The gods of Rome, in one grid
Rome borrowed and reshaped the gods of Greece into a pantheon of its own, and this word search gathers them. You'll be finding the great Olympians-turned-Roman — JUPITER, JUNO, NEPTUNE and MARS — the everyday gods like VESTA and CERES, and the legendary founders themselves, ROMULUS and REMUS.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the pantheon changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer-word challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
The Roman pantheon in the grid
The grid gathers Rome's gods and founders. There's the ruling family — sky-king JUPITER, his queen JUNO, sea-god NEPTUNE and underworld PLUTO — the war-god MARS, love-goddess VENUS and her son CUPID, swift MERCURY, wise MINERVA, the twins APOLLO and DIANA, smith VULCAN and wine-god BACCHUS. There are the gods of home and harvest — VESTA, CERES, FLORA, FAUNUS and FORTUNA — old SATURN and two-faced JANUS, war-goddess BELLONA and QUIRINUS, plus the legendary founders ROMULUS and REMUS.
The same gods with new names
Here's the fascinating thing about Roman mythology: as Rome conquered Greece, it largely adopted the Greek gods and simply renamed them. So Greek Zeus became JUPITER, Hera became JUNO, Poseidon became NEPTUNE, Ares became MARS and Aphrodite became VENUS — the same family of gods wearing new, Latin names. Spotting the matches is a fun game in itself, and a great way to link this puzzle to our Greek Mythology one.
Those names are astonishingly long-lived. Most of the planets are named after Roman gods — Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Neptune, Saturn, Mercury — and so are the month of January (after JANUS, god of beginnings) and even the words 'cereal' (from CERES) and 'martial' (from MARS). Rome also told its own founding legend: the twins ROMULUS and REMUS, raised by a wolf, with ROMULUS going on to found the city of Rome itself. That blend of borrowed gods and home-grown legend makes this a natural partner for an ancient-Rome topic.
Great for an ancient-Rome topic
It's a great fit for an ancient-Rome unit, alongside our Ancient Rome puzzle — most names are short, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own Roman gods.
Frequently asked questions
Which Roman gods are in the word search?
The gods of Rome — Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Mercury and more, plus founders Romulus and Remus. Each puzzle uses a fresh selection.
Does it include the founders of Rome?
It does — alongside gods JUPITER, JUNO, NEPTUNE and MARS, plus VENUS, MERCURY and MINERVA, you'll find the legendary founders ROMULUS and REMUS, and VESTA, CERES and SATURN.
Is it good for an ancient-Rome topic?
Great fit for an ancient-Rome unit, alongside our Ancient Rome puzzle. Most names are short, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words.