Religion in Pompeii

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Religion was an integral part of private and public life in Roman towns and consequently homes contained larariums or household shrines, while town administrators provided public places, temples, and supervised public sacrifices and festivals. Deities: The Romans worshipped a large number of deities both foreign and Roman. Gods and goddesses of the Greek culture were a strong presence in Roman towns often integrated into Roman practices. Apollo, Herakles, Dionysius and Hermes are among the principal Greek deities to be worshipped. Pompeii contained a temple to Apollo who was also associated with the cult of the Emperor following an edict from the Emperor Augustus attributing his win at Actium to this god. Herakles is the central figure on two frescos from the college of the Augustales at Herculaneum and is associated with the Roman goddesses Minerva and Juno. A marble statue of Athena was found in the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum. The temple in the Triangular forum, an original temple of the sixth century BC was probably dedicated to Hercules (Herakles) who was worshipped by both Greeks and Samnites before being appropriated by the Romans. The specifically Roman deities adapted from the Greek original such as Zeus, were the Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Jupiter was the overall protector of the state, Juno was the protector of women, and Minerva was the patroness of workers. The evidence from Pompeii indicates that these gods had become the most important at least on a state level, in Pompeii before the earthquake in recognition of the strong Romanisation of the town after the Sullan colonisation. Venus (adapted from Aphrodite) was also a deity with special Roman connections as she was the protectoress of Sulla who established the Colonia Veneria in honour of her in his conquest of Pompeii. "Vote for me and Venus Pompeiana will bring you

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