Although Greek gods are arguably better known, Greek and Roman mythology often have the same characters with different names. Roman mythology came roughly 700 – 1000 years after Greek mythology and many Roman characters are borrowed from Greek mythology. Now that we have a bit of a background on Roman mythology, we will discuss the cream of the crop of Roman mythology characters. Here follows everything you need to know about the 15 most powerful Roman mythological characters.
15 – Faunus
Faunus is thinking about his life and contemplating it.
Known as a companion to the nymphs. Widely depicted with the torso and face of a man, and the legs and horns of a goat. Faunus was the protector of crops and herds of animals. One of the first Roman gods was Faunus. Throughout Roman myth, he was depicted as the god of the forest, plains, and fields. Peasants praised him for making the land and farm animals fertile and protecting them. Many people were surprised to learn that a set of 32 4th century spoons was discovered in Thetford, England, in 1979. On these spoons, the name “Faunus” was engraved. This discovery leads many to believe that Faunus was worshipped for centuries throughout the Roman Empire.
Two special festivals were held each year to praise this Roman god for his blessings on them:
- 13 February in the temple of Faunus on the island in the Tiber
- 5 December in the temple of Faunus on the island in the Tiber.
On both of these occasions, the peasants brought him rustic offerings and amused themselves with dancing. This ancient Roman character got his power from being responsible for the fruitfulness of the land and cattle.
14 – Janus
Janus is thinking about opening a new door.
We all love the New Year. New beginnings, a fresh start, one year has ended and another has started. For this reason, it is just fitting that the month January is named after the Roman god Janus. In Roman mythology, Janus was known as the god of entrances, thresholds, and transitions. Janus is also one of the few Roman gods that is not derived from Greek mythology. Some sources even describe Janus as a creator who witnessed the birth of Roman gods.
The main things to know about this character from Roman mythology are:
- There were many ceremonial gateways in Rome, known as Jani named after Janus.
- These gate-ways were said to bestow good- or bad luck to a person who moved through them.
- The most important shrine dedicated to Janus was called Janus Geminus.
- Many still speculate where Janus resided since archaeologists have not been able to find the supposed temple where he lived on the Janiculum hill.
Some would argue that Janus was not a powerful Roman god, but the power to transition into new beginnings is most definitely not something you find every day.
13 – Bacchus
Bacchus being the life of the party.
The name Bacchus was adapted from the Greek god, Dionysus. Bacchus was widely known as the Roman god of agriculture and wine. But did you know that he was also associated with fertility, drama, and revelry. Bacchus loved his wine so much that he was known for helping the grapes grow all year round and is still known today as the god of wine. Mythology tells us that Bacchus was the son of Jupiter and a mortal woman. When the mortal woman saw Jupiter in his godly form (which was forbidden for humans), she burst into flames and died. Jupiter then sewed the baby to his hip and kept him there until he could be born.
Three things that you should definitely know about Bacchus is that:
- He threw wicked parties. Think about them as ancient frat parties.
- He was the youngest member of the 12 Olympians.
- He hung around with a lot of sitars in his group.
Although he was most definitely not the most powerful of the Roman gods, he was certainly the most popular of them all when it came to parties. He had the power to create parties and the drama that went along with them.
12 – Mercury
Mercury is thinking about all the messages he has to deliver.
This Roman god was not the most powerful of the Roman mythical characters, but he was the cleverest of them all. Mercury served as a messenger between the gods. He was also a mediator between gods and mortals. According to legend, he frequently accompanied Jupiter on many of his visits to Earth.
Three special things that you should know about Mercury are that:
- He is derived from the Greek god Hermes.
- People worshipped him for wealth and good fortune.
- A festival was held in his honour on May 15 each year.
Mercury often helped the gods out of predicaments as well. One time, Jupiter’s wife Juno was on her way to him when he was with another woman. Mercury was able to warn Jupiter of her arrival before she could see the “special guest." Being so smart, Mercury was also able to trick people and commit theft without being caught. He also met a lot of souls, as it was his work to escort the dead to the underworld.
11 – Venus
Venus and her lover (not her husband).
This goddess is the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. However, unlike her Greek sister, she had many more abilities beyond love and lust. She was also known as the goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution.
This goddess had a long list of lovers, who also included:
- Her husband Vulcan with whom she was in a loveless marriage after he caught her cheating.
- Her lover Mars with whom she had many children including the cupids.
- Several mortal lovers with the most famous being Adonis.
