Greek mythology in the Roman world
Greek mythology became deeply embedded within Roman culture. Some Greek gods were identified with established Roman deities, while other heroes, monsters and mythical figures simply acquired Latin or Roman forms of their names.
These are not always the same thing.
Zeus and Jupiter, for example, became closely identified as supreme sky gods within the Greco-Roman world. Aphrodite and Venus, Poseidon and Neptune, and Athena and Minerva are other familiar examples.
But a figure such as Heracles did not have a separate Roman hero who happened to resemble him. The Romans knew the same hero under the Latin name Hercules.
Likewise, Odysseus appears in Latin tradition as Ulysses, while many other mythological names were retained almost unchanged.
Greek and Roman religion had their own histories. The first section below contains established divine identifications or adopted gods. The second records Latin names, translated personifications and Roman forms already used on Mythos Kosmos figure pages.
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Established divine identifications
These figures were closely identified with Roman deities or adopted into Roman religion. The identification could become extremely strong while the Roman cult and religious role still retained characteristics of its own.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Sea goddess and consort of Poseidon.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess of love, beauty, desire and attraction.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of the violent and chaotic aspects of warfare.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals and young women.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, crafts and civic order.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of the north wind.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Youngest of the elder Titans and ruler before Zeus.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess of agriculture, grain and fertility.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of wine, ecstasy, theatre, vegetation and ritual transformation.
Roman counterpart / established identification
War goddess associated with destruction, bloodshed and the frenzy of battle.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess and personification of the Dawn.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess and personification of strife and discord.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Primordial force of attraction and desire in early Greek cosmogony.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of the east or south-east wind in later tradition.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Primordial goddess and personification of the Earth.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of the underworld and ruler of the dead.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess of youth and cupbearer of the gods in early tradition.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess associated with crossroads, night, magic, boundaries and liminal spaces.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God and personification of the Sun.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of fire, metalworking, craftsmanship and the forge.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Queen of the gods and goddess of marriage and queenship.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Messenger of the gods and god of travel, boundaries, trade, thieves and heralds.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess of the hearth, home and domestic life.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of marriage ceremonies and the wedding hymn.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Personification of sleep.
Same name used in Roman tradition
Goddess of the rainbow and divine messenger.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Daughter of Coeus and Phoebe and mother of Apollo and Artemis.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess and personification of victory.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of the south wind, associated with storms and late-summer rain.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Sea god and protector of sailors, associated with harbours.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Rustic god of shepherds, flocks, wild countryside and music.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Oceanid goddess and personification associated with persuasion and seductive speech.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Queen of the Underworld and goddess associated with vegetation, seasonal renewal and the mysteries.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of the sea, earthquakes and horses.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Titaness and mother of the first generation of Olympian gods.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Goddess and personification of the Moon.
Roman counterpart / established identification
Primordial personification of the sky.
Roman counterpart / established identification
God of the west wind and gentle spring breezes.
Roman counterpart / established identification
King of the gods and god of the sky, thunder and divine law.
Greek figures within Roman tradition
Some Greek gods and heroes entered Roman religion and mythology substantially as the same figures rather than simply being matched with an unrelated Roman deity. Their names might remain unchanged or acquire a familiar Latin form.
Greek deity adopted under the same name
God of prophecy, music, healing, archery and several forms of divine order.
Greek figure adopted into Roman tradition
God of medicine and healing.
Greek figure adopted into Roman tradition
Greatest of the Greek heroes, famous for the Twelve Labours.
