Gabby DiNucci

Roman Mythology and Gods

The Romans believed in many different gods and goddesses. For everything imaginable
they had a god or goddesses in charge. Every god or goddess is unique in the things that they
represent. Mythology literally means the study of myth. Roman myths contain stories and
legends about their origin, history, ancestors, and heroes. The romans were experts at
incorporating many components of other societies into their culture, including the mythology and
gods of the Greeks and other nations. There are therefore many similarities between Roman
mythology and Greek mythology; only the names change.
The definition of myth is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of
a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural
beings or events. In Roman mythology, a myth is a story about a god or goddess that has been
passed down through many of people. Often when we think of the word myth my think of a
fantasized story that your heard from someone. All the gods and goddesses have their own
unique story and myth. (1)
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom, medicine, commerce, handicrafts, poetry,
the arts in general, and later, war. She is similar in many ways to Athena, the Greek goddess.
Minerva, originally, was an Italian goddess of handicrafts. But they say that Minerva is
indigenous, passing to the Romans from the Etruscan goddess Menrva. Her name derives from
meminisse, which mean to remember. Minerva is considered the God of Jupiter, the king of
the gods, from whose head she was born. She was first worshipped in Rome ne of the Capitoline
Triad along with Jupiter and Juno. (2)

In the famous story presented in Ovids Metamorohoses, Minerva is the main character.
In this myth, a Lydian girl named Arachne unwisely boasts that her weaving skills are even better
than Minervas. Now Minerva was not pleased to hear such claims and so she challenged
Arachne to a weaving competition. They sat down and grabbed their looms and set out to each
make a wonderful tapestry that could outdo their rivals best efforts. Minervas masterpiece
showed al the great gods and had Minerva herself standing centre-stage in the act of winning the
competition to become patron of Athens. On the very edge of Minervas tapestry depicted all
those mortals who had infamously challenged the gods and failed to deliver their skills because
they were beaten by the gods. Meanwhile, Arachnes less pious work displayed various gods
taking on different forms and doing different activities and trying to make the mortals look like
gods. The work itself was truly magnificent piece of weaving, but as expected, Minerva,
nevertheless, declared herself the winner and punished Arachne for her audacity by hitting her on
the head 3 times and changing her into a spider. This tale is a cautionary tale of how unwise it is
for the mortals to consider themselves the equals of the gods. (2)
Over time, Minerva grew in stature within the Roman pantheon and she took over the
most important focus of the Quinquatrus festival, previously the domain of Mars. The 5 day
festival began on the 19th of March and marked the beginning of the campaign season for the
Roman army. The goddess also became associated with victory.
Minerva is often depicted with her sacred creature, an owl usually named as the owl of
Minerva, which symbolizes her ties to wisdom. The name Minerva may come from the IndoEuropean root men, from which mental and mind are also derived. Minerva is believed to
be the inventor of numbers and musical instruments. Ovid called her the goddess of a thousand

works. She was worshipped throughout Italy, though she took on a warlike character in Rome.
Minerva is usually pictured wearing a long coat of mail, a helmet, along with carrying a spear.
Roman and Greek mythology have differences and similarities. For example, Greek and
Roman gods and goddesses often have the same gods but with different names because many
Roman Gods are borrowed from Greek mythology, but often with different traits. (3)
During ancient times, each town would have a god that would rule over them. Neptune,
the god of the seas, loved attention. He also loved the gifts that people brought him. So, being the
attention seeker that Neptune is, he set off to look for a town that hadnt been claimed by another
god already. He wanted to rule over as many towns as possible. Both Minerva and Neptune
wanted to claim a coastal village. Normally, the people in the village would have been thrilled to
be selected by a god to look over them, but two gods at once? The towns people had a big
decision to make but they couldnt decide who to choose, Minerva or Neptune. Each town could
only have one god to watch over them, so the town had to decide. Minerva, who was wise as
well as beautiful, understood their worry. She suggested that both gods should give the town a
gift and then the townspeople could decide which gift was better. Neptune loved the idea, but the
townspeople were even more nervous than before. So, Neptune tapped the side of a mountain
and out flowed a beautiful stream of water, that he believed to be fresh. The townspeople were
sure he was going to win, but when they tasted it they couldnt even swallow, they had to spit it
out! It was salt water. Therefore, the towns people did not like his gift. On the other hand,
Minerva waved her hand and an olive tree began to grow. This olive tree could be used for food,
oil, water, decoration, and shelter. Due to all the great benefits of Minervas olive tree, she was
the obvious winner and ruled over the town. Meanwhile, Neptune was not upset. He said Yours

is a far better gift than mine, my lovely niece. The village is yours! Even today, Minervas
special tree is the olive. (4)

Works cited:
1. http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-gods/roman-mythology.htm
2. http://www.ancient.eu/Minerva/
3. http://www.crystalinks.com/minerva.html
4. http://rome.mrdonn.org/romangods/minerva.html