List of Roman deities

The Roman deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped by the ancient Romans. Many of these gods are well-known today because the Romans often linked them to gods from Greek stories. They mixed Greek myths, pictures, and religious ways into their own culture. This happened in Roman writing, art, and everyday religious life all across the huge Roman Empire.

However, many of the Romans' original gods are still mysterious. We often only know their names and sometimes what they were in charge of, from old writings and inscriptions that are incomplete. This is especially true for the very old gods from the time when Rome was ruled by kings. These ancient gods were part of what is called the "religion of Numa," named after a wise king. Some of these early gods were similar to gods from Italic or Etruscan cultures.

As the Roman Empire grew, gods from other places within the empire were also worshipped. Romans gave these gods new meanings, matching them with Roman gods who had similar jobs or powers. This list starts with groups of gods as the Romans saw them, followed by an alphabetical list of many gods and examples of special titles used for different gods.

Collectives

The Romans sometimes talked about their gods as groups instead of naming each one. Some groups had a set number of gods, like the Camenae and Parcae, although the exact number could change over time. Other groups had no set number.

Varro divided the gods into three groups: heavenly gods, earth gods, and underworld gods. Heavenly gods had altars called altaria. Earth gods had altars called arae. Underworld gods had altars called foci, which were special fire pits or hearths. Often, people just talked about the gods above and the gods below.

There were also special groups of gods. The Archaic Triad included Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. The Capitoline Triad had Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. The Plebeian or Aventine Triad included Ceres, Liber, and Libera, and dates back to 493 BC.

In 217 BC, there was a special event called a lectisternium, where gods were treated like guests at a dinner. The gods were seated on couches as if they were present. The twelve main gods were paired up, like Jupiter with Juno, Neptune with Minerva, and others.

Some gods were cared for by special priests called flamens. The major flamens looked after Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. Minor flamens cared for twelve other gods, including Carmentis, Ceres, and Flora, among others.

Varro listed twenty main gods of Roman religion, such as Janus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury. He also listed gods from the Sabine people, like Feronia and Minerva, who were adopted by the Romans.

Alphabetical list

A

• Abundantia, divine personification of abundance and prosperity.
• Acca Larentia, a diva of complex meaning and origin in whose honor the Larentalia was held.
• Acis, god of the Acis River in Sicily.
• Aerecura, goddess possibly of Celtic origin, associated with the underworld and identified with Proserpina.
• Aequitas, divine personification of fairness.
• Aesculapius, the Roman equivalent of Asclepius, god of health and medicine.
• Aeternitas, goddess and personification of eternity.
• Agenoria, goddess and personification of activity.
• Aion (Latin spelling Aeon), Hellenistic god of cyclical or unbounded time, related to the concepts of aevum or saeculum
• Aius Locutius, divine voice that warned the Romans of the imminent Gallic invasion.
• Alernus or Elernus (possibly Helernus), an archaic god whose sacred grove (lucus) was near the Tiber river. He is named definitively only by Ovid. The grove was the birthplace of the nymph Cardea, and despite the obscurity of the god, the state priests still carried out sacred rites (sacra) there in the time of Augustus. Alernus may have been a chthonic god, if a black ox was the correct sacrificial offering to him, since dark victims were offered to underworld gods. Dumézil wanted to make him a god of beans.
• Angerona, goddess who relieved people from pain and sorrow.
• Angitia, goddess associated with snakes and Medea.
• Anna Perenna, early goddess of the "circle of the year", her festival was celebrated March 15.
• Annona, the divine personification of the grain supply to the city of Rome.
• Antevorta, goddess of the future and one of the Camenae; also called Porrima.
• Apollo, god of poetry, music, and oracles. Twin brother of Diana and one of the Dii Consentes.
• Arimanius, an obscure Mithraic god.
• Aura, often plural Aurae, "the Breezes".
• Aurora, goddess of the dawn.
• Averruncus, a god propitiated to avert calamity.

B

• Bacchus, god of wine, and truth, originally a cult title for the Greek Dionysus and identified with the Roman Liber.
• Bellona or Duellona, war goddess.
• Bona Dea, the "women's goddess" with functions pertaining to fertility, healing, and chastity.
• Bonus Eventus, divine personification of "Good Outcome".
• Bubona, goddess of cattle.

