Gods and Goddesses

Jupiter- King of Gods

Jupiter is the supreme god of the Roman pantheon, called dies pater, "shining father". He is a god of light and sky, and protector of the state and its laws. He is a son of Saturn and brother of Neptune and Juno (who is also his wife).
The Romans worshipped him especially as Jupiter Optimus Maximus (all-good, all-powerful). This name refers not only to his rulership over the universe, but also to his function as the god of the state who distributes laws, controls the realm and makes his will known through oracles. His English name is Jove.
The largest temple in Rome was that of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill. Here he was worshipped alongside Juno and Minerva, forming the Capitoline Triad. Temples to Jupiter Optimus Maximus or the Capitoline Triad as a whole were commonly built by the Romans at the center of new cities in their colonies.
His temple was not only the most important sanctuary in Rome; it was also the center of political life. Here official offerings were made, treaties were signed and wars were declared, and the triumphant generals of the Roman army came to give their thanks.
Other titles of Jupiter include: Caelestis (heavenly), Lucetius (of the light), Totans (thunderer), Fulgurator (of the lightning). As Jupiter Victor he led the Roman army to victory. Jupiter is also the protector of the ancient league of Latin cities. His attribute is the lightning bolt and the eagle is both his symbol and his messenger.
Jupiter is identical with the Greek Zeus.
It was once believed that the Roman god Jupiter (Zeus in Greece) was in charge of cosmic Justice, and in ancient Rome, people swore to Jove in their courts of law, which lead to the common expression "By Jove," that many people use today.

Maia- Goddess of Growth

The Greek Maia was identified in Roman mythology with Maia Maiestas (also called Fauna, Bona Dea (the 'Good Goddess') and Ops), a goddess who may be equivalent to an old Italic goddess of spring.
The month of May was named for her; the 1st and 15th of May were sacred to her. Maia was associated with Vulcan, and on the first of May the flamen of that god sacrificed to her a pregnant sow, an appropriate sacrifice also for an earth goddess such as Bona Dea: a sow-shaped wafer might be substituted.
The goddess was accessible only to women; men were excluded from her precincts.

Mars- God of War

Mars was Roman god of war, the son of Juno and a magical flower (or Jupiter). As the word has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinized version of the Etruscan god, Maris.
Mars is the Roman God of war, and one of the most prominent and worshipped gods. In early Roman history he was a god of spring, growth in nature, and fertility, and the protector of cattle. Mars is also mentioned as a chthonic god (earth-god) and this could explain why he became a god of death and finally a god of war. He is the son of Jupiter and Juno.
According to some sources, Mars is the father of Romulus and Remus by the Vestal Ilia (Rhea Silvia). Because he was the father of these legendary founders of Rome, and thus of the Roman people, the Romans styled themselves 'sons of Mars'.
His main sanctuaries where the temple on the Capitol, which he shared with Jupiter and Quirinus, the temple of Mars Gradivus ("he who precedes the army in battle") where the Roman army gathered before they went to war, and the temple of Mars Ultor ("the avenger"), located on the Forum Augustus. The Campus Martius ("field of Mars"), situated beyond the city walls, was also dedicated to him.
Here the army was drilled and athletes were trained. In the Regia on the Forum Romanum, the 'hastae Martiae' ("lances of Mars") were kept. When these lances 'moved', it was seen as a portent of war. The warlord who was to lead the army into battle had to move the lances while saying 'Mars vigila' ("Mars awaken"). As Mars Gradivus, the god preceded the army and led them to victory.
He had several festivals in his honor. On March 1, the Feriae Marti was celebrated. The Armilustrium was held on October 19, and on this day the weapons of the soldiers were ritually purified and stored for winter. Every five years the Suovetaurilia was held.
During these fertility and cleansing rites, a pig (sus), a sheep (ovis) and bull (taurus) were sacrificed. The Equirria were on February 27 and March 14, on which horse races were held. The Quinquatrus was on March 19 and the Tubilustrium on March 23, on which weapons and war-trumpets were cleansed.
The priests of Mars, who also served Quirinus, were called the Salii ("jumpers"), derived from the procession through the streets of the city which they completed by jumping the entire way and singing the Carmen Saliare. Mars' own priest was called the flamen Martialis.
Mars is portrayed as a warrior in full battle armor, wearing a crested helmet and bearing a shield. His sacred animals are the wolf and the woodpecker, and he is accompanied by Fuga and Timor, the personifications of flight and fear.
The month March (Martius) is named after him (wars were often started or renewed in spring). His Greek equivalent is the god Ares.
In art, Mars is depicted as an armored warrior with a crested helmet. He is also drawn on a chariot with a shield and spear going into battle. The shield symbolizes Rome, and according to a legend his shield fell from a sky to save the Romans.
The wolf and woodpecker are sacred to him. His children are Fuga and Timor.

