Source A: Livy, The History of Rome 5.13, describing what the Romans did in 399 BC, after a harsh winter and a plague, on the advice of the Sibylline Books
'The two officials in charge of sacred rites held a lectisternium, the first ever in Rome: for eight days they spread three couches, as magnificently as the resources of the time allowed, to win the favour of Apollo and Latona, Hercules and Diana, Mercury and Neptune.'
To what extent were the Roman gods simply the Greek gods with different names? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.
Model answer
Source A suggests that Roman gods were very close to the Greek gods. The lectisternium was a Greek-style ritual, in which images of the gods were placed on couches at a feast, and it was ordered by the Sibylline Books, Greek oracles from Cumae. The gods honoured - Apollo and Latona, Hercules and Diana, Mercury and Neptune - all had Greek equivalents, and Apollo even kept his Greek name. More generally, almost every Roman god was matched with a Greek one: Jupiter with Zeus, Juno with Hera, Minerva with Athena, Mercury with Hermes. They were shown with the same attributes - Jupiter's thunderbolt and eagle, Neptune's trident, Minerva's owl - and Roman poets such as Ovid retold Greek myths about them.
However, the Romans were not simply renaming Greek gods. Many had Italian roots and different roles. Mars was not just a war god like Ares but also a guardian of farmland and, as father of Romulus, the ancestor of the Roman people, so he was far more important. Vesta was much more important than Hestia, with her eternal flame and the Vestal Virgins guarding the safety of Rome. Venus became Venus Genetrix, mother of Aeneas and ancestor of Julius Caesar's family. Jupiter Optimus Maximus, with Juno and Minerva, was the protector of the Roman state, honoured by consuls' vows and triumphs. Some Roman gods, like Janus, had no Greek equivalent at all, and Roman worship centred on correct ritual and vows to protect the state rather than on myth.
Overall, the Romans borrowed a great deal from the Greeks: names, myths, images and some rituals, as Source A shows. But the gods' roles, importance and links with Rome's history and politics were distinctively Roman, so they were more than Greek gods with different names.
Explanation
A strong answer uses Source A as evidence of Greek influence on Roman religion, adds the many name-pairs and shared attributes, and then shows how Roman gods differed (Mars, Vesta, Venus Genetrix, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Janus, the emphasis on state ritual). A clear judgement is needed for Level 4. A list of Greek and Roman names with no analysis stays in Level 1-2.