C

• Caca, an archaic fire goddess and "proto-Vesta"; the sister of Cacus.
• Cacus, originally an ancient god of fire, later regarded as a giant.
• Caelus, god of the sky before Jupiter.
• Camenae, goddesses with various attributes including fresh water, prophecy, and childbirth. There were four of them: Carmenta, Egeria, Antevorta, and Postvorta.
• Cardea, goddess of the hinge (cardo), identified by Ovid with Carna (below)
• Carmenta, goddess of childbirth and prophecy, and assigned a flamen minor. The leader of the Camenae.
• Carmentes, two goddesses of childbirth: Antevorta and Postvorta or Porrima, future and past.
• Carna, goddess who preserved the health of the heart and other internal organs.
• Ceres, goddess of the harvest and mother of Proserpina, and one of the Dii Consentes. The Roman equivalent of Demeter [Greek goddess].
• Clementia, goddess of forgiveness and mercy.
• Cloacina, goddess who presided over the system of sewers in Rome; identified with Venus.
• Concordia, goddess of agreement, understanding, and marital harmony.
• Consus, chthonic god protecting grain storage.
• Cupid, Roman god of love. The son of Venus, and equivalent to Greek Eros.
• Cura, personification of care and concern who according to a single source created humans from clay.
• Cybele, an imported tutelary goddess often identified with Magna Mater.

D

• Dea Dia, goddess of growth.

• Dea Tacita ("The Silent Goddess"), a goddess of the dead; later equated with the earth goddess Larenta.

• Dea Tertiana and Dea Quartana, the sister goddesses of tertian and quartan fevers. Presumably daughters or sisters of Dea Febris.

• Decima, minor goddess and one of the Parcae (Roman equivalent of the Moirai). The measurer of the thread of life, her Greek equivalent was Lachesis.

• Devera or Deverra, goddess who ruled over the brooms used to purify temples in preparation for various worship services, sacrifices and celebrations; she protected midwives and women in labor.

• Diana, goddess of the hunt, the moon, virginity, and childbirth, twin sister of Apollo and one of the Dii Consentes.

• Diana Nemorensis, local version of Diana. The Roman equivalent of Artemis.

• Discordia, personification of discord and strife. The Roman equivalent of Eris.

• Dius Fidius, god of oaths, associated with Jupiter.

• Di inferi, deities associated with death and the underworld.

• Disciplina, personification of discipline.

• Dis Pater or Dispater, god of wealth and the underworld; perhaps a translation of Greek Plouton (Pluto).

E

• Egeria, water nymph or goddess, later considered one of the Camenae.
• Empanda or Panda, a goddess whose temple never closed to those in need.
• Epona, Gallo-Roman goddess of horses and horsemanship, usually assumed to be of Celtic origin.

F

• Falacer, obscure god. He was assigned a minor flamen.
• Fama, goddess of fame and rumor.
• Fascinus, god who protected from envy and the evil eye.
• Fauna, goddess of prophecy, but perhaps a title of other goddesses such as Maia.
• Faunus, god of flocks.
• Faustitas, goddess who protected herd and livestock.
• Febris, goddess of fevers, with the power to cause or prevent fevers and malaria. Accompanied by Dea Tertiana and Dea Quartana.
• Februus, god of Etruscan origin for whom the month of February was named; concerned with purification
• Fecunditas, personification of fertility.
• Felicitas, personification of good luck and success.
• Ferentina, patron goddess of the city Ferentinum, Latium, protector of the Latin commonwealth.
• Feronia, goddess concerned with wilderness, plebeians, freedmen, and liberty in a general sense. She was also an Underworld goddess.
• Fides, personification of loyalty.
• Flora, goddess of flowers, was assigned a flamine minor.
• Fornax, goddess probably conceived of to explain the Fornacalia, "Oven Festival."
• Fontus or Fons, god of wells and springs.
• Fortuna, goddess of fortune.
• Fufluns, god of wine, natural growth and health. He was adopted from Etruscan religion.
• Fulgora, personification of lightning.
• Furrina, goddess whose functions are mostly unknown, but in archaic times important enough to be assigned a flamen.

