Roman mythology is the body of
myths of
ancient Rome as represented in the
literature and
visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of
Roman folklore,
Roman mythology may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to the subject matter as represented in the literature and art of other cultures in any period. Roman mythology draws from the mythology of the
Italic peoples and ultimately from
Proto-Indo-European mythology. Roman mythology also draws directly on
Greek mythology, potentially as early as Rome's
protohistory, but primarily during the
Hellenistic period of Greek influence and through the
Roman conquest of Greece, via the artistic imitation of
Greek literary models by Roman authors. The Romans
identified their
own gods with those of the
ancient Greeks—who were closely historically related in some cases, such as
Zeus and
Jupiter—and reinterpreted myths about
Greek deities under the names of their Roman counterparts. Greek and Roman mythologies are therefore often classified together in the modern era as
Greco-Roman mythology. Latin literature was widely known in Europe throughout the
Middle Ages and into the
Renaissance. The interpretations of Greek myths by the Romans often had a greater influence on narrative and pictorial representations of "
Greco-Roman mythology" than Greek sources. In particular, the versions of Greek myths in
Ovid's
Metamorphoses, written during the reign of
Augustus, came to be regarded as
canonical.
Nature of Roman myth ,
Venus looks on while the physician
Iapyx tends to the wound of her son,
Aeneas; the tearful boy is her grandson
Ascanius, also known as Iulus, legendary ancestor of
Julius Caesar and the
Julio-Claudian dynasty Because
ritual played the central role in Roman religion that myth did for the Greeks, it is sometimes doubted that the Romans had much of a native mythology. This perception is a product of
Romanticism and the
classical scholarship of the 19th century, which valued Greek civilization as more "authentically creative." From the
Renaissance to the 18th century, however, Roman myths were an inspiration particularly for
European painting. The Roman tradition is rich in historical myths, or
legends, concerning the foundation and rise of the city. These narratives focus on human actors, with only occasional intervention from deities but a pervasive sense of divinely ordered destiny. In Rome's earliest period, history and myth have a mutual and complementary relationship. As
T. P. Wiseman notes: The Roman stories still
matter, as they mattered to
Dante in 1300 and
Shakespeare in 1600 and the
founding fathers of the United States in 1776. What does it take to be a
free citizen? Can a
superpower still be a
republic? How does well-meaning
authority turn into murderous
tyranny?
Other myths hears of the
arrival of Galatea''; ancient
Roman fresco painted in the
"Fourth Style" of Pompeii (45–79 AD) The characteristic myths of Rome are often political or moral, that is, they deal with the development of
Roman government in accordance with divine law, as expressed by
Roman religion, and with demonstrations of the individual's adherence to moral expectations
(mos maiorum) or failures to do so. •
Rape of the Sabine women, explaining the importance of the
Sabines in the formation of Roman culture, and the growth of Rome through conflict and alliance. •
Numa Pompilius, the Sabine second
king of Rome who consorted with the
nymph Egeria and established many of Rome's legal and religious institutions. •
Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome, whose mysterious origins were freely mythologized and who was said to have been the lover of the goddess
Fortuna. • The
Tarpeian Rock, and why it was used for the execution of traitors. •
Lucretia, whose self-sacrifice prompted the overthrow of the
early Roman monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic. •
Cloelia, a Roman woman taken hostage by
Lars Porsena. She escaped the Clusian camp with a group of Roman virgins. •
Horatius at the bridge, on the importance of individual
valor. •
Mucius Scaevola, who thrust his right hand into the fire to prove his loyalty to Rome. •
Caeculus and the founding of
Praeneste. •
Manlius and the geese, about divine intervention at the
Gallic siege of Rome. • Stories pertaining to the
Nonae Caprotinae and
Poplifugia festivals. •
Coriolanus, a story of politics and morality. • The
Etruscan city of
Corythus as the "cradle" of Trojan and Italian civilization. • The arrival of the
Great Mother (Cybele) in Rome. ==Etruscan mythology==