Heroes, beings and translated names
Not every entry below represents a separate Roman deity. Some are Latin forms of the same Greek hero or mythical being; others are translated personifications or names used by Roman authors.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Powerful river god of Aetolia, often regarded as foremost among the river gods.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Trojan hero, son of Aphrodite and Anchises, who escapes the fall of Troy.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Keeper and ruler of the winds in Homeric tradition.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
River god of the Peloponnese, famous for his pursuit of Arethusa.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Freshwater nymph associated with a famous spring at Syracuse and the river god Alpheus.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
Many-eyed guardian appointed by Hera to watch over Io.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
River god associated with Boeotia and Sicyon and father of many nymphs.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
The bull-headed monster confined within the Labyrinth of Crete.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Multi-headed hound guarding the entrance to the Underworld.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Ferryman who carries the dead across the waters of the Underworld.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
Fire-breathing hybrid monster with lion, goat and serpent features.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Divine enchantress associated with magic and transformation.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Nymph pursued by Apollo and transformed into the laurel tree.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Mountain nymph whose voice survives as an echo in the best-known later tradition.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
Goddess of childbirth and labour.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Beautiful mortal associated with Selene and a mysterious perpetual sleep.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Prophetic sea god, originally mortal in some traditions.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Divine child of Hermes and Aphrodite associated with combined male and female characteristics.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
River god of Argos and ancestor in several Argive royal genealogies.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
Many-headed serpent slain by Heracles during his labours.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Sea goddess who aids sailors in distress.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
Primordial goddess and personification of night.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
King of Ithaca, renowned for cunning, central to the Trojan War and the Odyssey.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
Athenian princess carried away by Boreas, god of the north wind, and mother of the winged Boreads Zetes and Calais.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
River god of Thessaly, father of several nymphs in later traditions.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Youth famous for attempting to drive the chariot of the Sun.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
God and personification of wealth and agricultural abundance.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
One of the Dioscuri and a member of the Argonauts.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Rustic fertility god associated with gardens, livestock and agricultural abundance.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Nymph of a spring in Caria whose story becomes closely connected with Hermaphroditus.
Latin name, Roman form or traditional counterpart
River god of the Trojan plain, prominent in the Iliad.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Elder rustic deity and companion or tutor of Dionysus, associated with wine, prophecy and woodland revelry.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Winged monster associated with Thebes and the riddle answered by Oedipus.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Goddess and personification of the river Styx.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Arcadian nymph pursued by Pan and transformed into reeds from which the panpipes were fashioned.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Trojan prince loved by Eos and granted immortality without eternal youth.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
Sea god and herald associated with Poseidon.
Name retained in Latin / Roman tradition
A vast serpentine storm-monster and one of Zeus's greatest enemies.
Concepts, personifications and collective names
Some Greek mythological names represent abstract ideas such as fear, misery, friendship or dreams. Roman and Latin sources could express these through Latin personifications or translated names. The relationship is therefore different from identifying Zeus with Jupiter or Poseidon with Neptune.
Latin collective tradition: the Furiae
One of the Erinyes, divine powers of vengeance and punishment.
Latin translation / Roman personification
Personification of deceit and deception.
Latin translation / Roman personification
Personification of terror and dread in battle.
Latin translation / Roman personification
God of erotic love and desire in later genealogical traditions.
Latin translation / Roman personification
Female death-spirits associated particularly with violent or fated death.
Latin collective tradition: the Furiae
One of the Erinyes, associated with vengeance against grave wrongdoing.
Latin translation / Roman personification
Personification of misery, distress and suffering.
Latin translation / Roman personification
The divine spirits or personifications of dreams.
Latin translation / Roman personification
Personification of affection, friendship and intimate attachment.
Latin translation / Roman personification
Personification of fear and panic in battle.
Latin collective tradition: the Furiae
One of the Erinyes, associated with retribution for blood guilt and murder.
Roman literature carried Greek mythology into later European culture. As a result, both Greek and Latin names remain familiar.
We speak of Heracles and Hercules, Odysseus and Ulysses, Aphrodite and Venus.
Even the planets preserve this Roman inheritance: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn carry names associated with the Roman gods rather than their Greek counterparts.
This page does not create modern equivalents merely because two gods share similar powers.
Comparisons such as Zeus with Odin or Thor may be interesting, but similarity does not make them the same deity. Mythos Kosmos keeps this page to historically established Greco-Roman identifications and names already recorded in the classical tradition.