Resources for Roman Pagans

Many people are interested in the magic, folklore, and beliefs of the ancient Romans. Learn about the Roman gods and goddesses, the traditions and customs of ancient Rome, and books to read if you're interested in Roman Paganism.

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Religio Romana: Honoring the Ancient Roman Ways

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Image by Giorgio Cosulich/Getty News Images

The Religio Romana is one of many reconstructionist groups found in modern Paganism. It's definitely not a Wiccan path, and because of the structure within the spirituality, it's not even something where you can swap out gods of other pantheons and insert the Roman deities. It is, in fact, unique among Pagan paths. The historical basis of the Religio Romana comes directly from the writings and archeological evidence discovered in the ancient Roman republic and empire.

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Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Romans

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Temple of Ceres in Campania, Italy. Image by De Agostini / S. Vannini / Getty Images

The ancient Romans honored a wide variety of gods, and many are still worshiped today by Roman reconstruction groups. For the Romans, much like many other ancient cultures, the deities were a part of daily life, not merely something to be​ chatting with in times of need. Here are some of the best-known gods and goddesses of the ancient Romans, including Bacchus, Cybele, Janus, Mars and more.

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Roman Pagan Festivals

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The ancient Romans worshiped a wide variety of deities. Image by Caitlin Hyatt 2007; used with permission

Many modern Pagans observe festivals and celebrations that originated with the classical Roman calendar. Because early Roman Paganism was tied so closely to daily life, it wasn't uncommon for people to celebrate different gods and goddesses every month or even weekly. The ancient Romans honored a wide variety of gods, and many are still worshipped today by Roman reconstruction groups. Even if your path isn’t specifically rooted in Roman religion, you can still observe these holidays, many of which were based on seasonal or agricultural markers.

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Reading List for Roman Pagans

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Image by Piotr Powietrzynski/Photographer's Choice/Getty Images

If you're interested in following a Roman Pagan path, there are a number of books that are useful for your reading list. Many Roman Pagans use ancient writings as the basis of their practice, and most modern Roman Pagans value scholarly research as much as they do the spiritual. Some of the books on this list are ancient texts, while others are contemporary analyses of classical Roman magical and religious practice.

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Roman Magic: Spell Tablets

Roll a piece of clay out to make a spell tablet of your own. Image © Patti Wigington/licensed to About.com

Archaeologists have unearthed, in recent years, a number of items which are referred to as spell tablets or curse tablets. They’ve been excavated in several places, and although there are several different methods of creation, they seem to be generally used for malevolent magic. The curse tablet or spell tablet appears to have been most popular in the Greek and Roman classical worlds, although there are examples from other societies as well. A typical curse tablet was created on a thin sheet of lead or other pliable metal. The individual casting the spell scratched a prayer to the gods into the lead, usually asking the deities for their assistance in smiting someone who had wronged them.

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Your Citation
Wigington, Patti. "Resources for Roman Pagans." Learn Religions, Sep. 12, 2021, learnreligions.com/resources-for-roman-pagans-2562633. Wigington, Patti. (2021, September 12). Resources for Roman Pagans. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/resources-for-roman-pagans-2562633 Wigington, Patti. "Resources for Roman Pagans." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/resources-for-roman-pagans-2562633 (accessed March 19, 2024).