G

• Genius, the tutelary spirit or divinity of each individual
• Gratiae, Roman term for the Charites or Graces.

H

• Hercules, god of strength, whose worship was derived from the Greek hero Heracles but took on a distinctly Roman character.
• Hermaphroditus, an androgynous Greek god whose mythology was imported into Latin literature.
• Honos, a divine personification of honor.
• Hora, the wife of Quirinus.

I

• Indiges, the deified Aeneas.
• Intercidona, minor goddess of childbirth; invoked to keep evil spirits away from the child; symbolised by a cleaver.
• Inuus, god of fertility and sexual intercourse, protector of livestock.
• Invidia, goddess of envy and wrongdoing.

J

• Janus, double-faced or two-headed god of beginnings and endings and of doors.
• Juno, Queen of the gods, goddess of matrimony, and one of the Dii Consentes. Equivalent to Greek Hera.
• Jupiter, King of the gods, god of storms, lightning, sky, and one of the Dii Consentes; was assigned a flamine maior. Equivalent to Greek Zeus.
• Justitia, goddess of justice.
• Juturna, goddess of fountains, wells, and springs.
• Juventas, goddess of youth.

L

• Lares, household gods.
• Latona, goddess of light.
• Laverna, patroness of thieves, con men and charlatans.
• Lemures, the malevolent dead.
• Levana, goddess of the rite through which fathers accepted newborn babies as their own.
• Letum, personification of death.^{[citation needed]}
• Liber, a god of male fertility, viniculture and freedom, assimilated to Roman Bacchus and Greek Dionysus.
• Libera, Liber's female equivalent, assimilated to Roman Proserpina and Greek Persephone.
• Liberalitas, goddess or personification of generosity.
• Libertas, goddess or personification of freedom.
• Libitina, goddess of death, corpses and funerals.
• Lua, goddess to whom soldiers sacrificed captured weapons, probably a consort of Saturn.
• Lucina, goddess of childbirth, but often as an aspect of Juno.
• Luna, goddess of the moon.
• Lupercus, god of shepherds and wolves; as the god of the Lupercalia, his identity is obscure, but he is sometimes identified with the Greek god Pan.
• Lympha, often plural lymphae, a water deity assimilated to the Greek nymphs.

M

• Mana Genita, goddess of infant mortality
• Manes, the souls of the dead who came to be seen as household deities.
• Mania, the consort of the Etruscan underworld god Mantus, and perhaps to be identified with the tenebrous Mater Larum; not to be confused with the Greek Maniae.
• Mantus, an Etruscan god of the dead and ruler of the underworld.
• Mars, god of war and father of Romulus, the founder of Rome; one of the Archaic Triad assigned a flamine maior; lover of Venus; one of the Dii Consentes. Greek equivalent is Ares.
• Mater Matuta, goddess of dawn and childbirth, patroness of mariners.
• Meditrina, goddess of healing, introduced to account for the festival of Meditrinalia.
• Mefitis or Mephitis, goddess and personification of poisonous gases and volcanic vapours.
• Mellona or Mellonia, goddess of bees and bee-keeping.
• Mena or Mene, goddess of fertility and menstruation.
• Mercury, messenger of the gods and bearer of souls to the underworld, and one of the Dii Consentes. Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes.
• Minerva, goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industries and trades, and one of the Dii Consentes. Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena.
• Mithras, god worshipped in the Roman empire; popular with soldiers.
• Molae, daughters of Mars, probably goddesses of grinding of the grain.
• Moneta, minor goddess of memory, equivalent to the Greek Mnemosyne. Also used as an epithet of Juno.
• Mors, personification of death and equivalent of the Greek Thanatos.
• Morta, minor goddess of death and one of the Parcae (Roman equivalent of the Moirai). The cutter of the thread of life, her Greek equivalent was Atropos.
• Murcia or Murtia, a little-known goddess who was associated with the myrtle, and in other sources was called a goddess of sloth and laziness (both interpretations arising from false etymologies of her name). Later equated with Venus in the form of Venus Murcia.
• Mutunus Tutunus, a god.

