Unique and Lesser-Known Gods and Goddess of Roman Mythology

Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about the lesser-known gods and goddesses of ancient Roman religion and myth. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel, and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week, so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. Many of the gods of ancient Rome are well known today. Anyone who knows the names of the planets knows Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and most have probably heard of other famous deities like Juno, Diana, Minerva, Vesta, or Vulcan. But the Romans had many other gods dating back to the time of the Kingdom of Rome between 753 and 509 BCE. Some borrowed from the Etruscans, some from other peoples on the Italian peninsula, and some developed by the people of Rome itself. Many of these lesser-known gods have been forgotten today, but for the Romans, they were extremely important as they played vital roles in the daily life of the people and of the state itself. There were so many that one single video can't possibly handle them all, so the following is just a sample that we hope you'll enjoy. Bellona was a war goddess originally of the Sabine people who occupied the land before the founding of Rome. She is depicted as a woman wearing a helmet and sometimes holding a sword, shield, and spear or a torch, steering her four-horse chariot as she charges into battle. Temples to Bellona were originally raised in and around Rome, but during the time of the Empire appeared throughout the territories. She was consulted at her temple near Rome whenever the act of declaring war needed to be decided, and it seems her answer was usually in favor of it. Bellona was venerated widely in temples, but another goddess, Cardea, was honored more intimately in the home. Cardea was the goddess of hinges and doorways, whose duties combined those of two earlier deities, Fauculus, who presided over doors, and Lamentinus, who oversaw thresholds. Cardea protected one's doorways from evil spirits and also made sure the doors opened and closed properly and, presumably, without squeaking. Another deity who watched over one's property was Terminus, the god of boundary markers and boundaries. Terminus was one of the older gods, dating back to the time of the Kingdom of Rome, but was venerated up through the time of the Empire. People offered sacrifices to Terminus privately to honor him and make sure he kept those boundary markers in place. The old saying fences make good neighbors could be applied to Terminus' central duties. The roles of both these deities factored into the responsibilities of the god Janus, who also provided over doorways, boundaries, transitions, gates, and, especially, beginnings and endings. Janus was never a major god, but was probably worshipped more than many others, as he was invoked at the beginning and ending of religious rites and services, at births, deaths, the start of a journey and its safe conclusion, the beginning of a trade agreement or partnership and its successful completion or renewal, the decision to make war and the resolution of peace. He is depicted as a two-faced god, each looking in an opposite direction, and the month of January is named in his honor. Janus was associated with another god, Quirinus, as one of his epithets was Janus Quirinus. Quirinus was the god of the state who was associated with Romulus, the founder of Rome. He seems to have originally been a Sabine war god before he was appropriated by the Romans as the deified Romulus, and so the personification of the state of Rome. He is depicted as a bearded man in military dress and, at one time, formed part of the triad that included Jupiter, king of the gods, and Mars, the god of war. Quirinus was eventually largely replaced by Mithras, the deity at the center of the mystery cult known as Mithraism, which was popular with the legionaries of the Roman army, as well as with private citizens. Mithras developed from the Persian god Mithra and was associated with the sun, rebirth, transformation and eternal life, but was linked with the Greek hero-king Perseus as a deliverer. He was usually depicted slaying the bull of heaven, thought to symbolize the advent of a new order. Very little is known of him or the rites surrounding his worship, because adherents of Mithraism were sworn to secrecy. Even so, his cult became so popular during the time of the Roman Empire that he eclipsed many other gods, and his cult was a major rival of early Christianity, which, according to some scholars, borrowed heavily from Mithras' cult and iconography. Another popular god was Liber, whose name means free, the god of wine and grapes, whose female counterpart was Libera. He was associated with freedom and, specifically, with Roman males coming of age and virility, and, through this, with freedom of speech and personal conduct. He was originally a fertility god associated with both agriculture and human reproduction, but came to be associated with the Greek god of wine Dionysus or Bacchus during the time of the Roman Republic. By the time of the Empire, his cult had become fused with that of Dionysus or Bacchus, and so, like this god and Mithras, details regarding his worship are unknown. The freedom offered by Liber and Libera was considered a great gift, as was the wine which helped free an initiate from inhibitions. The two deities were, therefore, invoked frequently by the lower classes in protests against upper-class policies they felt threatened civil liberties. A goddess who helped to ensure such liberties and smoothed over disagreements of this sort was Concordia, who presided over social and marital harmony. Concordia was invoked in concluding peace after military conflicts or political alliances, and coins were minted with her image on them to commemorate such events. She was usually depicted as a woman in a long cloak, holding symbols of peace, prosperity, or ritual sacrifice. She was the goddess one would appeal to for resolution of marital problems or disagreements in business, as her name means harmony, and she encouraged understanding and patience. Sulis Minerva was another such goddess, but she was thought to encourage harmony through punishment. Sulis Minerva was the goddess of the Thermal Spring at Bath in Roman Britain, which was the centre of her worship. She was understood as a mother goddess who could heal emotional, physical, or spiritual ailments, but is best known for ensuring curses worked as they should. Tablets inscribed to Sulis Minerva call on her to punish people who stole clothing or money from the site at Bath, afflicting them with all kinds of misery until the stolen items were returned. Based on the number of tablets found, it seems she had a good record of making a proper curse stick. If you were a thief in ancient Roman Britain or elsewhere, cursed by Sulis Minerva, or trying to evade the law, you would appeal for help to Laverna, the goddess of thieves, con artists, and rogues. Laverna seems to have originally been an Etruscan deity associated with the underworld, and this connection to darkness eventually linked her with dark deeds like stealing and cheating. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Pallas, a deity who was both male and female, or maybe a couple. Pallas was the patron deity of shepherds, sheep, goats, and livestock. Pallas was associated with light and cleanliness, and was worshipped at the festival of Parilla on the 21st of April annually, which ritually cleansed shepherds and their flocks. Back to the dark side of the supernatural world, we find Trivia, the Roman version of the Greek goddess Hecate, who was associated with the underworld, ghosts, transitions, roadways, and crossroads. In Rome, she was associated with the goddess Diana as a lunar deity, and is usually understood as her darker aspect when Diana is referenced as a triple deity with the moon goddess Selene and Trivia of the underworld. Dogs that seem to be barking at nothing were understood to actually be warning their masters of the presence or approach of Trivia and her ghosts. On the other hand, a goddess no one needed warning against was Voluptus, the Roman deity who presided over sensual pleasure. Voluptus was the daughter of Cupid and Psyche, and so encouraged the pursuit of love and all of romantic love's pleasures, including physical. Her name means delight, and is the basis for the English word voluptuous. Like many of the so-called minor gods of ancient Rome, Voluptus was highly regarded by the people, and offerings were made at her temple, either for help in obtaining the pleasures she offered, or in keeping them. Which of these lesser-known gods would you like watching over you? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos published every single week. This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and interactive content, head to our website via the link below. 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