Top 5 Most Popular and Surprising Roman Myths

Today we are going to review 5 Roman myths that have endured in history. Legends that in many cases have Greek origins and simply change the names.

Roman Myths
Cassandra

Roman myths and their roots

The Romans, as they grew and conquered other lands, adopted beliefs from other cultures they liked and thus Roman myths were born. They even adopted the gods of other nations such as Greece. When the Romans met with the Greeks and heard all the stories about the Greek gods, they welcomed all these characters into Greek mythology.

They changed the names of the gods to make them Roman within their mythology and altered some of the stories to make the gods act more like Romans. They were even able to act as if these had been Roman gods all along. Here in this section we will show you the 5 most popular Roman myths within Roman mythology.

1.  The myth of Romulus and Remus

Ancient Romans loved myths and legends. As Rome grew and became great, the Romans invented a myth to explain why they had the right to rule over everyone else. This was the Roman myth that was created and it is the legend of Romulus and Remus.

The story of this Rome myth begins with Rhea who was a princess and a mortal woman who was married to Mars, the Roman god of war. Rhea and Mars had twin sons and named them Romulus and Remus. Some of the other gods were jealous of Mars and Rhea, and plotted to kill Romulus and Remus.

Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus

Rhea heard about what the other gods were up to. Since Mars was far away, she needed to protect the children and put them in a basket and left it floating down the river in the hope that they would be found. Where they were later found by a she-wolf who raised them.

After the children were grown the she-wolf knew she could not keep them, so she put them where a shepherd would find them. The shepherd and his wife continued to raise Romulus and Remus. As the boys grew into men, they decided to build a city and rule it as their king.

They had a contest to see who would be the best king. When it looked like Remus was going to win the contest, Romulus got so angry that he killed him with a stone and became the first king of Rome. This is an important story for the Romans, since their city was started by the son of a god, it had to be more powerful than any other city.

2. Jupiter and the bee

There are many Roman stories and myths about Jupiter the king of the Roman gods. One of the popular stories is Jupiter and the Bee or be careful what you wish for.

According to the myths of Rome it tells that long ago there lived a little bee who was getting tired of animals and people stealing his honey and wished he had a weapon or a way to fight the thieves. He wished and wished, and prayed and prayed, but the gods did not grant his request. One day he decided to ask Jupiter, king of all the gods, for help. He would have asked a lesser god, but Jupiter was the only god he knew how to find.

Jupiter and the bee
Jupiter and the bee

The little bee flew up into the heavens and buzzed until it caught Jupiter’s attention. And he said, “My king,” he buzzed. “I have brought you a gift of honey!”

Jupiter’s face lit up with joy and he replied, “What a wonderful gift!” Jupiter smiled and asked, “What can I do for you, little bee?”

Trembling with fear, but determined to try, the bee explained her problem.

Jupiter pondered and had no idea what he could do to help her. Such a delicious taste would surely be popular. In fact he liked this honey very much.

“I was thinking,” buzzed the little bee nervously, “I could protect my honey if I had a weapon. Something like a stinger!”

Jupiter’s face grew angry. “Would you sting the gods? Would you sting ME?” he asked.

“Oh no,” cried the little bee. She jerked backward in alarm. She was nearly crushed when she crashed into Juno, the queen of all the gods, who was listening nearby. Jupiter offered his wife some honey.

“What wonderful taste needs protection!” Juno agreed and said, “I suggest you give each bee a sting,” said the goddess. Of course, there must be a payment, replied Jupiter. I know! Any bee that uses her gift must pay for it with her life. That way, each bee has a choice: protect and die, or share.”

“Oh no!” cried the little bee. But Jupiter was already nodding.

“As always, my love, a brilliant idea. (Jupiter would do anything to keep Juno happy. This was such a small request, compared to most.) With a wave of his hand, it was done. “There you go, little bee. Your wish is granted.”

“Thank you, mighty Jupiter, thank you my queen,” gasped the little bee, trying without much success to sound grateful for her gift. He quickly flew away, then sank back to Earth. For almost two days, he hid behind his hive, hoping the other bees would ignore him forever.

He knew they would not be happy with him when they heard the news. It was quite noisy at home. All the bees were buzzing around, showing off their new stingers. No one noticed him at first, hiding behind his hive. But finally, a swarm enveloped him.

