Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/158

 D. THE ROMAN GODS 187. In religion, as in all other spheres of the spirit- ual life, the influence of Greece gradually displaced that which was really native in Rome, or at least filled the old, simple forms with new meaning. This process began as early as the reign of the two Tarquinii, when Greek ideas found entrance into Rome, partly through the Etruscans, and partly through the colonies of southern Italy, such as Cumae. From about the time of the second Punic war these ideas began to destroy entirely the old beliefs, at least in the better educated circles of society. At last, almost all the varieties of worship that existed anywhere within the borders of the mighty Roman Empire found their way to Rome. All the testimony that we possess in literature concerning the relations of the ancient Roman religion has been influenced by this Hellenizing tendency ; and only the festival calendar, which had been made up before that period, and the existence of certain priest- hoods whose institution dates back to the very earliest times furnish, concerning what is genuinely Roman, infor- mation that is trustworthy, though meagre. In the fol- lowing statements these oldest testimonies will serve as landmarks, in order that, so far as possible, everything which forced its way from Greece into the Roman religion may be excluded. 144