Neptune

Neptune

Roman Colosseum

'The Roman Colosseum'

The Roman God Neptune
The way of the Romans was to adopt various elements from other cultures and civilisations. This included the Roman religion which was highly influenced by the Ancient Greek religion and gave the Greek God names the equivalent Roman names. The Roman priests then adopted the mythology or stories about the Gods and Goddesses and evolved a Roman Gods Family tree detailing how each of the Roman Gods and Goddesses, like Neptune, were related. Greek and Roman religion and mythology therefore become closely entwined.

Myths about the Roman God Neptune

Mythology surrounding Neptune
The mythology and information about the Roman God Neptune

Name: Neptune
A major deity and one of the 12 Olympian Gods
Jurisdiction: Neptune was described as being the Roman God of the Sea. He was also the patron of horse racing
Mythology: Mythical Family Tree or Relatives: Neptune was believed to be the God of the Seas and water
- The brothers of Neptune were Pluto and Jupiter and his sisters were Vesta, Juno and Ceres
- He was the son of Saturn and Opis
- His wife was Amphitrite, daughter of Nereus and Doris
Depiction / Description / Symbol: His symbols include the horse and the trident
Name of equivalent Greek God: Poseidon
Neptunalia was a water-related festival
Sacrifices to Neptune - During sacrifices to the Roman gods the sex of the victim had to correspond to the sex of the god to whom it was offered. White animals were given to the gods of the upper world whereas black victims to the gods of the underworld

Roman Mythology and Information about Neptune
The planet Neptune was named after the god, as its deep blue gas clouds gave the earliest astronomers the impression of great oceans and seas. He was also the patron of horse racing and a temple dedicated to him was situated near the Circus Flaminius which was a Roman racetrack. The the Circus Flaminius was the venue for horse, not chariot, races with one rider and his horse going around the turning posts. In the famous story of the aeneid, Neptune was resentful towards the Trojans, but is not as vindictive as Juno. He was so annoyed that Juno had intruded on his domain that he helped the Trojan fleet against the efforts of Juno who tried the wreck their ships.