Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans.
The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as histor...
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Neptune, the planet, does not have oceans. The Earth does, however, and the ancient people of Rome needed someone to grant them safe journeys across the vast seas.
Neptune was the Roman god of fresh water, the sea, and horses. He is one of the Roman gods that can be most closely associated with the Greek religion as he parallels the Greek god Poseidon. Just as Poseidon and his brothers (Zeus and Hades) ruled the sea, the heavens, and the underworld, respectively, in Greek mythology, so too did Neptune and his two brothers (Jupiter and Pluto) rule the same, respectively, in Roman mythology. As such, the worship of Neptune shows the influence of Greek culture on Roman religion.
Rome had a polytheistic religion, meaning it worshipped multiple gods. Neptune was most likely originally a god of fresh water springs and rivers before becoming recognized as the god of the sea. This change might reflect Greek influence, where Poseidon had been worshipped as the god of the sea for quite some time. Before this, the Romans prayed to Portunes or Fortuna. Around the first century BCE, Neptune became associated with these gods of military victory, ports, and other things, and became paired with Salacia, the goddess of salt water. Neptune also became revered as a god of horse racing, which is definitely a direct influence from Greece where Poseidon was a god of horses and horse racing.
Neptune was one of the most revered deities of the Roman pantheon. Along with Mars, Janus, Saturn, and Jupiter, he was considered one of the ancestors of the Latin people who were directly responsible for Roman existence, culture, and civilization. Rome itself only had one temple to Neptune, a large basilica built on the popular public area called the Campus Martius around 31 BCE to celebrate a recent naval victory. The new basilica replaced an older temple of Neptune that was first constructed around 206 BCE. Neptune was one of only three gods to whom sacrificing a bull was acceptable, an indication that Neptune's favor directly impacted daily life.
Facts about 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
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.
Roman gods