Venus was so in love with Adonis that she tasked Proserpina (goddess of grain and harvest) to care for him while she was away from earth. They were soon both smitten with Adonis and warred over him until Jupiter decided that Adonis would spend one third of the year with each of them. This was not enough for Venus, and she conspired with Pluto (god of the underworld) to abduct Proserpina to be his queen in the underworld. This character from Roman mythology could certainly use love in many different ways, but it was when she used it as a weapon that she was the most dangerous.
10 – Vulcan
Vulcan created many things in his underwater home.
Vulcan is the son of Jupiter and Juno, the king and queen of the Roman gods. When Vulcan was born, he was not a very pretty baby. He had a red, swollen face and did not represent the beauty of his parents. Juno was so repulsed by this that she threw him from the mountain into the sea. The myth tells us that he fell for a day and a half. When he hit the water, he broke one of his legs. He is said to have walked with a limp, because of that. A water nymph named Thetis found him and raised him as her own. Thetis once got a beautiful necklace that Vulcan had made for her. She went to a party with the other gods, and Juno admired the necklace. This is where she found out that the son that she had despised had turned out to be a very talented blacksmith. Juno demanded that he return to his home on the mountain, but he was happy in his underwater home. Vulcan grew more and more interested in coal and fire. He built Juno a beautiful chair that was set with pearls. She was delighted with the chair, but when she sat on it the chair acted like a trap that held her. She was stuck in the chair for days. Jupiter told Vulcan that if he freed Juno, he would give him the most beautiful bride, Venus.
Vulcan had a bit of a temper that was evident when:
- He beat rock and metal in mountains each time that Venus cheated on him.
- He had a son who was a monster that stole the cattle of peasants.
- He was able to cause volcanic eruptions.
He was certainly powerful, and terrifying at that, as one of the mythological Roman characters.
9 – Mars
Mars is in full force on the battlefield.
Mars was another son of Jupiter and Juno. He was depicted as the god of warfare, rage, passion, and destruction. Besides this, he was also an agricultural guardian. In early Roman history, Mars was regarded as second in command to Jupiter. In later years, he lost this title to Minerva, the goddess of tactical warfare.
Three important things that you should know about this hot-headed Roman character are that:
- Roman peasants offered rams and bulls in his honour.
- His name was bestowed to the fourth planet from the sun – the red and fiery planet.
- He lost his place in the war temple to Minerva the goddess of tactical warfare.
The Romans thought that this mythical character was the best for productive warfare that brought lasting peace. This is what made this character so powerful in his time.
8 – Diana
Diana the mystical goddess.
We now get to talk about the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Artemis. Diana was the Roman goddess of the hunt. She was the daughter of the Roman god Jupiter and his mistress Latona. She was also the twin sister of Apollo. She swore that she would never marry after her twin brother saw that she was in love with Orion. He apprehended Orion and set up an arrow shooting competition. After shooting in the match, Diana saw that the far off target was the head of Orion. She was so saddened by the death of her love that she turned him into a constellation.
Some interesting things about Diana are that:
- She was also considered the goddess of the woods, children, childbirth, fertility, and chastity.
- She had the power to talk to woodland animals.
- She was born fully grown.
- She was able to direct the movements of the moon.
- Ancient Romans celebrated her on 13 August. On this day women and women slaves did not have to work.
Diana was definitely one of the characters in Roman mythology who lived and acted for what she stood for and believed in, making her one of the more powerful ancients.
7 – Phoebus Apollo
Apollo the poet is performing.
Phoebus Apollo was seen as the god of the sun and light in ancient Greek mythology, but for the Romans, he was the god of healing and prophecy. Apollo was Diana's twin brother and also the Muses' leader. He received a golden lyre made by Mercury and was said to play magical tunes at parties hosted for the ancients.
Phoebus Apollo is most famous for:
- Teaching men the art of medicine – thus him being called a healer.
- Being able to bring ill health and deadly plagues on his enemies.
- Being able to predict like the oracles.
Along with his twin Diana this Roman mythology character can most definitely be seen as very powerful as he could bring nations to the ground with one deadly plague.
6 – Minerva
Minerva contemplating war strategies.
Minerva was born when her father Jupiter heard in a prophecy that he would be defeated by his own offspring. He swallowed her mother Metis. While inside Jupiter, Metis started to forge weapons for the baby Minerva. The noise of these weapons gave Jupiter a headache and he asked Vulcan to hit him on the head with a hammer. This made his head split open and Minerva emerged fully grown and with the weapons that her mother had forged. Minerva was derived from her Greek counterpart Athena and was known as the goddess of tactical warfare and wisdom.