Mercury- Messenger of the Gods

Mercury is god of trade and profit, merchants and travelers, but originally of the trade in corn. In later times he was equated with the Greek Hermes.
He had a temple in Rome near the Circus Maximus on the Aventine Hill which dates back to 495 BCE. This temple was connected to some kind of trade fair.
His main festival, the Mercuralia, was celebrated on May 15 and on this day the merchants sprinkled their heads and their merchandise with water from his well near the Porta Capena.
During the time of the Roman Empire the cult of Mercury was widely spread, especially among the Celtic and Germanic peoples. The Celts have their Gaulish Mercury, and the Germans identified him with their Wodan.
The attributes of Mercury are the caduceus (a staff with two intertwined snakes) and a purse (a symbol of his connection with commerce).
He is portrayed similarly to Hermes: dressed in a wide cloak, wearing talaria (winged sandals) and petasus (winged hat).
Mercury is also known as Alipes ("with the winged feet").

Minerva- Goddess of Wisdom

The name "Minerva" may come from the Indo-European root 'men', from which "mental" and "mind" are also derived. However, the non-Indo-European speaking Etruscans had a goddess Menrva, so the name may be of entirely unknown derivation.
Minerva was the daughter of Jupiter and Metis. She was considered to be the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts, and the inventor of music. As 'Minerva Medica', she was the goddess of medicine and doctors.
Adapting Greek myths about Athena, Romans said that Minerva was not born in the usual way, but rather sprang fully armed from the brain of her father; this image has captivated Western writers and artists through the ages.
Ovid called her the "goddess of a thousand works." Minerva was worshipped throughout Italy, though only in Rome did she take on a warlike character. Minerva is usually depicted wearing a coat of mail and a helmet, and carrying a spear.
In the temple on the Capitoline Hill she was worshipped together with Jupiter and Juno, with whom she formed a powerful triad of gods.
Another temple of her was located on the Aventine Hill. The church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva is built on one of her temples.
Every year from March 19 - 23 the Quinquatria was held, the primary Minerva-festival. This festival was mainly celebrated by artisans but also by students.
On June 13 the minor Quinquatrus was observed.Minerva is believed to be the inventor of numbers and musical instruments.
She is thought to be of Etruscan origin, as the goddess Menrva or Menerva. Later she was equated with the Greek Athena.
Minerva in the modern world
Minerva is the logo of the world famous German "Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science" (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)
In the early 20th century, Manuel José Estrada Cabrera, President of Guatemala, tried to promote a "Cult of Minerva" in his country; this left little legacy other than a few interesting Hellenic style "Temples" in parks around Guatemala.According to John Robison's Proofs of a Conspiracy (1798), the third degree of the Bavarian Illuminati was called Minerval or Brother of Minerva, in honor of the goddess of learning. Later, this title was adopted for the first degree of Aleister Crowley's OTO rituals.
According to legend, the Queen of Spades playing card depicts Minerva.
Minerva is also the name of a song by the band Deftones
Minerva McGonagall is the name of a character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.
Minerva is also a character in the Steven Speilberg cartoon: Animaniacs. Once considered to sexy for the show.

