Neptune (mythology) facts for kids

Statue of Neptune, 2nd century AD, Prado Museum, Spain.

Neptune (Latin: Neptūnus) is the god of water and the sea in ancient Roman religion and mythology. His Greek equivalent is the god Poseidon.

Neptune is the brother of Jupiter and Pluto; the brothers preside over the realms of Heaven, the earthly world, and the Underworld. Salacia is his wife.

Neptune was associated with fresh water as well as the sea, while Oceanus was the god of the world-ocean. Like his Greek equivalent, Neptune was also worshipped by the Romans as the god of horses, and, under the name Neptune Equester, he was a patron god of horse-racing.

The planet Neptune is named after this Roman god.

Images for kids

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  Mosaic of Neptune (Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas, Palermo)

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  A Roman mosaic on a wall in the House of Neptune and Amphitrite, Herculaneum, Italy

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  Chichester Inscription which reads (in English): "To Neptune and Minerva, for the welfare of the Divine House, by the authority of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, Great King in Britain,¹ the college of artificers and those therein erected this temple from their own resources [...]ens, son of Pudentinus, donated the site."

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  Neptune (1802), by Catalan sculptor Nicolau Travé, together with two nereids by Antoni Solà. Barcelona: Llotja de Mar.

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  Triumph of Neptune, Roman mosaic with the Seasons in each corner and agricultural scenes and flora (La Chebba, Tunisia, late 2nd century, Bardo National Museum)