Jupiter
Supreme deity of the Roman pantheon, equivalent to the Greek Zeus, ruling over gods and mortals from the heavens
The Myth of Jupiter
Jupiter was the chief god of the Roman state religion, worshipped on the Capitoline Hill as Jupiter Optimus Maximus — the Best and Greatest. Like Zeus, he wielded thunderbolts and commanded the sky, but the Roman Jupiter was far more closely tied to civic authority, oaths, and treaties. He was the divine patron of Rome itself, and generals celebrating a triumph would ride to his temple in a chariot, their faces painted red to resemble his cult statue. His priest, the Flamen Dialis, was bound by extraordinary taboos that reflected the god's sacred power.
Parents
Saturn and Ops
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "jovial" comes from Jove (Jupiter), because those born under his planet were thought to be cheerful
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Zeus
⚡ godKing of gods and men
Zeus was the king of the Olympian gods, ruler of the sky, wielder of the thunderbolt — the supreme deity whose authority held the divine and mortal orders together.
Zeus
⚡ godKing of the gods, sky, thunder, lightning, law, order
Supreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and divided the world among his brothers.
Zeus
⚡ godKing of gods and men
The supreme Olympian who rules gods and mortals from Mount Olympus, wielding the thunderbolt as weapon and symbol of cosmic authority.
Quirinus
⚡ godState, citizenship, the Roman people
Deified form of Romulus, the founder of Rome, worshipped as the divine patron of the Roman citizen body
God of the Sky
💭 conceptSky, weather, thunder, law, kingship
Zeus rules the sky and all its phenomena, serving as king of the gods and enforcer of cosmic order.
Sol
⚡ godSun, light, oaths
Roman personification of the sun, equivalent to the Greek Helios, later elevated to supreme state deity as Sol Invictus
Mars
⚡ godWar, agriculture, guardianship
Roman god of war and agriculture, second in importance only to Jupiter, far more honoured than his Greek counterpart Ares
Apollo
⚡ godGod of light, music, prophecy, and plague
Apollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and rational thought, the divine embodiment of Greek civilisation.
Minerva
⚡ godWisdom, strategy, crafts, education
Roman goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and the arts, equated with the Greek Athena
Hades
⚡ godKing of the dead
The ruler of the Underworld who received the dead, guarded by Cerberus and feared so deeply that Greeks avoided speaking his name.
Neptune
⚡ godSea, earthquakes, horses
Roman god of the sea and freshwater, identified with the Greek Poseidon but originally a deity of springs and rivers
Hera
⚡ godQueen of the gods and guardian of marriage
The queen of Olympus and goddess of marriage who defended the institution of matrimony with a wrath that shaped half the myths.