List of Roman deities

A survey of theological groups as constructed by the Romans themselves is followed by an extensive alphabetical list[1] concluding with examples of common epithets shared by multiple divinities.

Varro grouped the gods broadly into three divisions of heaven, earth, and underworld: More common is a dualistic contrast between superi and inferi.

In describing the lectisternium of the Twelve Great gods in 217 BC, the Augustan historian Livy places the deities in gender-balanced pairs:[5] Divine male-female complements such as these, as well as the anthropomorphic influence of Greek mythology, contributed to a tendency in Latin literature to represent the gods as "married" couples or (as in the case of Venus and Mars) lovers.

[citation needed] Varro uses the name Dii Consentes for twelve deities whose gilded images stood in the forum.

A fragment from Ennius, within whose lifetime the lectisternium occurred, lists the same twelve deities by name, though in a different order from that of Livy: Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercurius, Jove, Neptunus, Vulcanus, Apollo.

The most extensive lists are provided by the Church Fathers who sought systematically to debunk Roman religion while drawing on the theological works of Varro, also surviving only in quoted or referenced fragments.

Certain honorifics and titles could be shared by different gods, divine personifications, demi-gods and divi (deified mortals).

Augustus, "the elevated or august one" (masculine form) is an honorific and title awarded to Octavian in recognition of his unique status, the extraordinary range of his powers, and the apparent divine approval of his principate.

Augusta, the feminine form, is an honorific and title associated with the development and dissemination of Imperial cult as applied to Roman Empresses, whether living, deceased or deified as divae.

[citation needed] The Dea Caelestis was identified with the constellation Virgo ("The Virgin"), who holds the divine balance of justice.

In the Metamorphoses of Apuleius,[27] the protagonist Lucius prays to the Hellenistic Egyptian goddess Isis as Regina Caeli, "Queen of Heaven", who is said to manifest also as Ceres, "the original nurturing parent"; Heavenly Venus (Venus Caelestis); the "sister of Phoebus", that is, Diana or Artemis as she is worshipped at Ephesus; or Proserpina as the triple goddess of the underworld.

On coins, calendars, and other inscriptions, Mercury, Saturn, Silvanus, Fons, Serapis, Sabazius, Apollo, and the Genius are also found as Invictus.

[31] From the middle Imperial era, the reigning Empress becomes Mater castrorum et senatus et patriae, the symbolic Mother of military camps, the senate, and the fatherland.

Di Consentes on an altar
Livia , wife of Augustus , dressed as the goddess Ops .
A "lizard-slayer" Apollo on a mosaic from Roman Africa
A Bacchus from Roman Spain , 2nd century
Diana Nemorensis on a denarius
The Gallo-Roman horse goddess Epona
Roman statue of the infant Hercules strangling a snake
A janiform sculpture, perhaps of Janus
Punishment of Ixion : in the center is Mercury holding the caduceus and on the right Juno sits on her throne. Behind her Iris stands and gestures. On the left is Vulcan ( blond figure) standing behind the wheel, manning it, with Ixion already tied to it. Nephele sits at Mercury's feet; a Roman fresco from the eastern wall of the triclinium in the House of the Vettii , Pompeii , Fourth Style (60–79 AD).
Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva
Neptune velificans on a 3rd-century mosaic
Aeneas and the Penates, from a 4th-century manuscript
Sol Invictus, or Christ depicted in his guise. 3rd century AD
Venus, Vulcan, Mars, and Cupid on a wall painting from Pompeii
Roman Isis in black and white marble, from the time of Apuleius
Dedication made to the Deus Invictus by a Roman legionary in Brigetio , Pannonia [ 29 ]