罗马宗教(Roman religion)

指在西元4世纪基督教成为罗马帝国合法宗教之前罗马人的宗教信仰。罗马人相信，每样东西都由神支配，宗教的目的是获得神的协助和垂怜。用祈祷和奉献来博取神的好感，往往在专为具体某些神设的寺庙里进行，并由祭司主持（参阅flamen）。罗马主祭司是国家宗教的领袖，称为大祭司；在其他祭司集团中着名的是占卜师（augure），他用占卜来确定神是否准许某个行动。最早的罗马诸神是天神朱比特、战神马尔斯以及基林努斯；其他重要的早期神只有雅努斯和维斯太。许多其他的神借自希腊宗教或与希腊诸神相关，编入罗马神话中的故事往往直接取自希腊神话。家庭中的神龛是为神化了的祖先或保护神拉尔和珀那忒斯设立的。罗马帝国时期，死去的诸皇帝都被提升到神的地位，人们以尊敬和感激的心情看待他们。

English version：

Roman religion

Religious beliefs of the Romans from ancient times until official acceptance of Christianity in the 4th century AD. The Romans believed that everything was subordinate to the rule of the gods, and the object of their religion was to secure divine cooperation and benevolence. Prayer and sacrifice were used to propitiate the gods and were often carried out at temples dedicated to particular divinities and presided over by priests (see flamen). The chief Roman priest, head of the state religion, was known as the pontifex maximus; notable among the other groups of priests were the augures, who practiced divination to determine whether the gods approved of an action. The earliest Roman gods were the sky god Jupiter, the war god Mars, and Quirinus; other important early gods were Janus and Vesta. Many other deities were borrowed from Greek religion or associated with Greek gods, and the stories woven into Roman mythology were often taken directly from Greek mythology. Domestic shrines were devoted to divine ancestors or protectors, the Lares and Penates. During the Roman empire, dead emperors were also raised to the status of divinities and were regarded with veneration and gratitude.