Neptune- God of the Sea

Neptune is the god of the sea in Roman mythology, a brother of Jupiter and Pluto. He is analogous but not identical to the god Poseidon of Greek mythology. The Roman conception of Neptune owed a great deal to the Etruscan god Nethuns. Originally he was an Italic god paired with Salacia, possibly the goddess of the salt water. At an early date (399 BC) he was identified with Poseidon, when the Sibylline books ordered a lectisternium in his honour (Livy v. 13).
In earlier times it was the god Portunes or Fortunus who was thanked for naval victories, but Neptune supplanted him in this role by at least the first century BC, when Sextus Pompeius called himself "son of Neptune".
Neptune was associated as well with fresh water, as opposed to Oceanus, god of the world-ocean.
Like Poseidon, Neptune was also worshipped by the Romans as a god of horses, under the name Neptune Equester, patron of horse-racing.
Worship
In the historical period, Poseidon was often referred to by the epithets Enosichthon, Seischthon and Ennosigaios, all meaning "earth-shaker" and referring to his role in causing earthquakes.Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance; while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the polis.
According to Pausanias, Poseidon was one of the caretakers of the Oracle at Delphi before Olympian Apollo took it over. Apollo and Poseidon worked closely in many realms: in colonization, for example, Apollo provided the authorization to go out and settle from Delphi, while Poseidon watched over the colonists on their way, and provided the lustral water for the foundation-sacrifice. Xenophon's Anabasis describes a groups of Spartan soldiers singing Poseidon a paean - a kind of hymn normally sung for Apollo.
Like Dionysus and the Maenads, Poseidon also caused certain forms of mental disturbance. One Hippocratic text says that he was blamed for certain types of epilepsy.Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice.
In art Poseidon's chariot was pulled by a hippocampus or seahorses. He was associated with dolphins and three-pronged fish spears (tridents). He lived in a palace on the ocean floor, made of coral and gems.
In Rome Neptune was worshipped by the Romans primarily as a horse god, Neptune Equester, patron of horse-racing. He had a temple near the race tracks in Rome (built in 25 BC), the Circus Flaminius, as well as one in the Campus Martius. Only July 23, the Neptunalia was observed at the latter temple.
Myth
Birth and childhood - Poseidon was a son of Cronus and Rhea. Like his brothers and sisters save Zeus, Poseidon was swallowed by his father. He was regurgitated only after Zeus forced Cronus to vomit up the infants he had eaten. Zeus and his brothers and sisters, along with the Hecatonchires, Gigantes and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and the other Titans. According to other variants, Poseidon was raised by the Telchines on Rhodes, just as Zeus was raised by the Korybantes on Crete.
When the world was divided in three, Zeus received the earth and sky, Hades the underworld and Poseidon the sea.
Lovers
His wife was Amphitrite, daughter of Nereus and Doris.
Poseidon fell in love with Pelops, a beautiful youth, son of Tantalus. He took Pelops up to Olympus and made him his lover, even before Zeus did the same with Ganymede. To thank Pelops for his love, Poseidon later gave him a winged chariot, to use in the race against Oenomaus for the hand of Hippodamia.
Poseidon once pursued Demeter. She spurned his advances, turning herself into a mare so that she could hide in a flock of horses; he saw through the deception and became a stallion and captured her. Their child was a horse, Arion, which was capable of human speech.
Poseidon had an affair with Alope, his granddaughter through Cercyon, begetting Hippothoon. Cercyon had his daughter buried alive but Poseidon turned her into the spring, Alope, near Eleusis.
Poseidon rescued Amymone from a lecherous satyr and then fathered a child, Nauplius, by her.A mortal woman named Tyro was married to Cretheus (with whom she had one son, Aeson) but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances.
One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus and from their union was born Pelias and Neleus, twin boys.
With Medusa, Poseidon had sexual intercourse on the floor of a temple to Athena. Medusa was changed into a monster.
When she was later beheaded by the hero Perseus, Chrysaor and Pegasus emerged from her neck.
After raping Caeneus, Poseidon fulfilled her request and changed her into a man.
Other stories
Athena became the patron goddess of the city of Athens after a competition with Poseidon. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred.
Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprung up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them an olive tree.
The Athenians - or their king, Cecrops - accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. This is thought to remember a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants.
It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, at one point defeating the Persian fleet at Salamis Island in a sea battle. Another version of the myth says that Poseidon gave horses to Athens.
Poseidon and Apollo, having offended Zeus, were sent to serve King Laomedon. He had them build huge walls around the city and promised to reward them well, a promise he then refused to fulfill. In vengeance, before the Trojan War, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy (It was later killed by Heracles).
In the Iliad Poseidon favors the Greeks, and on several occasion takes an active part in the battle against the Trojan forces. However, in Book XX he rescues Aeneas after the Trojan prince is laid low by Achilles.
In the Odyssey, Poseidon is notable for his hatred of Odysseus due to the latter's having blinded the god's son Polyphemus. The enmity of Poseidon prevents Odysseus' return home to Ithaca for many years. Odysseus is even told, notwithstanding his ultimate safe return, that to placate the wrath of Poseidon will require one more voyage on his part.
In the Aeneid, Neptune is still resentful of the wandering Trojans, but is not as vindictive as Juno, and in Book I he rescues the Trojan fleet from the goddess's attempts to wreck it, although his primary motivation for doing this is his annoyance at Juno's having intruded into his domain.

