The Twelve Olympians: From Greece to Rome

In the last entries we explained about the creation of the world, the emergence of the two great divine generations, and, very briefly, about how the first human beings could have originated; all these are mythical moments very present in Greco-Roman mythology, in the mythology of two folks that were closely linked through the conquest of one and the influence of the other.

This link is striking because the Romans weren't so devoted to imagining the deeds of the deities; in the words of Concepción Masiá Veriscat (2017), they rather assimilated quite successfully the religious legacy of the regions they conquered. The Twelve Olympians, which are shown in the following box, has undoubtedly been the most outstanding case of this assimilation.

The Gods as State Affair

An important aspect that should be highlighted about the cult of the Twelve Olympians is that it was a matter of state in terms of adaptation and adoption of rites and cults. The adoption of the Twelves Olympians was derived from the belief of the Roman people that foreign gods were great benefactors of Rome by incarnating themselves as local divinities (Masiá Veriscat, 2017: 47). This detail was very evident during the Imperial Age; the emperor, aware of the importance of the divinities in Roman public life, would always use these deities as his great weapon in order to obtain the loyalty, favor and respect of the people, since they considered him as a representative of the divinities (Frazer, 1969: 185) and would even elevate him.

Now, what was said about each of the members of the Twelve Olympians? What were their main attributes? We will find out in the next posts.

Consulted sources

• Cheers, Gordon (Editor). 2019. Mitología. España. RBA Editorial. English version of this book: Mythology. Myths, Legends and Fantasies.

• Masiá Veriscat, Concepción. 2017. Mitología romana. España. Albor Libros.

• Frazer, James George. 1969. La rama dorada. México. Fondo de Cultura Económica. Englosh version: The Golden Bough.

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Last Mythological Notes

• Greco-roman mythology: A brief introduction.
• Greek and Roman Mythology: Their differences.
• Creation, according to greco-roman mythology.
• Gaia and Uranus, the primordial divinities.
• The Titans, the predecessors of the gods.
• Titanomachy: Titans vs. Olympians.

Prometheus, the titan who defied Zeus.

Pandora, the lady of the amphora.