Roman temple explained
In the ancient religion of Roman paganism, practitioners often performed their worship at a temple.
Fanum
At the temples, Romans prayed and made ritual worship offerings of a small gift or animal sacrifices to their Roman Gods, the most common 12 are as follows:
- Jupiter- King of the Gods
- Juno- Queen of the Gods
- Neptune- God of the Sea/Storms
- Pluto- God of Death
- Apollo- God of Prophesy
- Mars- God of MARS
- Venus- Goddess of Love
- Mercury- Messenger of the Gods
- Saturn- Father of Jupiter
- Uranus- Father of Saturn
- Diana- Goddess of the Hunt
- Cupid- God of Love, also Venus' son.
The Romans used the Latin word fanum meaning "sacred precinct" for other cult sites that did not contain a temple, such as the early sacred site of the grove of Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of Nemi") and 'temples' of divinities other than those traditionally revered by their native paganism, the state religion.
- Like the corresponding Latin adjective, fanaticus, the modern word fanatic still reflects the disapproval by pious traditional Romans of various exotic religious practices. Nevertheless under the Roman Empire some of the imported cults, mainly from conquered people, such as the Persian Mithras and Ancient Egyptian divinities such as the mother-goddess Isis and Serapis (for his fanum the specific term serapeum was used) would gain great popularity, demonstrated in rich temple cults. The temple of Isis and Serapis in the Campus Martius, built of Egyptian materials and in the Egyptian style to house the Hellenized cult of the Egyptian deity Isis, is typical of the heterogeneity of later Roman religious monuments.
- The word became part of several Roman place names, notably Fanum Voltumnae (possibly Viterbo or Montefiascone), Fanum Martis Famars or Fanum Fortunae (modern Fano)
- They would only be virtually wiped out together with the Roman paganism after early Christianity and Christianity was officially adopted by the Roman Empire. The word temple would be transferred to its churches, as well as synagogues; occasionally fanum was also used as such, e.g. Fanum S. Andreae for Santander.
List of Roman temples
- Temples and locations within Ancient Rome
- Locations outside Rome:
- Pagans Hill Roman Temple, Somerset, England
- Roman Baths (Bath) and Temple of Sulis Minerva, Bath, Somerset, England
- Temple of Apollo (Pompeii)
- Temple of Bellona (Ostia)
- London Mithraeum, Londinium, modern London
- Maison Carrée - Nimes, Southern France
- Temple of Augustus (Pula) - Pula, Croatia
- Temple of Vesta - Tivoli
- Temple of Augusta and Livia - Vienne, France
- Roman Temple of Évora - Évora, Portugal
- Donuktas Roman Temple - Tarsus http://www.saintpaultarsus.com/html/donuktas_roman_temple.html
- Temple of Bacchus - Baalbek, Lebanon
- Temple of Artemis (Jerash)
- Temple in Vic, Spain
See also
Sources and external links
