Greek and Roman Gods: Similarities and Differences

NOTE: The reason why this post is so delayed is because there was a major problem with the Apple Developer Center, and as a result could not run the app, and caused the authorization check to fail.

For my project, I made an iPhone app - describing the differences between Greek and Roman mythology. This has existed for longer than we can fathom. They are another way of looking at the world. First, I'd like to talk about similarities. Now, one may think that since the Greeks and Romans were in different time periods, that there aren't many differences. However, you'd be incorrect in saying so.

Both mythologies developed 500+ years ago, and yet they're very different from each other. But still, no one knows quite how the start of this mythology came to be. Roman mythology, though, was started by native Roman citizens, and some might argue that they stole from ideas from the Greeks.

These two mythologies are similar because they are so complex and mysterious. In Greek mythology, it talks about indecipherable stories; and Roman mythology talks about battles, soldiers, and immortal beings. Clearly, there is a similarity in the stories because of mysterious and unexplainable tales.

Despite this similarly, the two mythologies have a discrete difference. Greek mythology talks about the mortals who were heroic enough that took part in perilous battles. For example, Perseus and Hercules. The Romans, however, completely ignored the thought of life on earth and said that only the afterlife was important. As you can see, the ideas of Roman mythology disregarded normal life, but the Greeks actually praised those ideas.

Another difference is that the Roman gods didn't have actual character traits and personalities. The way the god(s) looked were actually determined by the reader. But in Greek mythology, it was just the opposite - the traits were given to all the gods and goddesses. They were depicted as elegant.

Clearly, the Greeks and Romans, along with their gods and goddess, had various similarities and differences. This is what made the two mythologies so interesting to research. The YouTube link showing the iPhone app itself is here:

http://youtu.be/1RvbHJ4iheg

Unfortunately, I cannot share the actual app and have people install it, as it would violate my service agreement with Apple. But you can ask me any questions about it!

Works Cited

"Roman vs Greek." Encyclopedia Mythica:. N.p., n.d.

"Greek Gods vs Roman Gods." - Difference and Comparison. N.p., n.d.

Pope, Stephanie. Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 2. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001. Print.