A loud buzz erupted as he told them what he had done. But bees are loyal. They knew he had tried to help. As their queen pointed out, they had a choice, which was something to be thankful for. Besides, maybe this gift wouldn’t last.

Unfortunately, this gift did not disappear. Even today any bee that uses its stinger has to pay with its life.

3.  Pluto and the King (a Greek and Roman Myth)

Other Roman Myths that told of an intelligent king who once ruled the Greek city-state of Corinth. This story was originally told by the ancient Greeks and the Romans changed the legend a bit. They substituted the names of two gods.

Hades or Jupiter
Pluto god of the underworld

The ancient Greeks called Zeus the king of all gods. When the ancient Romans told the story, they substituted Jupiter as the king of the gods. The ancient Greeks said that Hades was the god of the underworld. When the ancient Romans told this story, they substituted Pluto as the god of the underworld.

But they left the story in ancient Greece even though they considered Rome to be the center of the ancient Roman world.

The Roman myth tells that one day the king of Corinth was busy trying to come up with a plan to solve Corinth’s fresh water problem. As this king was strolling along he looked up at the sky and was surprised to see Jupiter flying by holding something, but the king could not make out what it was.

“How strange,” sighed the king. “It is rare to see Jupiter. He rarely leaves the skies. I wonder what he’s up to.” The king shrugged and went back to worrying about Corinth’s lack of water supply. The people of Corinth had no aqueducts, or their problem would have been solved long ago.

Soon after, another god flew by and seeing the king stopped and said, “Have you seen my daughter?” he cried out to him.

“If you give my city a fountain of fresh water, I will tell you what I saw,” cried the king and immediately a crystal clear stream of fresh water bubbled in front of him.

“Jupiter was carrying something in his hands and it could have been your daughter” The king pointed out.

Jupiter did not allow mortals to interfere in his business. When he heard that the king had accused him, he told his brother Pluto to take the king to the underworld at once!

Upon hearing this the king said to his wife, “When they tell you I am dead, don’t put a gold coin under my tongue” and being a good wife, she did exactly as the king had asked.

After this Pluto himself met the king at the river Styx, the entrance to the underworld. Because no gold coin was placed under his tongue, the king arrived at the entrance to the underworld as a poor beggar.

“Where is your gold coin?” Pluto demanded to know. “How can you pay for a trip across the river Styx and get to the underworld?”

The king ducked his head in shame and said, “My wife was too poor to pay for the passage.”

Pluto’s mouth opened and he said, “Go back there and teach the women some manners.” And so Pluto sent the king back to earth immediately, where he was magically alive.

4.  The harvest goddess Ceres

Roman myths tell that Jupiter was king of all the Roman gods and had three sisters. Juno, his wife and sister, was the goddess of marriage and queen of all the gods. Vesta was another of his sisters and was a goddess much loved by the women of Rome. She was ranked as the goddess of the home.

And her third sister named Ceres was in charge of the crops. It is said that if Ceres was disturbed the crops might die. All gods and mortals worked hard to keep Ceres happy although the only thing that made her happier was enjoying the company of her daughter Proserpina.

Ceres goddess - Roman Myths
Ceres goddess

5.   Apollo and Cassandra

The Temple of Delphi was the most famous of all the Temples of Apollo. But it was not the only sanctuary built for the god. There was a wonderful temple in Troy built by the inhabitants of that region in honor of the god before the Trojan War.

Roman myth has it that the god Apollo enjoyed appearing from time to time at the various temples around the ancient world built in his honor. One day Apollo passed by the temple at Troy and saw a beautiful young priestess named Cassandra working at the shrine. The moment Apollo saw Cassandra, he fell in love.

CassandraRoman Myths
Apollo and Cassandra

Apollo offered Cassandra a deal. He would give her a very special gift which would be the gift of prophecy and the ability to see the future if she gave him a kiss, but the priestess thought it was too much. With a laugh, Apollo gave her his gift and instantly Cassandra could see the future.

In the vision she saw the god Apollo helping to destroy Troy. When Apollo bent his head to kiss her gently she spat furiously in his face. Apollo was furious and could not take her gift from her.

In return Apollo cursed her and although Cassandra could see the future no one would believe him. This being the curse added to her gift. When the priestess begged her people in Troy to beware of the wooden horse, not one person believed her.

 

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