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How much of the moon she brought out each night – full, half, or crescent – depended on her mood. Just as it was Diana’s twin Apollo’s job to bring out the Sun, so it was Diana’s job to bring out the moon. If the slave killed the priest he took his place until he in turn was killed by a challenger. If a runaway slave reached this grove and broke off a bough of the mistletoe he could fight the resident priest-king. In Diana’s mythic sacred grove by Lake Nemi, there was a special tree that bore mistletoe. Diana’s temple was located on the Aventine Hill and possibly built in the 6th century BC.Ī goddess of fertility and a protective goddess of women in childbirth, she was also the goddess of wild animals, the countryside, and hunters. Read more about: Popular Culture The pagan roots of Easter Diana Goddess of: The hunt and the moon Greek equivalent: Artemisĭiana was a Roman goddess with her own Italian antiquity separate from the Greek goddess Artemis, with whom she was later identified due to similarities. Ceres’s parents were Saturn and Ops, and her siblings were Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Vesta, and Neptune. The only agricultural god to be a member of the Dei Consentes, plebian households would offer sacrifices to Ceres after the death of a family member, to purify the property.Ĭeres had her temple on the Aventine Hill. She would mourn the annual departure of her daughter Proserpine at winter by letting vegetation die, and when Proserpine returned to her mother in the spring Ceres would welcome her by making letting plants and crops grow again. Failed crops meant that someone had made her unhappy, and keeping her on side would ensure a healthy harvest.Īccording to myth, Ceres made did this at least twice a year anyway. Ceres Goddess of: Agriculture, fertility, and motherhood Greek equivalent: DemeterĪs the Roman pantheon’s ancient corn goddess, all Romans strived to keep Ceres happy. In art and myth, Apollo has always been portrayed as handsome, athletic, and youthful. His main job was to bring up the Sun each day. His parents were Jupiter and Latona, a mistress of Jupiter.Īpollo was a busy god who looked after many aspects of life, including archery, poetry, music, light, and prophecy. In Roman mythology, he was brother to Mercury and sister to Diana. Introduced into Italy by the Greeks, one classical scholar called Apollo, the ‘only god common to Greece and Rome’.Ī temple was built and dedicated to him in Rome after the plague of 433 BC and, after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Emperor Augustus built a grand shrine to Apollo on the city’s Palatine Hill.

Read more about: Vikings Seven of the most important gods and goddesses in Norse mythology Apollo God of: The Sun, music, and healing Greek equivalent: Apollo