Pluto- King of the Underworld

Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld and the judge of the dead. Pluto is an alternative name for the Greek god Hades, but was more often used in Roman mythology in their presentation of the god of the underworld. He abducted Proserpina (Gr. Persephone), and her mother Ceres (Gr. Demeter) who then caused winter in her grief. Although he is often envisioned today as evil[citation needed] (for his similarities to the Christian Satan) the Romans did not view him as such.
Pluto was originally not the god of the underworld. Pluto is cognate with the Greek word "Ploutos" (wealth, cf. plutocracy), and, under the original name Plutus, was considered by the Romans as the giver of gold, silver, and other subterranean substances. Because these "gifts" were mined, Pluto became recognized as the god of the physical underworld, which in turn helped him become recognized as the god of the spiritual underworld and thus death. This brought about his mythological relationship to the Greek god Hades. Because the mythology of these gods is more known than the actual religious roles of the gods, Pluto is identified as the counterpart to the Greek Hades (which is only true in mythology).
The dwarf planet Pluto is named after him.
Pluto, although related, should not be confused with the Greek god Plutus, the god of wealth.
"Plutonic Theory", the idea that the earth was formed due to intense heat in the earth, stems from Pluto, the opposing theory of which is the Neptunian Theory which states that the formation of the earth was caused by the agency of water.

Prosperina- Queen of the Underworld

Proserpina is an ancient goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. She is the Roman equivalent of Persephone (qv). She was subsumed by the cult of Libera, an ancient fertility goddess, wife of Liber.
Her name comes from proserpere meaning to emerge. She is a life-death-rebirth deity.
She was the daughter of Ceres and Jupiter, and was described as a very enchanting young girl.Venus, in order to bring love to Pluto, sent her son Amor to hit Pluto with one of his arrows. Proserpina was in Sicily, at the fountain of Aretusa near Enna, where she was playing with some nymphs and collecting flowers, when Pluto came out from the volcano Etna with four black horses.
He abducted her in order to marry her and live with her in Hades, the Greek Underworld, of which he was the ruler.
Notably, Pluto was also her uncle, being Jupiter's (and Ceres's) brother.
She is therefore Queen of the Underworld.
Her mother Ceres, the goddess of cereals or of the Earth, vainly went looking for her in any corner of the Earth, but wasn't able to find anything but a small belt that was floating upon a little lake (made with the tears of the nymphs).
In her desperation Ceres angrily stopped the growth of fruits and vegetables, bestowing a malediction on Sicily. Ceres refused to go back to Mount Olympus and started walking on the Earth, making a desert at every step.
Worried, Jupiter sent Mercury to order Pluto (Jupiter's brother) to free Proserpina.
Pluto obeyed, but before letting her go, he made her eat six pomegranate seeds (a symbol of fidelity in marriage) so she would have to live six months of each year with him, and stay the rest with her mother. So this is the reason for Springtime: when Proserpina comes back to her mother, Ceres decorates the Earth with welcoming flowers, but when in Fall she has to go back to Hades, nature loses any color.
The myth of Proserpina, mainly described by the Roman Claudianus (4th century AD) is closely connected with that of Orpheus and Eurydice - it is Proserpina, as Queen of Hades, who allows Orpheus enter and bring back to life his wife Eurydice who is dead by snake poison.
Proserpina played her cetra to quiet Cerberus, but Orpheus did not respect her order never to look back, and Eurydice was lost.
Proserpina's figure inspired many artistic compositions, eminently in sculpture and in literature. For reasons that may be obvious, a variety of pomegranate is called Proserpina.

