I read this question and it made me think. The Romans "inherited" the Greek gods, they just gave them new names, but what happened in actual Greece after the Roman conquest of Greece? Did the Greek refer to their gods with Roman or Greek names? Any other changes in how the Greeks worshipped their gods after the conquest that can be derived from Roman religious influence?
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2Wikipedia has something on this: Ancient Greek religion. Perhaps you could edit your question to clarify what is lacking there. Otherwise, I fear this will be closed as too basic (and someone has already downvoted...)– Lars BosteenCommented Nov 8, 2020 at 1:17
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3Southern Baptists in the US worship "God". Italian Catholics worship "Dio". Southern Baptists have different practices of worship than Italian Catholics and the two groups differ on many finer points of the religion. Despite that, both parties will tell you that "Dio" is just another word for "God" and they both worship the same entity. Greeks just saw "Jove" as another name for "Zeus"– user15620Commented Nov 8, 2020 at 16:36
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2The question contains no research, and can be answered by WIkipedia– MCW ♦Commented Nov 8, 2020 at 19:34
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3It is definitely too basic for the site– user15620Commented Nov 8, 2020 at 21:10
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3To expand on @ed.hank The "ju" in "Jupiter" is literally comes from the same indo-European root word as "Zeus". It's analogous to the English "God" and the German "Gott". It's too basic because it should be obvious that if the Greeks stopped using the word Zeus, then the name wouldn't be in common parlance today– user15620Commented Nov 9, 2020 at 17:04
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1 Answer
The Romans did not "inherit" the Greek gods. The Romans practiced the interpretatio romana whereby they identified foreign gods as being their own under different names, just as the Greeks practices interpretatio graeca.
Religiously, they tended to use their own terms in their own languages, although it was not unknown for a Roman in Greece to write an inscription commemorating a sacrifice to "Jupiter, whom the Greeks call Zeus." It was also not known for epithets to be transferred -- as the Egyptians called Thoth "Thrice Great", Romans and Greeks would refer to Mercury "ter Maximus" or Hermes "Trismegistus."
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The Romans was heavily influenced by Greek culture. Didn't e.g., Caesar speak Greek when talking to his fellow patricians? Sicily was a Greek colony (Archimedes was based there) at a time Rome was a small village with huts made of dirt. I think it is an oversimplification to claim that the Romans just reinterpreted the Greek deities, it was probably more of religious appropriation.– d-bCommented Nov 8, 2020 at 18:43
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2Roman practices were and remained sufficiently different to make it clear they were maintaining their own albeit with some influence. Mars remained a vitally important god despite the lesser importance of Ares in Greek religion.– MaryCommented Nov 9, 2020 at 13:44
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Well, compare that to how Catholics and protestants emphasize Mary (mother of Jesus).– d-bCommented Dec 3, 2020 at 16:22