Neptune

Neptune was the god of the sea. He carried a trident, which had three prongs. He rode a dolphin or a horse. When the sea is rough enough to show white tops to the waves, these are called sea horses. On the right, the back half of the seahorse is a fish.

It may seem strange that Neptune was not a more important god, since the Roman Empire was based on the Mediterranean. But the Romans were poor sailors. When Julius Caesar invaded Britain, it was considered an astounding adventure, even though he was just crossing the English Channel.

Neptune was the god of earthquakes. He was called the Earth-shaker. He was also the god of horses and horse-racing. The Romans loved watching horse-racing and had great race tracks for chariot racing, such as the Circus Maximus. You can see the ruins of the Circus Maximus in Rome today, see left.