Saturn- God of Agriculture

Roman god of agriculture concerned with the sowing of the seeds. He is regarded as the father of Jupiter, Ceres, Juno and many others.
His wife is the goddess Ops.
A Sabine goddess, Ops ("plenty") was a fertility deity and earth-goddess in Roman mythology. Her husband was Saturn.
Originally on August 10, a festival took place in her honor. On December 9, the Opalia was celebrated. On August 25, the Opiconsivia was held.
Alternative name: Opis. The singular nominative (Ops) is not used, and only the form Opis is attested in Latin authors. According to Festus (203:19): "Ops is said to be the wife of Saturn. By her they designated the earth, because the earth distributes all goods to the human gender" (Opis dicta est coniux Saturni per quam uolerunt terram significare, quia omnes opes humano generi terra tribuit).
The Latin word ops means "riches, goods, abundance, gifts, munificence, plenty". This word is also related to opus, meaning "work" and, particularly "working the earth, ploughing, sowing". This activity was of old deemed sacred, and was often attended by religious rituals intended to obtain the good will of the chthonian deities such as Ops and Consus, etc.. The word ops is related to the Sanskrit ápnas ("goods, property").
Ops was the goddess of plenty among the Latins (Romans). She was the spouse of Saturn, the bountiful monarch of the Golden Age.
Just as Saturn was identified to Kronos, his Greek counterpart, Ops was identified to Rhea, the wife of Kronos (or Kronus, in the Latin spelling).
The cult of Ops was (mythically) instituted by King Titus Tatius, the Sabine monarch. And Ops soon became the patroness of riches, abundance, and prosperity both personal and national.Invariably associated with Consus, Ops was feasted with him in the Opalia and the Opiconsivia [qqv].
These festivals were also called Consualia, in honor of Consus, her companion. Ops had a famous temple in the Capitolium. In her statues and coins, Ops is figured sitting down, as chthonian deities normally are, and generally holds a scepter or a corn spike as her main attributes.
Ops as Livia
Jupiter supposedly chased him away and he was taken in by the god Janus in Latium where he introduced agriculture and viniculture. This event heralded a period of peace, happiness and prosperity, the Golden Age.
In memory of this Golden Age, each year the Saturnalia was observed on December 17 at his temple on the Forum Romanum. This temple, below the Capitoline Hill, contained the Royal Treasury and is one of the oldest in Rome. The Saturnalia was one of the major events of the year.
Originally only one day, it was later extended to seven days.
During this festival, business was suspended, the roles of master and slaves were reversed, moral restrictions were loosened and gifts were exchanged.
Offerings made in his honor were done with uncovered heads, contrary to the Roman tradition.
In contrast to his festival, Saturn himself was never very popular.
From the 3rd century on, he was identified with the Greek Cronus, and his cult became only marginally more popular.
That he ruled over the Golden Age is an extension to the Greek myth.
Saturday is named after him.

