It has been said that it was in Greece that the ancient world rose to its greatest height of creativity. Certainly a wealth of material has been left to us in the myths and legends of those people. Their religious views and their closeness with the deities were both vivid and realistic. The sense of the gods and goddesses was an accepted part of everyday life. Notable was the understanding that, however gifted, the gods were always ready and willing, if not eager, for association with mortals—a trait today found perhaps only in such a chthonic religion as Voudoun.
The Romans were a less imaginative, if more practical, people than the Greeks. Most of their deities were equivalent ones to those the Greeks worshipped, albeit with different (Roman) names.5 In fact, much of Roman religion came from the Greeks by way of the Etruscans, who were in the northern area of Italy and flourished between 900 and 500 b.c.e. The Roman religious rites were also more formal than those of the Greeks, with more importance given to the days of worship and the actual form of ritual.
The Greeks borrowed many of their magical practices, along with the zodiac, from the Babylonians. However, the majority of symbols found in Greek and Roman religion are the attributes of the various gods and goddesses. Where would Poseidon/Neptune be without his trident, or Hermes without the caduceus? There were also carryovers from the Egyptians, such as the Eye of Horus used as a protective symbol.
Prow of Boat Eye
From Phoenician warboats and merchantmen of 750 b.c.e. to the Greek war galleys and merchantmen of 250 b.c.e. and beyond, the protective eye would be painted on the bows of the vessel to look out for danger and to “see” where the ship was going.
Phallus
A belief in the Evil Eye was common in both the Greek and Roman cultures. The idea that some people have the power to cause harm to others—whether intentionally or unconsciously —simply by looking at them, is an almost universal belief. The Greek word baskinein means “to kill with a glance of the eye.” The countermeasure for this was a model of a phallus.
Rod of Asclepius/Aesculapius (caduceus)
Asclepius was the son of Apollo and Coronis. He was taught medicine by the centaur Chiron and went on to make many miraculous cures, including bringing the dead back to life. One of his daughters was Hygieia, who became goddess of health. The symbol of Asclepius was a rod around which twined two serpents. This was later inherited by Hermes/Mercury as the caduceus. In fact, the serpent-entwined rod came originally from the Sumerian god Ningishzida, the son of the Mater-physician Ninazu.
Cornucopia
Copia was the Roman goddess of plenty, sometimes identified with the Greek goddess Tyche. Cornucopia means “horn of Copia,” i.e., “horn of plenty.” It was a magic horn that provided everything its owner desired. Other deities, in addition to Copia, are depicted holding the cornucopia (e.g., Banda, Cernunnos, Eirene, Fortuna, Pax, Rosmerta, Tutela, Virtus).
Thunderbolt—Zeus/Jupiter
The head of the Greek’s Olympian pantheon was Zeus, father and king of gods and men. His Roman counterpart was Jupiter. Poseidon/Neptune and Hades/Pluto were his brothers. Zeus became omnipotent and omniscient, the fountainhead of divination. One of his attributes is the eagle. Another is the thunderbolt, which he was capable of flinging at those who displeased him. He was lord of the winds, clouds, rain, and thunder.
Trident
Poseidon was the brother of Zeus and ruled the seas and the oceans. He could split rocks with his trident, thus acquiring the epithet “earth shaker.” He was equated with the Roman god Neptune. It is said that the three prongs of the trident represent the past, present, and future. The trident is also found with the Hindu god Shiva, where the three prongs represent his function as creator, destroyer, and preserver. (See also the chapter on Hindu symbols.)
Owl
Athena/Minerva was goddess of both war and wisdom. She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. Her patron bird was the owl, also the totem bird of Athens. On the breastplate of her armor she wears the aegis and the head of Medusa, the Gorgon.
Medusa’s Head (Gorgon)
Hammer & Tongs of Hephaestus/Vulcan
Hephaestus was the Greek god of metalwork and craftsmanship. He is equated with the Roman god Vulcan. He was born lame, for which his mother, Hera, threw him down from Olympus. But he went on to become a skilled workman and a great smith of the gods.
The Corn Sheaf
Torch
The Corn Sheaf was the symbol of the Great Mysteries at Eleusis, and of all corn deities. Wheat and corn sheaves symbolize the fertility of the earth. It is the symbol of Demeter/ Ceres. The Eleusinian Mysteries were founded on the myth of Demeter’s journey through the underworld in search of her daughter Persephone (also known as Kore), who had been abducted by Hades. The Mysteries was a major festival celebrating first (in October) the disappearance of Persephone, and then (in February) her return. Along with the sheaf, Demeter’s other attribute is the torch, symbolizing her search in the netherworld.
Labrys
Much as Demeter roamed the underworld in her search for Persephone, so did Theseus have to travel through the labyrinth of Knossos, in Crete, in search of the Minotaur. With the aid of Ariadne, he found and killed the Minotaur. The symbol of Knossos was the Labrys, the double-bladed axe, which has, in recent times, become a symbol of lesbianism because of its association with the Amazons.
Labyrinth
Thyrsus
The Thyrsus was the sacred rod of Dionysus/Bacchus. It was a stalk of fennel topped by a pine cone and represented the phallus, a fertility symbol. The Roman name for the thyrsus was baculus, after the god Bacchus.
5. The Roman gods are shown in bold type in this chapter.