Deity of the Month - Jupiter

By Sam Stoker

If you’ve looked up at the night sky recently (and, let’s face it, if you’re reading a Pagan zine you’ve been looking up at the night sky recently), you’ll likely have noticed the planet whose namesake is this issue’s Deity, even if you didn’t realise it. Third brightest object in the night sky behind the moon and Venus, Jupiter was named after the King of the Roman gods due to its size - the largest in our solar system.

God of the sky, thunder, oaths, and Roman equivalent to Greek Zeus, Jupiter rules the skies as his brothers Pluto and Neptune - equivalents to Poseidon and Hades - rule the sea and underworld. Parents of the three are Saturn, god of time, and Ops, a fertility goddess. Still on the planetary theme, Jupiter’s children include Mars (and Hercules - not Heracles, who is - you guessed it - the Greek equivalent).

With temples dedicated to him primarily on hills, Jupiter had sacrifices made to him of lambs and oxen, which must be white. This occurred, among other times, on the Ides - during the full moon when it was thought that because the sky was so bright all night as well as through the day, it must be a favoured time of his.

Etymology of the name Jupiter all seem to point to a general theme of father, sky god, daytime. Although god of thunder like Thor, Jupiter is more closely related to Odin of the Norse pantheon due to being Rome’s ‘all father. Married to Juno, who in some stories is also said to be his sister, we have covered some of Jupiter’s children before during previous Deity articles, including Diana, Minerva, and Apollo. His son Mars fathered Romulus and Remus, the mythical twins cited as being the founders of the city of Rome itself.

After Rome became a republic following the abolishment of the monarchy, Jupiter remained the chief god through the imperial years right up until Christianity took over as the dominant religion in the fourth century CE.