Essay Sample on Differences Between Greek and Roman Mythology

Mythology played a fundamental role in past societies. Interestingly, there were many diverse types of mythology. Most people think of gods like Apollo and Mars to be part of the same group. They are surprisingly from two completely different societies. Despite sharing some surface similarities like origin, the difference between Greek gods and Roman gods is quite pronounced.  

Greek mythology did not in fact originate from Percy Jackson. It was passed down for generations by mostly oral traditions. The first written origins come from a poem called “Theogony” written by Hesiod around 700 to 600 BC. Theogony translates to “birth of the gods,” which makes a lot of sense. This poem explains the creation of the world that was once “chaos.” The elaborate tales of generations of gods explain natural things that have happened in the world. Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad give insight into the Greek origins. Centuries later after wars and migration, the Roman empire came about. Their religion or mythology was highly influenced by that of the Greeks. The noticeable difference in Roman mythology was that it was heavily influenced by Roman traditions and ways of life. They were quite patriotic, basically the Americans of ancient times.  

The characteristics of each god or goddess were one of the most significant differences in these two cultures. Roman gods/goddesses did not necessarily have human traits but were more so based on objects. An example of this is the god Jupiter, who was the god of lightning and thunder. Conversely, Greek gods had human characteristics and traits to distinguish them, for the most part. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, sex, and beauty. These are human desires and important things in society. Each Greek god had a “perfect” physique and was the human dream. Most Greek gods or goddesses come from human traits, however, there are some exceptions like Poseidon being the god of the sea. 

In Greek mythology, mortals were a key role in the balance of life. The gods were more interested in what was going on Earth than the afterlife. The afterlife did not have a huge significance in this mythology, which does seem strange. Humans knew that they could never amount to the deities, so they wanted to work hard to achieve honor and validation from the gods whilst they were on earth. On the other hand, Roman mortals wanted to do honorable deeds to be comfortable in the afterlife. Their way of worshipping the gods was more so like modern- day Christians. The structure of good and evil was based on the heroic actions of the gods and goddesses.  

Overall, Greek, and Roman mythology are not as similar as one may think. Greek culture highly influenced Roman myths and gods, but the two had a completely different purpose in society. From the reason mortals worshipped them to each gods’ characteristics, there are many divisions and differences. Each subject is extremely interesting to research and to find the connecting wires between each culture is an eye-opening activity.