Part 5: The Roman Republic
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The temples of Venus were schools of instruction in a technique of sexual-spiritual enlightenment known as Venia. Romans educated in the sexual arts by the Venerii (priestesses) were taught that the moment of death was the ultimate sexual union, the consummation of the sacred marriage promised by the religion of Venus. Ovid, an initiate of these mysteries, requested, "...Let me go in the act of coming to Venus; in more senses than one let my last dying be done..."(Cavendish 51). "To die" was a common metaphor for sexual orgasm, as Ovid seems to imply (Shadock 544). Venus does not seem to have been the recipient of state holidays of massive blood sacrifices; however, She seems to have received the devoted attention of many Romans who either did not notice the oversight, or for whatever reason, chose to overlook it.

Mercury, the final major Deity of the state religion of Rome, was imported unchanged from Greece as the God Hermes. He was the God of trade, magic, medicine, and hidden wisdom, and was identified with the God Thoth of Egypt (Walker 395). He was actually much older than classical Greece, having begun as one of the consorts of the Aegean Serpent-Mother Goddess. Hermes/Mercury was originally one with Aphrodite and was known as Hermaphroditus; "... the priests of Hermes wore artificial breasts and female garments to preside over Aphrodite's Cyprian temple..."(Graves, G.M. 73). This is only one example of the sacred role that homosexuality played in the ancient world. When male priests replaced the original female priestesses, homosexual men became a bridge; being closer to the consciousness of womanhood, therefore Goddess consciousness, they were better able to communicate with the Goddess and understand Her wishes.

Mercury/Hermes was an Indo-European prototype; an "Enlightened One", born of the virgin Maia, he was the same enlightened one (Buddha) born of the same virgin Maya in India, and this was established by direct statement in the Mahanirvanatantr (Rawson 142). He was a phallic God in the mysteries of Demeter of Thrace and Phrygia. He was credited with the invention of writing with the help of the Triple-Goddess disguised as the Fates. He was also given credit for the invention of music, measuring, divination, astronomy, and astrology (Graves, GM 64-5). Mercury/Hermes was worshipped in various forms by almost every people in the Indo-European region. He was cited as a phallic God in some areas, and bisexual, asexual, or homosexual in others, while still being recognized as Mercury/Hermes (Walker 395-8). His festival was celebrated on the Ides of May and was probably associated with fertility. He was pictured as Hermes, with winged sandals, the caduceus, and a purse (Grimal 180).

The Romans worshipped a large number of various Deities, native and imported, ranging from the Great Jupiter; to deified heroes or kings, such as Romulus; spirits of the country, such as Flora; household God/esses, such as Janus, who guarded entrances and leave-takings; and the spirits of dead relations and ancestors. As the population grew more diverse, these beliefs infiltrated and were adopted in the very heart of Rome. Adopting a foreign God/ess was often seen as a means of subduing the enemy, by bringing his/her chief Deity to Rome. The images of these God/esses were actually thought to contain the spirit of the Deity, and a cautious attitude towards Deities in general was considered a wise necessity (Lyttleton and Foreman 25).

Although the Roman method of worship was an almost obsessive need to propitiate the God/esses by sacrifice and prayer, the God/esses were kept at a distance, with little affect on the daily life of a Roman. The large influx of foreign elements, the impersonal nature of their Deities, and the rapid change and lack of stability of the society in general may have been responsible for the growth of the Mystery Religions, beginning in the second century b.c.e. Another contributing factor may have been that the majority of the mystery religions allowed and encouraged the active participation of women and slaves as initiates, which was not permitted in the state religions of Rome.

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