Test Your Knowledge of Roman Mythology

Roman Mythology: Origins, Influences, and Characteristics

• Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome, which draws from the mythology of the Italic peoples and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mythology.
• Roman mythology draws directly on Greek mythology, primarily during the Hellenistic period of Greek influence and through the Roman conquest of Greece.
• Latin literature was widely known in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, and the versions of Greek myths in Ovid's Metamorphoses came to be regarded as canonical.
• 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.
• The Roman tradition is rich in historical myths concerning the foundation and rise of the city, with only occasional intervention from deities but a pervasive sense of divinely ordered destiny.
• Major sources for Roman myth include the Aeneid of Virgil, the first few books of Livy's history, and Dionysius's Roman Antiquities, as well as the Fasti of Ovid and the fourth book of elegies by Propertius.
• 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 and with demonstrations of the individual's adherence to moral expectations.
• Narratives of divine activity played a more important role in the system of Greek religious belief than among the Romans, for whom ritual and cult were primary.
• The earliest pantheon included Janus, Vesta, and a leading so-called Archaic Triad of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, whose flamens were of the highest order.
• The absorption of neighboring local gods took place as the Roman state conquered neighboring territories, and the Romans commonly granted the local gods of a conquered territory the same honors as the earlier gods of the Roman state religion.
• Many astronomical objects are named after Roman deities, like the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
• In Roman and Greek mythology, the Milky Way was created when Juno pushed away Jupiter's son Heracles while breastfeeding him, causing some of her milk to spill and form the Milky Way.

How well do you know Roman mythology? Test your knowledge of the origins, influences, and characteristics of this fascinating body of myths in this quiz. From the role of ritual in Roman religion to the absorption of neighboring local gods, this quiz covers it all. With questions about major sources of Roman myth and the characteristic myths of Rome, you'll have the chance to show off your expertise. Don't miss the chance to learn more about the fascinating world of Roman mythology!