Uranus

God of the Heavens

Uranus, also known as Ouranos, was the embodiment of the sky or heavens, and known as the god of the sky. He was the first son of Gaia (the earth) and he also became her husband.
According to Hesiod, their children included the Titans: six sons (Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus and Cronus) and six daughters (Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe and Tethys).
There were other offspring: the Cyclopes, (who were named Brontes, Steropes and Arges and were later known as "one eyed giants"), and also the three monsters known as the Hecatonchires, who each had one hundred hands and fifty heads.
Their names were Briareus, Cottus and Gyes. Other offspring of Uranus and Gaia were the Erinyes, who were spirits of punishment and goddesses of vengeance.
The Erinyes avenged wrongs which were done to family, especially murder within a family.
After Uranus had been castrated, his blood fell to earth (Gaia) and conceived the Giants. These were of monstrous appearance and had great strength.
Similiarly, in some versions Aphrodite is believed to have risen from the foam created by the sex organs of Uranus after they were thrown into the sea by his son Cronus.
Uranus was aghast by the sight of his offspring, the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires.
In a differing version Uranus was frightened of their great strength and the fact that they could easily depose him. He hid them away in Tartarus (the bowels of the earth) inside Gaia, causing her intense pain.
The discomfort became so great that she asked her youngest son, Cronus, to castrate his father, as this would cease his fertility and put an end to more monstrous offspring. To accomplish this deed Gaia made an adamantine sickle, which she gave to Cronus.
That night Uranus came to lay with Gaia. And as the sky god drew close, Cronus struck with the sickle and cut off Uranus's genitals. From the blood that fell from the open wound were born nymphs and giants, and when Cronus threw the severed genitals into the sea a white foam appeared.
From this foam Aphrodite the goddess of love and desire was born.
A slightly differing version tells of Uranus being so vast that he could cover Mother Earth (Gaia) and easily take advantage of her fruitfulness, but Gaia tired of her exuberant fertility and begged her sons to free her from the excessive embrace of Uranus.
All refused except Cronus. Armed with a sickle he castrated Uranus, and the blood which fell from the mutilation gave birth to the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants and the Meliae (Nymphs of the manna ash trees). And when Cronus threw the sickle into the sea the island of Corfu, home of the Phaeacians, sprang up).
After Uranus (the sky) had been emasculated, the sky separated from Gaia (the earth) and Cronus became king of the gods.
Later, Zeus (the son of Cronus) deposed his father and became the supreme god of the Greek Pantheon.

Venus
Goddess of Love

Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty, but originally a vegetation goddess and patroness of gardens and vineyards. Later, under Greek influence, she was equated with Aphrodite and assumed many of her aspects.
Her cult began in Ardea and Lavinium, Latium. On August 18, 293 BC, her oldest temple was built. August 18 was then a festival called the Vinalia Rustica.
The oldest temple known of Venus dates back to 293 BCE, and was inaugurated on August 18. Later, on this date the Vinalia Rustica was observed. A second festival, that of the Veneralia, was celebrated on April 1 in honor of Venus Verticordia, who later became the protector against vice. Her temple was built in 114 BCE.
After the Roman defeat near Lake Trasum in 215 BCE, a temple was built on the Capitol for Venus Erycina. This temple was officially opened on April 23, and a festival, the Vinalia Priora, was instituted to celebrate the occasion.
Venus is the daughter of Jupiter, and some of her lovers include Mars and Vulcan, modeled on the affairs of Aphrodite.
Venus' importance rose, and that of her cult, through the influence of several Roman political leaders.
The dictator Sulla made her his patroness, and both Julius Caesar and the emperor Augustus named her the ancestor of their (Julian) family: the 'gens Julia' was Aeneas, son of Venus and the mortal Anchises.
Julius Ceasar introduced the cult of Venus Genetrix, the goddess of motherhood and marriage, and built a temple for her in 46 BCE.
She was also honored in the temple of Mars Ultor.
The last great temple of Venus was built by the emperor Hadrianus near the Colusseum in 135 CE.
Julius Caesar introduced Venus Genetrix as a goddess of motherhood and domesticity.
Venus was often referred to with epithet Venus Erycina ("of the heather").
Venus became a popular subject of painting and sculpture during the Renaissance period in Europe. Roman statues and portraits of Venus are usually identical to the Greek representations of Aphrodite.
As a classical figure for whom nudity was her natural state, it was socially acceptable to depict her unclothed. As the goddess of sexual healing, a degree of erotic beauty in her presentation was justified, which had an obvious appeal to many artists and their patrons.
Over time, "Venus" came to refer to any artistic depiction of a nude woman, even when there was no indication that the subject was the goddess.

