D&D General Greek, Roman, or Greco-Roman Gods

[Zardnaar]

When comparing Greek and Roman gods, you're also often comparing two very different time periods centuries apart - we tend to learn older Greek myths that were written 500 years before the Roman versions were written down.

I'd probably lean in on the Roman's tendancy to loot gods form conquered provinces, myself. They're the same gods as the Greeks but conquered by the Roman barbarians, and the Greeks then taught the Romans to be civilized 9at least that's what the priests say). The gods are a little older now so they aren't quite teaching the same lessons or in the same way - but Zeus is Jove, just slightly more settled and focused on rulers rather than worrying about the rain. That's been delegated.

(And I would include a bunch of non-Greek gods the the Romans worshipped, like Isis and Epona and Mythras and possibly a couple Norse deities who sound fun like Thor.)

Tge gods and his tgey were seen also changed
Greeks had syncretic deities with Egypt.

Towards the end it seems Isis not Ra was the big cahuna in Egyptian pantheon.

 

[Mecheon]

Towards the end it seems Isis not Ra was the big cahuna in Egyptian pantheon.

When it comes to Egypt though, you gotta remember that was the religion at the time and also, we're closer to the fall of the Egyptian civilisation than they were to the start of it. Religon just, changes over time, and Ra being side-graded to the whole Osiris side of things thing is just what happened over countless centuries. See also Set going from "Defender of Ra, chief god of Upper Egypt, Ramesses II's dad is named after him" to "The evilest dude ever" due to his association with a few dynasties of foreign rulers

They're not clear-cut things. With the Roman gods, some are just Roman names for the Greek gods, others are seperate deities semi-merged together, others take different parts to 'em. No one simple answer

 

[Zardnaar]

When it comes to Egypt though, you gotta remember that was the religion at the time and also, we're closer to the fall of the Egyptian civilisation than they were to the start of it. Religon just, changes over time, and Ra being side-graded to the whole Osiris side of things thing is just what happened over countless centuries. See also Set going from "Defender of Ra, chief god of Upper Egypt, Ramesses II's dad is named after him" to "The evilest dude ever" due to his association with a few dynasties of foreign rulers

They're not clear-cut things. With the Roman gods, some are just Roman names for the Greek gods, others are seperate deities semi-merged together, others take different parts to 'em. No one simple answer

Yeah even over a few hundred years things changed a lot.

 

[pemerton]

While there’s a great deal of conceptual overlap between the Ancient Greek and Roman religions, they are very much distinct belief systems

I'm not sure what distinctions you have in mind, but I think it's not very straightforward to elaborate the distinctions between the different Greek and Roman religious practices, especially given the Roman tendency to deliberately adopt/incorporate Hellenic practices and ideas.

 

[pemerton]

Tge gods and his tgey were seen also changed
Greeks had syncretic deities with Egypt.

Towards the end it seems Isis not Ra was the big cahuna in Egyptian pantheon.

Serapis - a Greco-Egyptian deity - was also worshipped in Rome.

The cultural pull of Egypt was immense, I imagine in part simply because of its age, but also because of economic factors I'm sure.

 

[Zardnaar]

Serapis - a Greco-Egyptian deity - was also worshipped in Rome.

The cultural pull of Egypt was immense, I imagine in part simply because of its age, but also because of economic factors I'm sure.

I think Egypt was going for a cultural victory but neglected the pointy stick part.

And Ghandi has nukes.

 

[Charlaquin]

I'm not sure what distinctions you have in mind, but I think it's not very straightforward to elaborate the distinctions between the different Greek and Roman religious practices, especially given the Roman tendency to deliberately adopt/incorporate Hellenic practices and ideas.

I agree, it isn’t straightforward, in the slightest. It doesn’t need to be straightforward to be meaningful though.

 

[Blue]

I'm actually going to be smushing a number of different eras together. Greek/Roman gods, Egyptian gods, savage elves worshipping the Celtic gods, Sumerian and Babylonian gods vying for control, Norse gods in the north next to the gods of the Rus.

How I define the Greek/Roman gods will help me define what I want to do with the two cultures that follow them.

Could you treat them as different sects of the same deities? So there are different cultural expectations, perhaps infighting in the organized parts of the religion, political pushes for one or the other and some sects having to meet and worship out of the official eye, etc.

 

[Blue]

Like others have said, if I was going to use those as a basis, I'd look more at the Roman versions; the jerk-*** factor with them tends to be a little lower.

I have to admit, that's part of the charm of the Greek pantheon for me. The deities were seen as people but moreso in every way - including pettiness, jealousy, and all those aspects. They were people writ large, and that made them extra meddlesome.

 

[cbwjm]

Could you treat them as different sects of the same deities? So there are different cultural expectations, perhaps infighting in the organized parts of the religion, political pushes for one or the other and some sects having to meet and worship out of the official eye, etc.

That could be an option, I'm wanting both cultures and cultures inform the types of gods there are. Maybe I'll have both with the Greeks being the originals and the Romans being for Greek city states that have mixed with other people, including absorbing ideas about their gods so that they come up with the new Roman gods.

I have to admit, that's part of the charm of the Greek pantheon for me. The deities were seen as people but moreso in every way - including pettiness, jealousy, and all those aspects. They were people writ large, and that made them extra meddlesome.

Same, the Greek gods seem larger than life, an all around fun pantheon with fun myths and legends.