Greek gods and Roman gods

Greek gods

1200 BCE

Around 1200 BCE is the earliest record we have of the Greek gods

Worship

800 BCE

The first temple built was Zeus's temple and where most historians believe the rest of the gods identities were established

The fall of Troy and rise of the Romans

500 BCE

Around 500 BCE there was a great fight between Greeks. One was the great walled city of Troy and its enemy across the Aegean sea, who were mainly Spartans and Macedonian Greeks. The Greeks led by King Agamemnon demolished the Trojans and burned their city to the ground. The few surviving Trojans fled and formed their own small village that would eventually become the mighty Roman empire.

Athena

447 BCE

Athena was the goddess of battle strategy and crafts. She was the patron deity of Athens. The Greeks relied on her favor and protection in battle. The Athena Parthenos was a huge statue created in her honor because of all wars that she helped them win, against the Persians especially, but also against Troy. The Athena Parthenos was believed to be the main source of Athena's power in Athens.

The fall of Athens

146 BCE

Around 146 BCE the small village of Trojans grew and renamed themselves to be Romans, who were extremely militaristic and had vowed vengeance against the Greeks for the fall of their ancient home. The Romans invaded the Greeks, and conquered both Athens and Corinth, two major cities in Greece. The Athena Parthenos was never seen again.

The fall of Athena and the creation of Minerva

145 BCE

When the Romans conquered Athens the big conspiracy is that the Romans, knowing that defeating the rest of Greeks would be harder if Athena still had power, so the rumor is that the Romans stole the statue and hid her somewhere in what is modern day Rome. This was a huge insult and trauma to the Greeks, which made their defeat easier. To add to the insult, the Romans changed Athena's name to Minerva and only worshiped her as the goddess of crafts, stripping her of military importance.