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RELIGION OF ANCIENT ROMANS

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Created on October 17, 2023

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Transcript

religion of ancient Romans

introduction

Ancient Rome Was Polytheistic

Greek Gods Inthis Religion

christianity

Emperors as the Chief Religious Priests

Religious belief was an important part of Ancient Rome. They established a polytheistic belief system, with different gods and goddesses.

In ancient Rome, religion was the backbone to many of their most important beliefs. It informed not only the way they lived their lives but also the nature of their architecture and surroundings.

Ancient Rome Was Polytheistic

From the outset, ancient Rome established a polytheistic system of beliefs, worshipping many different gods and spirits. Romans also believed that the gods had helped to cement the very foundations of Rome.

Ancient Romans Incorporated Greek Gods Into Their Religion

Many of the gods prominent in ancient Rome were adapted from earlier Greek mythology. This was because there were many Greek colonies in Rome’s lower peninsula whose ideas filtered into Roman culture.

Much like the ancient Greeks, different cities across ancient Rome developed their own patron saints, and huge, monolithic temples were erected in honor of these deities. Roman citizens saw these temples as the home of the god, and they would worship outside it or on the temple’s entrance.

Romans Invented Some Gods

Vestal Virgins

Janus

In Ancient Rome, Emperors Were Chief Religious Priests

Beginning with Emperor Augustus, Roman leaders became the pontifex maximus, or chief priest, making them the head of any religious worship. Roman Emperors employed Roman augures, or soothsayers to read animal entrails in order to predict the future.

Christianity Eventually Took Over Ancient Rome

Both Judaism and Christianity eventually came to challenge religious belief in ancient Rome. Christianity was initially seen as a small sect of Judaism, but it grew and grew, eventually taking over as the dominant religion across the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. This rising dominance of Christianity undoubtedly played a part in the downfall of the Western Roman Empire, and it would become the dominant religion for centuries to come.

THE END