Jupiter (god)

Jupiter
King of the Gods God of the sky and diurnal thunder
Member of the Archaic Triad, Capitoline Triad and the Dii Consentes
A marble statue of Jupiter
Other names	Jove
Venerated in	Imperial cult of ancient Rome Polytheistic religion
Abode	The heavens
Planet	Jupiter[1]
Symbol	Lightning bolt, eagle, oak tree
Day	Thursday (dies Jovis)
Personal information
Parents	Saturn and Ops[2][3]
Siblings	Vesta, Ceres, Juno, Pluto, Neptune
Consort	Juno
Children	Mars, Vulcan, Bellona, Angelos, Lucina, Juventas, Minerva, Hercules
Equivalents
Greek equivalent	Zeus[4]
Norse equivalent	Thor
Hinduism equivalent	Indra, Brihaspati[5] Dyaus Pita[6]
Canaanite equivalent	Baal[7]
Mesopotamian equivalent	Anu[8][9](disputed), Enlil,[10] Hadad,[11] Šulpae[12]
Egyptian equivalent	Amun
Proto-Indo-European equivalent	*Dyḗus-ph₂tḗr
Albanian equivalent	Zojz[13]
Messapic equivalent	Zis

Religion in ancient Rome
Marcus Aurelius (head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Practices and beliefs
libation votum temples festivals ludi funerary practices imperial cult mystery religions
Priesthoods
Pontifices Augures Vestales Flamines Fetiales Epulones Fratres Arvales
Deities
Twelve major gods Capitoline Triad Aventine Triad Underworld indigitamenta Agriculture Birth Deified leaders: Julius Caesar Augustus Other deified persons: Antinous
Related topics
Glossary of ancient Roman religion Roman mythology Ancient Greek religion Etruscan religion Gallo-Roman religion Interpretatio Graeca Decline
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Jupiter (Latin: Iūpiter or Iuppiter,^[14] from Proto-Italic *djous "day, sky" + *patēr "father", thus "sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς),^[15] also known as Jove (gen. Iovis [ˈjɔwɪs]), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the chief deity of Roman state religion throughout the Republican and Imperial eras, until Christianity became the dominant religion of the Empire. In Roman mythology, he negotiates with Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, to establish principles of Roman religion such as offering, or sacrifice.

Jupiter is usually thought to have originated as a sky god. His identifying implement is the thunderbolt and his primary sacred animal is the eagle,^[16][17] which held precedence over other birds in the taking of auspices^[18] and became one of the most common symbols of the Roman army (see Aquila). The two emblems were often combined to represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt, frequently seen on Greek and Roman coins.^[19] As the sky-god, he was a divine witness to oaths, the sacred trust on which justice and good government depend. Many of his functions were focused on the Capitoline Hill, where the citadel was located. In the Capitoline Triad, he was the central guardian of the state with Juno and Minerva. His sacred tree was the oak.

The Romans regarded Jupiter as the equivalent of the Greek Zeus,^[20] and in Latin literature and Roman art, the myths and iconography of Zeus are adapted under the name Jupiter. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Jupiter was the brother of Neptune and Pluto, the Roman equivalents of Poseidon and Hades respectively. Each presided over one of the three realms of the universe: sky, the waters, and the underworld. The Italic Diespiter was also a sky god who manifested himself in the daylight, usually identified with Jupiter.^[21] Tinia is usually regarded as his Etruscan counterpart.^[22]