Some interesting facts about her include:
- She vowed to never get married.
- She was a gracious winner in the war and had sympathy for the beaten.
- She was depicted with an owl to show her wisdom.
Up to this day we can still find many statues of Minerva in libraries and public places to show her wisdom and knowledge. In this instance the pen and the sword work together to create a powerful character from Roman mythology.
5 – Ceres
Ceres is searching for her daughter.
Ceres was the goddess of fertility and agriculture. In Roman mythology, she is best known for the abduction of her daughter Proserpina to the underworld by the god Pluto. Mythology tells us that she was distraught over the disappearance of her daughter and went in search of her. After finding out what happened, she went into a rage and destroyed crops. Jupiter saw this and mediated a compromise with Pluto. Proserpina would spend half of the year in the underworld with Pluto and the other half with her mother Ceres. This led to the Romans believing that in spring, Ceres was reunited with her daughter and everything would grow fruitful, but in winter, she was distraught that her daughter had to go to the underworld and nothing would grow.
Some interesting facts about Ceres are that:
- She is derived from the Greek goddess Demeter.
- She has three brothers – Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto.
- She was a patron for farmers and a protector for the peasants.
The Romans certainly felt that the power to control agriculture and weather was one that made you a powerful character in ancient Roman mythology.
4 – Pluto
Pluto is bored in his underworld empire.
Pluto is best known for the Roman mythology story of Proserpina being kidnapped and her mother Ceres searching for her. But there is definitely more to this Roman character than meets the eye.
- Pluto was derived from the Greek god Hades.
- He lived in the underworld in a gloomy palace.
- He was god of the dead and the underworld and controlled the fates of all the mortals. This made it even stranger that the Romans did not hold any festivals for him.
- He was the master of realms and all the ores, metals, and precious stones that were in these realms.
- He was also depicted as the bringer of wealth and earthly pleasures.
Being in charge of such a large part of Roman history most certainly earns you a place as one of the most powerful characters in Roman mythology.
3 – Neptune
Neptune finds solace in the sea.
Neptune was known as the god of the waters and seas. According to Roman mythology he was able to control the winds and the storms. Although he lacked political power in the ancient Roman dynasty, he commanded fear from those whose fate was tied to the waters and oceans.
Some things that you might not have known about Neptune are that:
- He lived in a golden palace beneath the waves.
- The farther he went from the sea the less power he had.
- He was also known as the god of horse racing – a popular form of entertainment for the ancient Romans.
Demanding respect and fear from anyone moving across the waters of the earth definitely makes you one of the more powerful characters from Roman mythology.
2 – Juno
Juno basked in the glory of being queen of the Roman gods.
Give it up for this goddess from Roman mythology who promoted women's power. Juno was known as the queen of the gods and married Jupiter, king of the gods. She was a protector for married women and pregnant women during childbirth. She was also revered by ancient Roman women for her expertise in housework and homemaking.
Some facts about this female goddess include:
- Her Greek counterpart is the goddess Hera.
- She is mother to Mars and Vulcan.
- She conceived Mars from a flower on her own after being saddened by the fact that Jupiter conceived Minerva from his head.
Being in charge of keeping all the other Roman mythological characters in check certainly means that you yourself must also be a powerful character.
1 – Jupiter
Jupiter is showing his reign as king of the Roman gods.
In Roman mythology, Jupiter was depicted as the most powerful character of them all.
- He was known as the king of the gods.
- He was known to have unlimited power over the skies, clouds, lightning, thunder and weather.
- He was called the chief of the Roman gods.
- He was compared to the Greek god Zeus.
Jupiter was married to Juno, his twin sister. He shared the throne with his brothers Neptune and Pluto. From reading about the other powerful characters in Roman mythology, we have learned that Jupiter was not faithful to his wife and, through his frolics, had many children with both gods and mortals.
In this writer's personal opinion, after much research on these powerful characters from Roman mythology, it would definitely take one very powerful character to keep the law and, order and chaos in check from all these characters from Roman mythology. Powerful characters from ancient Roman mythology definitely had a big impact on how we view the world today and also gave us some insight on the way that the ancient Romans lived and what they believed.
You may also be interested in:
- [Top 15] gods from Roman mythology
- [Top 15] most famous Roman gladiators
- [Top 10] most famous Roman battles
