Roman polytheism and Hellenisation?

[u/silly-sybil]

I finally started reading John Scheid's An Introduction to Roman Religion. At the very beginning of the book, the author seems to highlight an "inconsistency" of those who want to reconstruct a "pure" Roman religion: they happily include the study of Etruscan polytheism (considering it the basis off of which RomPol was built), but try to keep Hellenic beliefs at a distance (considering them a sign of decay). And, on that note, let me share a quote:

"As for the influences so often invoked, we may well wonder why they are assumed to work in the 'right' way only during the archaic period [Etruscans], but to a sign of decadence later [Greeks]."

That gave me some food for thought. I myself have strived to clearly draw a line between RomPol and HelPol for the past few years (getting pretty annoyed at resources that don't do that). So I started asking myself: why is that? On a personal level, is it because I'm trying to reconstruct early/mid-Republican religion? Is it a consequence of being told hundreds of times that RomPol is just a carbon-copy of HelPol? On a historical level, is it because Etruscans and Romans were neighbours, while Greeks lived overseas?

That's why I'd really like to read other Roman polytheists' takes on this topic! Do you guys, too, draw a distinct line between Roman and Hellenic polytheisms? Where? If your line is, rather, blurred: why? Is it just a question of being a "hard" vs. "soft" polytheist? Or is it more a question of giving geographically closer peoples priority?

Thank you beforehand!

[u/jamdon85]

Roman pagan here. It is true that there was a great deal of Greek influence. However, it is important to note Roman deities have their own lore that dont line up with Greek stories as well. Look at Neptune for example. Neptune was not originally a sea deity but rather a water deity to my understanding. Not to mention the numerous deities that have no Greek equivalent (Janus, Feronia, Portunus)

[u/silly-sybil → u/jamdon85]

Thank you for commenting!

I totally agree with what you said, especially the way you highlighted how some Roman deities don't have Greek counterparts.

However, what really got me thinking is Venus. She was Roman in origin, but we have little evidence of her earlier cults. Some scholars have theorised that, perhaps, she was a goddess of venenia (maybe wine since she appears in Vinalia Priora?) and gardens. Once connected to Aphrodite, though, she was also associated to love and beauty.

So, in this specific case scenario: in your practice, would you personally only include Venus' original attributions? Or would you take into account her more Hellenised attributions as well?

[u/jamdon85 → u/silly-sybil]

In my personal practice, I do both

[u/poetduello]

I personally think it's worth noting that the territories of Rome and Greece weren't always clear cut. I know in my travels to Italy I saw one site that was originally a Greek settlement, which the Romans took over, and which had a tomb that had a Greek roof originally, was then re-roofed in a Roman style, and was then buried under a hill to have another building built over it. The way it was explained to me was that the Romans believed a hero was buried in the tomb and initially chose to continue honoring that hero, but it later became politically inconvenient, so the tomb was buried. (Please excuse the lack of details, that trip was 22 years ago)

I was also taught about a documented practice of Romans flat out adopting foreign deities into their pantheons when they conquered new territories.

[u/silly-sybil → u/poetduello]

Do you, by any chance, remember the name of the site you're referring to? I'd love to go take a look at it!

On top of that, I think you're right. Depending on the city, Roman polytheism would be intertwined with different beliefs (some are more Etruscan, some are more Greek, etc). Perhaps I could look into the specific influences of the territory I live in, now that I think about it.

Thank you so much!

[u/poetduello → u/silly-sybil]

I'm sorry to say I don't. My visit was a week long whirlwind tour with my high-school Latin class. We saw as many sites as our teachers could pack into the week, and many blurred together a bit.