Same Gods, New Names: How Rome Renamed the Greek Pantheon

After Rome conquered Greece in 146 BCE, something unusual happened: instead of throwing out Greek mythology, the Romans adopted it almost completely — they just gave the gods new, Latin names. Zeus, king of the Greek gods, became Jupiter. Aphrodite, goddess of love, became Venus. The stories, powers, and family trees stayed nearly the same.

Why the Romans borrowed and renamed Greek gods. The Roman names for the major Greek Olympians and what they ruled over. How English words today still come from these Roman god names. One key way Roman and Greek versions of the same god actually differed.

Rome admired Greek culture, art, and literature, and as Roman armies conquered Greek territory, Roman writers and priests blended Greek myths into their own religion. Rome already had some of its own nature gods with Latin names, so instead of learning brand-new stories, Romans matched their existing gods to the more detailed, well-known Greek ones — keeping the same job (like ruling the sea or love) but swapping in a Latin name.

Zeus, king of the gods and ruler of the sky, became Jupiter (also called Jove). Hera, goddess of marriage, became Juno. Poseidon, god of the sea, became Neptune. Athena, goddess of wisdom and war strategy, became Minerva. Ares, god of war, became Mars. Aphrodite, goddess of love, became Venus. Hermes, messenger of the gods, became Mercury. Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the moon, became Diana.

Even though the gods matched up, Roman culture sometimes valued them differently. Ares (Mars) was often looked down on in Greek myths as a reckless troublemaker, but in Rome, Mars was one of the most respected gods — Romans believed Mars was the father of Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, so honoring the god of war fit a culture built on military conquest.