Ancient Greek vs. Roman Religion: What’s the Difference?

The religions of the ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans, often simply called “classical religion,” are often viewed as indistinguishable. This is partly because the Greeks and Romans were different manifestations of a broader civilization, usually called “Hellenic” or “Greco–Roman” civilization. But while the two religions share similar origins and align in many ways, the differences in their religious beliefs and practices are extremely revealing about what separates these two ancient cultures.

Ancient Greek and Roman religion share many similarities. To start with, they were both polytheistic and shared similar gods. The primary Greek gods Mount of Olympus formed the basis of the Roman pantheon as well, with the Romans simply renaming many of the Greek deities. For example, the Greek Zeus became the Roman Jupiter, Hera became Juno, and Ares became Mars. Apollo was known by the same name among both people, perhaps indicating that both the Greeks and Roman adopted him from Near Eastern tradition.

The Romans and Greeks both developed out of the Indo-European groups that migrated into Europe thousands of years ago, creating a foundation for shared cultural ideas. As the new civilizations solidified, each was also influenced by their neighbors. Greek religions had notable Near Eastern influences. For example, the goddess of love Aphrodite probably originated as Ishtar, the Semitic goddess of love and war. Likewise, the popular Cybelle originated in Anatolia, and Adonis had either Semitic or Hurrian origins.

The Greeks and Romans shared very similar myths. The Greek writer Hesiod (c. 750s-650s BCE) wrote the didactic poem Works and Days in which he outlined how the Earth has been through five cycles of existence, including a “golden age” where humans and gods lived side-by-side. Hundreds of years later, the Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE- 18 CE) wrote his Metamorphoses, which included a book where he outlined the same ages of man.

The most popular Greek poet was Homer (8th century BCE), who is credited with authoring The Iliad and The Odyssey. The subject matter of these two epic poems is the legendary but archeological provable Trojan War. The two poems became national poems for the Greeks and played a major role in their origin myths. The classical Greeks identified with the Achaean and Mycenean invaders of Troy. The Romans also honored Homer and identified with the Trojan War, but their origin myth was slightly different.

The Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BCE) wrote an epic version of the Trojan War titled The Aeneid, which took a different perspective. Instead of following the Achaeans and heroes such as Achilles and Odysseus, The Aeneid tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan hero who leads his people from Troy and eventually establishes Rome. The Aeneid fills in the gaps of Homer’s epics, as The Iliad takes place before the sack of Troy and The Odyssey is set after the war is over. The Odyssey only mentions the famed Trojan horse in passing, while The Iliad never mentions it. The Trojan horse plays a major role in the events of The Aeneid.

One final, notable similarity between Greek and Roman religions was their emphasis on rituals. This aspect was not unique to either of these religions, or even to Indo-European religions, as all ancient religions emphasized rituals and cult. Sacrifice was a major part of the rituals of both religions.

Although the Romans cherished the memories of Aeneas, Romulus, and other legendary heroes, and even acknowledged some Greek heroes, such as Hercules, they did not worship them. On the other hand, the Greeks revered and worshiped their heroes, giving them divine status and cults. Cult in this context refers to ritual worship, usually conducted by a dedicated priesthood and involving animal sacrifice. The different ways that the Greeks and Romans viewed heroes was also apparent in how they viewed their pantheons more generally.

Many of the Roman gods were based on the Greek gods, but the differences went beyond mere name changes. Greek gods were much more tangible and represented human ideals. For example, the Greeks believed Zeus was a corporeal being who lived on Mount Olympus, which was a physical place. This was not the same case with the Romans. The Romans believed in the concept of the numina, which was the intangible divine or supernatural power. Images of deities were forbidden until the advent of Greek influence on Roman art in the late Republican period.