N

• Naenia, goddess of funerary lament.
• Nascio, personification of the act of birth.
• Necessitas, goddess of destiny, the Roman equivalent of Ananke.
• Nemesis, goddess of revenge (Greek), adopted as an Imperial deity of retribution.
• Neptune, god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses, and one of the Dii Consentes. Greek equivalent is Poseidon.
• Nerio, ancient war goddess and the personification of valor. The consort of Mars.
• Neverita, presumed a goddess, and associated with Consus and Neptune in the Etrusco-Roman zodiac of Martianus Capella but otherwise unknown.
• Nixi, also di nixi, dii nixi, or Nixae, goddesses of childbirth.
• Nona, minor goddess, one of the Parcae (Roman equivalent of the Moirai). The spinner of the thread of life, her Greek equivalent was Clotho.
• Nortia a Roman-adopted Etruscan goddess of fate, destiny, and chance from the city of Volsinii, where a nail was driven into a wall of her temple as part a new-year ceremony.
• Nox, goddess of night, derived from the Greek Nyx.

O

• Ops or Opis, goddess of resources or plenty.
• Orcus, a god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths.

P

• Palatua, obscure goddess who guarded the Palatine Hill. She was assigned a flamine minor.
• Pales, deity of shepherds, flocks and livestock.
• Panda, see Empanda.
• Parcae, the three fates.
• Pax, goddess of peace; equivalent of Greek Eirene.

• Penates or Di Penates, household gods.
• Picumnus, minor god of fertility, agriculture, matrimony, infants and children.
• Picus, Italic woodpecker god with oracular powers.
• Pietas, goddess of duty; personification of the Roman virtue pietas.
• Pilumnus, minor guardian god, concerned with the protection of infants at birth.
• Pluto, Greek Plouton, a name for the ruler of the dead popularized through the mystery religions and Greek philosophy, sometimes used in Latin literature and identified with Dis pater or Orcus.
• Pomona, goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards; assigned a flamine minor.
• Porrima, goddess of the future. Also called Antevorta. One of the Carmentes and the Camenae.
• Portunus, god of keys, doors, and livestock, he was assigned a flamine minor.
• Postverta or Prorsa Postverta, goddess of childbirth and the past, one of the two Carmentes (other being Porrima).
• Priapus, guardian of gardens, originally Greek.
• Proserpina, Queen of the Dead, goddess of spring and a grain-goddess, the Roman equivalent of the Greek Persephone.
• Providentia, goddess of forethought.
• Pudicitia, goddess and personification of chastity, one of the Roman virtues. Her Greek equivalent was Aidôs.

Q

• Querquetulanae, nymphs of the oak.
• Quirinus, Sabine god identified with Mars; Romulus, the founder of Rome, was deified as Quirinus after his death. Quirinus was a war god and a god of the Roman people and state, and was assigned a flamine maior; he was one of the Archaic Triad gods.
• Quiritis, goddess of motherhood. Originally Sabine or pre-Roman, she was later equated with Juno.

R

• Robigo or Robigus, a god or goddess who personified grain disease and protected crops.
• Roma, personification of the Roman state.
• Rumina, goddess who protected breastfeeding mothers.

S

• Salacia, goddess of seawater, wife of Neptune. Equated with the Greek Amphitrite.
• Salus, goddess of the public welfare of the Roman people; came to be equated with the Greek Hygieia.
• Sancus, god of loyalty, honesty, and oaths.
• Saturn, a titan, god of harvest and agriculture, the father of Jupiter, Neptune, Juno, and Pluto.
• Scotus, god of darkness (Di inferi); brother of Terra, lover of Nox and opposite Dis. Greek Erebos; deep, shadow and one of the primordial deities.
• Securitas, goddess of security, especially the security of the Roman empire.
• Senectus, god of old age. His Greek equivalent is Geras.
• Silvanus, god of woodlands and forests.
• Sol/Sol Invictus, sun god.
• Somnus, god of sleep; equates with the Greek Hypnos.
• Soranus, a god later subsumed by Apollo in the form Apollo Soranus. An Underworld god.
• Sors, god of luck.
• Spes, goddess of hope.
• Stata Mater, goddess who protected against fires. Sometimes equated with Vesta.
• Sterquilinus ("Manure"), god of fertilizer. Also known as Stercutus, Sterculius, Straculius, Struculius.
• Suadela, goddess of persuasion, her Greek equivalent was Peitho.
• Summanus, god of nocturnal thunder.
• Sulis Minerva, a conflation of the Celtic goddess Sulis and Minerva

