Welcome to Ad Tempas Romae's survey of Roman Mythology. The Roman people had a diverse religion that incorporated gods and customs from the Hellenic World, Latium, Etrusca, Parthia, and Egypt. Their vast pantheon has only been out numbered by the Hindu religions. One aspect of Roman religion was the humanism expressed by the gods, they had human qualities and emotions. These humaniform gods expressed love, and hate; jealousy and anger. They wept, they laughed, they even fought. To tell of their gods the Roman people used a vast array of myths describing the how and why of the world. Their stories provided laws, and entertainment, and values. These myths have been passed down by the Romans through writers like Ovid. Now these myths make up part of our culture, our art, ourt literature. Max Ernst in the 1940s made a surrealist painting called Oedipus Rex, after the greek mythological king. Movies like Clash of the Titans, and Hercules show a distorted view of the myths. Romeo and Juliet was based on a similar myth also. These reasons enforce the need for the students of today to know the mythology of the classical world in order to better understand the way things are now.