As another example, Ares, the Greek god of war, was of secondary importance to the Greeks His Roman counterpart, Mars, was next to Jupiter at the head of the Roman pantheon. The Roman preference for Mars began with the rule of King Numa (715-672 BCE). Numa had an altar built for Mars in the Campus Martius, which is where Roman youth began their military training. Mars’ popularity grew as Rome grew in size and military stature. After every military victory during the monarchy (until 509 BCE), the Republic (509-27 BCE), and the empire (27 BCE-476 CE), the Romans blessed the Mars cult with more resources.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Greek religion and Roman religion was how the priesthoods were organized and functioned. Both sets of priesthoods served essentially the same functions, but the Roman priesthoods were much more organized and professional. For the Greeks, being a priest was a part-time job that was done in rotation. Greek priests wore no distinctive clothing, as being a priest was more of an obligation than a profession that set them apart from their neighbors.

Roman priests were ritual experts, a practice likely introduced by the Etruscans. The Romans also divided their priests into different offices or categories, known as colleges, and developed an elaborate hierarchy. The highest ranking priests in ancient Rome were organized into the Collegium Pontificum. The pontifices were originally only selected from members of the patrician class (aristocrats), though later that rule was later relaxed. The head pontifice was known as the pontifex maximus, who was an esteemed member of the college. At the dawn of the empire, Augustus would take the title, setting the precedent for all later emperors. The pontifices were also experts on Roman law, which is another element that separated them from their Greek counterparts.

The rex sacrorum was another important Roman priestly office. Translated into English as the “king of sacred rites,” as the title infers, it was originally held by the Roman king. Once Rome became a Republic, the rex sacrorum became an elected office that was held jointly with the officer holder’s wife, the regina sacrorum. It was required that the rex sacrorum be married, and if his wife died, he had to resign the office.

The flamens were another type of priest that was unique to the Romans. The flamens were priests who were assigned to a specific cult to carry out the daily rituals and other cult functions. There were fifteen major cults and twelve minor ones, each with unique rituals and protocols. The garb worn by the flamens was also quite different from their Greek counterparts. Instead of wearing the standard Roman toga, flamens wore a distinct uniform of a heavy woolen cloak and a skull-cap known as an apex.

Other unique priestly offices in Roman religion that had no Greek equivalent included the Vestal Virgins and the College of the Augurs. The Vestal Virgins were the only official college of priestesses, and as the name indicates, they were chosen as young girls and were required to remain virgins. The Vestal Virgins’ primary duty was to attend to the eternal flame of the collective Roman hearth in the Forum.

The priests of the College of the Augurs divined the future through a number of methods, including “reading” the entrails of animals and the flight paths of flocks of birds. The Romans adopted the practice of augury from the Etruscans, and most Greeks likely would have viewed it as a strange practice.

One final difference between ancient Greek and Roman religions is where official religion was practiced. The differences in temple architecture are important because architecture is a reflection of a people’s view of the world. It is a tangible interpretation of how a particular people understands their gods and their place in the world. Temples were a focal point of both cultures’ civic and religious lives, so a brief survey of the fundamental architectural differences in both cultures is warranted.

The Temple of Athena in Athens, known as the Parthenon, is cited by modern scholars as the prototype for later Greek temples. Columns line every side of the Parthenon and the cella, which is where the cult statue of Athena was kept, was in the center. The positioning of the columns and the cella’s location give ancient Greek temples a sense of openness, inviting worshipers from all directions.

At first glance Roman temples appear similar to Greek temples, but a closer inspection reveals notable differences. The Temple of Veii, which was built about 500 BCE, is believed to have been the prototype for most Roman temples. The Temple of Veii had a pronaos with two rows of columns in front of it and the cella in the back of the temple. The Temple of Augustus in Pula in Croatia is a good example of the prototypical Roman temple from the Imperial period. It too had a similar layout as the Temple of Veii.

Visitors to Roman temples were led in a distinct direction to the most holy part of the temple. The reason for this difference is unknown. It may have been a remnant of Etruscan theological ideas, or possibly connected with the Roman idea of the numina, or possibly it was done for purely practical reasons. After all, the Romans were known for their love of order, so they may have thought it was the most practical way for priests to enter and exit temples.

As this survey shows, while the religions of the Greeks and Romans were based on the same core group of myths and involved many of the same deities, the way religion manifested was different in each culture. The Greeks treated their gods like incredibly powerful and larger than life supernatural beings with whom they shared existence. The Romans treated their gods as more remote divine powers that had to be revered and cultivated in an organized manner.