The Ever Growing Pantheon

Hello everyone! This is Casimir with The Skald’s Circle again. Today we’ll be talking about the ancient Roman religion.

Ah Rome…When I think of ancient Rome, I think of cities white and imperial upon hills lit by the sun. I also think of Jupiter, Mars, Juno, and all the other Roman gods (less insane versions of the Greek gods, except Bacchus; we don’t talk about Bacchus.) There are also other Roman deities (that we know of) that are not of traditional Roman origin. To name some of the more famous ones that undoubtedly had temples within Roman cities, you have the Magna Mater and Isis. Magna Mater may be a latin name, but she was also known as Cybele, a Phrygian deity. Isis, I am certain you all know as one of the chief deities of the Egyptian pantheon. Those are just two examples; there are more of course (Epona, a celtic deity of horses, to name another). The point being is this, the Romans had this fascinating practice of just…taking people’s gods.

Alright, because I enjoy taking complex topics and making them blunt like I’m trying to drunkenly explain them at the local drinking establishment, here is what my studies have told me of the Roman Empire. The Romans had this habit of whenever they would take over an area/when they besieged a city, they would quite literally take a city’s gods. I don’t mean this in a metaphorical sense as in they would start worshiping the gods after they took over. Sometimes quite literally, for instance in the case of the Magna Mater, they would literally take whatever it was that represented that god. The Magna Mater’s representation was (what we have identified as probably) a meteorite, which was taken from its home city and paraded through the streets of Rome by its worshippers. So, yes, the Romans literally stole a god. But wait, there’s more! I mentioned besieging cities. When Rome was attacking a city with the intent of capturing it, they would more often than not give sacrifices to their enemies deities, to win over their gods to their side. Given Rome had a habit of steamrolling over all of its competition… well, let’s just say people believed that the gods were on Rome’s side more often than not.

In short, Rome took the gods they liked, and banned the ones that they didn’t (glares at Bacchus). The Romans really were, for lack of a better word, the first eclectic pagans! I think this is all fascinating to learn about, especially interesting when you look at the differences between the original ideas of the god compared to the Roman ones. This is particularly clear in the Greek influenced gods, but that’s an entire article waiting to happen.

I hope you have enjoyed this lesson with History with The Skald’s Circle. If you’d like to know more, or perhaps discuss it with me I’m always more than willing. Also, if you have something you would like us to research, please let us know! Also if you learned something new, give us a like, and let us know, we really appreciate being noticed…Until then, I’ll be back next week with another fascinating topic. This is Casimir, signing off, and remember, always check your sources!