T

• Talasius, a god of marriage
• Tellumo or Tellurus, male counterpart of Tellus.
• Tempestas, a goddess of storms or sudden weather, usually plural as the Tempestates
• Terra Mater or Tellus, goddess of the earth and land. The Greek equivalent is Gaea, mother of titans, consort of Caelus (Uranus).
• Terminus, the rustic god of boundaries.
• Tiberinus, river god; deity of the Tiber river.
• Tibertus, god of the river Anio, a tributary of the Tiber.
• Tranquillitas, goddess of peace and tranquility.
• Trivia, goddess of crossroads and magic, equated with Hecate.

V

• Vacuna, ancient Sabine goddess of rest after harvest who protected the farmers' sheep; later identified with Nike and worshipped as a war goddess.
• Vagitanus, or Vaticanus, opens the newborn's mouth for its first cry.
• Vediovus or Veiovis, obscure god, a sort of anti-Jupiter, as the meaning of his name suggests. May be a god of the underworld.
• Venilia or Venelia, sea goddess, wife of Neptune or Faunus.^{[citation needed]}
• Venti, the winds, equivalent to the Greek Anemoi: North wind Aquilo(n) or Septentrio (Greek Boreas); South wind Auster (Greek Notus); East wind Vulturnus (Eurus); West wind Favonius (Zephyrus); Northwest wind Caurus or Corus (see minor winds).
• Venus, goddess of love, beauty, and gardens; mother of the founding hero Aeneas; one of the Dii Consentes.
• Veritas, goddess and personification of the Roman virtue of veritas or truth.
• Verminus, god of cattle worms.
• Vertumnus, Vortumnus or Vertimnus, god of the seasons, and of gardens and fruit trees.
• Vesta, goddess of the hearth, the Roman state, and the sacred fire; one of the Dii Consentes.
• Vica Pota, goddess of victory and competitions.
• Victoria, goddess of victory.
• Viduus, god who separated the soul and body after death.
• Virbius, a forest god, the reborn Hippolytus.
• Virtus, god or goddess of military strength, personification of the Roman virtue of virtus.
• Volturnus, god of water, was assigned a flamine minor. Not to be confused with Vulturnus.
• Voluptas, goddess of pleasure.
• Vulcan, god of the forge, fire, and blacksmiths, husband to Venus, and one of the Dii Consentes, was assigned a flamine minor.

Titles and honorifics

Certain special names and titles could be used for many different gods, goddesses, and even people who were treated like gods.

The title Augustus was first given to Octavian to show his very important role and the idea that he had special support. After he passed away and was treated like a god, this title was given to leaders who came after him. It was also used for smaller local gods, like the Lares Augusti.

The title Augusta was the feminine version, used for important women linked to the empire, including Roman Empresses. The first to carry this title was Livia, wife of Octavian. The name was also given to many goddesses and symbols of good qualities.

The word Bonus or Bona means “good” and was used in names like Bona Fortuna (“Good Luck”) or Bona Mens (“Good Thinking”).

The title Caelestis means “Heavenly” and was used for goddesses who represented ideas of a great, powerful female god. One example is the goddess Isis, who was called Regina Caeli, meaning “Queen of Heaven."

The title Invictus means “Unconquered” and was used for powerful gods such as Jupiter, Mars, and Hercules.

Goddesses could be called Mater, meaning “Mother,” to show their important roles, like Terra Mater (Mother Earth). Gods could be called Pater, meaning “Father,” to show their leadership, like Jupiter.