Religion Flashcards
Jupiter
God of the sky,
King of the gods,
Recognized by thunderbolt and sceptre
Neptune
God of the seas, earthquakes and horses
Brother to Zeus,
Recognized by trident and dolphin
Venus
God of love,
Recognized by being naked with a shell
Apollo
God of prophecy, arts and the sun
Recognized by bows and arrows and the sun
Juno
God of women, children and marriage
Zeus’ wife
Recognized by crown and new born child
Minerva
God of tactical warfare, wisdom and spinning and weaving
Recognized by helmet, spear, owl and aegis
Mars
God of War
Recognized by his armour
Pluto
God of the Underworld,
Brother of Zeus,
Recognized by scepter and pomegranate
In a temple, where would rituals take place?
Outside the temple on the porch (pronaos)
What was inside the temple?
The main room(cella) would hold a statue to the God where you could leave gifts
Why did people believe in religion?
Allowed people to come together as a community,
Sacrifices meant free meat,
Believed gods were the reason behind natural disaster,
Helped maintain political control
Why was Jupiter important?
He represented Roman dominance, temples to him were common features in new roman controlled locations
First stages of a sacrifice:
An animal free of any blemishes would be chosen,
it would have ribbons tied round its horns and be led through the city to the temple,
if it stumbled this was a bad omen and a new animal would be chosen to start again
Later stages of a sacrifice:
A pontifex would oversee the ceremony outside the temple,
the animals head would be sprinkled with molsa salsa and wine while the priest said a prayer,
the popa would then strike the animal with a hammer,
when the animal was stunned it’s throat would be slit,
the animals innards would be examined by a haruspex
Why were temples built?
Show off Roman dominance in new colonies,
honour and appease the all powerful gods,
show off the wealth, skill and intricacies of their culture
Home for the gods and a place to put their gifts