Vesta

Goddess of Hearth

Vesta was one of the most popular and mysterious goddesses of the Roman pantheon. Vesta is the goddess of the hearth, equated with the Greek Hestia.
There is not much known of her origin, except that she was at first only worshipped in Roman homes, a personal cult.
Her cult eventually evolved to a state cult.
One myth tells that her service was set up by king Numa Pompilius (715-673 BCE). In her temple on the Palatine Hill, the sacred fire of the Roman state burned, which was maintained by the Vestal Virgins.
At the start of the new Roman year, March 1, the fire was renewed. The sacred fire burned until 394 CE.
Vesta's temple was situated on the Forum Romanum and was built in the third century BCE. None of her temples, however, contained a statue of the goddess. Her festival is the Vestalia, which was observed from June 7 - 15.
On the first day of this festival, the 'penus Vestae', the inner sanctum of the Vesta temple which was kept closed the entire year, was opened for women who came to bring offerings bare-footed. The temple was ritually cleansed on the last day.
The ass is Vesta's sacred animal, whose braying supposedly kept the lascivious Priapus away.
Vesta is portrayed as a stern woman, wearing a long dress and with her head covered.
Her right hand rests against her side and in her left hand she holds a scepter.

Vulcan
God of smithing

In Roman mythology, is the son of Jupiter and Juno, and husband of Maia and Venus.
He was the god of fire and volcanoes, and the manufacturer of art, arms, iron, and armor for gods and heroes.
Vulcan's analogue in Greek mythology is the god Hephaestus.
He is also called Mulciber ("softener") in Roman mythology and Sethlans in Etruscan mythology.
His forge was believed to be situated underneath Mount Aetna in Sicily.
At the Vulcanalia festival, which was held on August 23, fish and small animals were thrown into a fire.
Vulcan's shrine in the Forum Romanum, called the Volcanal, appears to have played an important role in the civic rituals of the archaic Roman Kingdom.
Vulcan was the father of Caeculus.
A statue of Vulcan located in Birmingham, Alabama is the largest cast iron statue in the world.
To punish mankind for stealing the secrets of fire, Zeus, ordered the other gods to make a poisoned gift for man. Vulcan's contribution to the beautiful and foolish Pandora, was to mold her from clay and to give her form.
Vulcan made the thrones for the other gods on Mt. Olympus.

the Gods and Goddesses

Roman Gods and Goddesses

At the founding of Rome, the gods were 'numina', divine manifestations, faceless, formless, but no less powerful. The idea of gods as anthropomorphized beings came later, with the influence from Etruscans and Greeks, which had human form. Some of the Roman Gods are at least as old as the founding of Rome.
The concept of numen continued to exist and it was related to any manifestation of the divine. For the Romans, everything in Nature is thought to be inhabited by numina, which explains the big number of deities in the Roman pantheon, as will be shown. Numina manifest the divine will by means of natural phenomena, which the pious Roman constantly seeks to interpret. That's why great attention is paid to omens and portents in every aspect of Roman daily life.
A groups of twelve Gods called Dii Consentes is especially honored by the Romans: Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Vesta, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercurius, Neptunus, Volcanus, and Apollo. These are the ones listed by the Poet Ennius about the 3rd Century, B.C.E.. Their gilt statues stood in the Forum, later apparently in the Porticus Deorum Consentium. As there were six male and six female, they may well have been the twelve worshipped at the lectisternium of 217 BC.
A lectisternium is a banquet of the gods, where the statues of the gods were put upon cushions, and where these statues were offered meals. The number 12 was taken from the Etruscans, which also worshipped a main pantheon of 12 Gods. Nevertheless, the Dii Consentes were not identified with Etruscan deities but rather with the Greek Olympian Gods (though the original character of the Roman Gods was different from the Greek, having no myths traditionally associated). The twelve Dii Consentes are lead by the first three, which form the Capitoline Triad. These are the three cornerstones of Roman religion, whose rites were conducted in the Capitoleum Vetus on the Capitoline Hill.