Quote Originally Posted by Zaknafien
You misunderstand the Roman religion when you say Caesar has Venus as his "favorite" or Sulla, et all. Deities were not baseball cards that people collected and talked about which they preferred over another. The Roman religion was an all in one deal, you venerated the entire pantheon accordingly, and if one deity seemed to prefer you on some circumstance, then an offering to that god or goddess would be appropriate certainly.

no I guess you misunderstand the whole concept of the gods, their purpose and reception a bit. The state religion is one thing but the individual is different and you don't worship all gods. There are gods you might never in your life pray to and you usually don't offer collectively. The whole purpose of the gods is that you pick the things you admire most in your life. You worship 3 or 4 gods extensively for yourself while still following the necessary offerings (like Saturnalia for example). People had few statues in their home altars not the whole pantheon.

You are right that the Romans tried to include all gods they came across but this only applies for the state religion. The state tried not to put down any god (but still that doesn't mean they created an official cult immediately), the people usually worship their own favourites.

Apollo was one of the most worshipped gods in Greece, more than Zeus or others because many people chose him as their protector and ideal to follow.