The main religion in Italy today is Roman Catholicism, but a very long time ago, the Ancient Romans believed in many gods and goddesses. Stories and myths were told about the gods and goddesses. According to the Romans, each and every god and goddess had a certain thing or group of people to watch over. Here is a list of only a few of the many gods and goddesses the Ancient Romans believed in.
Saturn
-He was one of
oldest gods of Rome and was even a ruler, but his son Jupiter took
his place.
Jupiter - He was the most important god of all the gods in Rome. He was the god of the sky.
Juno - She was the wife of Jupiter, the sky god. She watched over the women in Ancient Rome.
Neptune- He was Jupiter's brother. Neptune was the god of the seas according to the Romans.
Minerva - She was the goddess of wisdom and the work that the Ancient Romans did.
Mars - He was the god of all the wars in Ancient Rome.
Venus - She was the goddess of love in Ancient Rome. She also loved Mars.
The gods and goddesses were
worshipped in temples where the people gave up animals and other
precious things. According to the Romans, after you died, your spirit
went down to the underworld. In order for the dead to reach the
underworld, they had to cross a river to reach Hades. The family of
the person going to the underworld gave the person a coin for the
ferryman.
As time went on, more and more people became Christians. In the 4th century A.D. Emperor Constantine decided to make Christianity the official religion of Italy.