune was very similar to Poseidon, it was believed that he could also control the seas and life within them. The ancient Romans also built temples and brought gifts to please him. Almost all elements of the two gods are similar, many simply consider him to be the same god, with a different name. One difference found, however, was that Poseidon was considered one of the twelve Olympian gods, and Neptune was not ("Greek God: Poseidon (Neptune) The God of the Seas and Ocean," 2014). The last of the brothers with a very similar counterpart was Hades, whose counterpart was Pluto. Hades chose to rule the underworld as they divided responsibilities after the deaths of him, Zues, and Poseidon's father. Hades was a very dark and brooding god. Hades was not the lord of death, he did not decide who lived and who died on earth. However, Hades was greedy, favoring people whose actions led to death, so that he could have more subjects in the underworld. However, it was up to Hades to decide where the people who ended up in the underworld would live once they went down there. Hades, like his brother, was also considered an Olympian. The Greeks had a superstition that if they haduttered his name they would somehow be brought closer to death, so they refrained from using his real name, they referred to him as Plouton, which comes from the word "wealth", because of the precious metals that could be mined from underground . Hades never married, but had a lifelong companion, named Cerebus, who was a three-headed dog.Cerebus guarded the underworld, allowing the dead to enter, but not letting them leave. Cerebus had three heads, a sepanta tail, a serpent's mane and lion's claws ("Hades", 2015). Likewise Pluto also had a three-headed companion. The similarities don't end there, he is also considered the ruler of the underworld, not the god of death ("Pluto: King of the Underworld", 2016). His job was to rule the underworld and place the people where they would live even once they went down there. He was considered the “Judge of the dead”. Both of these gods were extremely similar beings. Both judged where souls should go once they entered the underworld, but they were not the gods of death. There were also similarities between Greek and Roman goddesses. One of the first duets that mirrored each other a lot was Hera and Juno. Hera was the queen of all the gods. Hera was married to Zeus, who was also her brother. Hera and Zeus had two sons, Ares and Hephetus. Hera was an extremely jealous and vengeful goddess. Hera was jealous that Zeus had fathered children with other women and also had many affairs. Hera went so far as to take revenge on Zeus and her lovers by behaving badly towards their children, and at one point even attempted to kill Hercules ("Encyclopedia Mythica: Roman vs. Greek", 2016). Juno was in a similar position of power to Hera, she was married to Jupiter. She was also considered the queen of all gods. Juno was loved and revered by all, she was seen as a housewife, mother and matron. Juno watched over all women, but her primary concern was married women (“Juno, Ancient History Encyclopedia,” 2016). One difference between these two Goddesses was that while Hera was concerned with being spiteful, jealous, and focused on revenge, Juno had no time for that type of behavior. Juno didn't waste time with this, instead she spent most of her time acting as a protector to protect women. However the similarities between the two are much greater than the differences. Both were worshiped goddesses, women believed that if they worshiped them, it would help them have a successful marriage and would also help them successfully have children as well. Both Hera and Juno were considered goddesses of childbirth and marriage (“Hera,” 2016). The examination of how Greek and Roman mythology influenced the society of the time also seemed to have many similarities. In Rome individual beliefs were not important, there was a rigid set of rituals that were more important. The cities of Rome would adopt their own deities and perform their own rituals. These cities would build temples to honor these gods and goddesses. There was a cult of worship that developed over time, one of the most influential cults was that of the Imperial Cult, which had the idea of ​​the deification of Emperor Augustus. Augustus resisted this, but still considered himself the son of a god. Once Augustus died, the Roman Senate rewarded him with deification ("Roman Religion: Ancient History Encyclopedia", 2016). Greek cities would dedicate themselves to particular deities and build temples to worship them. They would have regular festivals to honor their gods. At these meetings there were poets who recited and sang about these gods, telling legends and stories. This is how many Greeks would have learned about the gods. An example of this would be Delphi, Delphi was a sacred place dedicated to Apollo, there was a temple built there,” 2016).