Fabulous Folklore: Neptune - God of The Sea & Freshwater

This is Neptune’s Grotto at Burghley House in Stamford, Lincolnshire. The Romans celebrated Neptune as the god of freshwater, and of the sea. It was thought that Neptune was associated with freshwater springs long before he became associated with the ocean. He was appropriated from his Greek pantheon counterpart, Poseidon, ruler of the seas.

Neptune only had one temple in Rome, situated near the Circus Flaminius, a Roman racetrack. Like Poseidon, Neptune was worshipped as a god of horses. They were said to pull the chariot he travelled in over the sea. Neptune was one of only four Roman gods to whom it was considered appropriate to sacrifice a bull. The others were Apollo, Jupiter and Mars.

Neptune was often described as a tall, white-bearded figure who carried a trident. The Romans celebrated him on Neptunalia, the festival of Neptune, on July 23rd. He was petitioned in times of drought and heat. Ironically, and rather coincidentally, we visited this grotto within a few days of this date; in the height of a heatwave.