They worshiped Isis, an Egyptian goddess, and also Mithras, an Iranian god, as well as the Greek gods and their own Roman gods. The Romans seized the gods of the peoples they had conquered and established their festivals in Rome. Christianity draws heavily on Jewish culture, since Jesus was Jewish, but also draws inspiration from the Roman Empire. A good example given by Wikipedia is how the Romans included Greek, Anatolian, and Eastern Mediterranean gods in their religion without adopting certain sectarian practices. The Egyptian goddess Isis, mother of the god Horus. This image closely resembles iconic early Christian art of Mary and Jesus, who, along with Astarte and other Near Eastern goddesses, influenced the ascension of the Virgin Mary. The “sistrum,” a tinkling rattle that was shaken during ceremonies honoring the goddess, is the origin of the bell that rings in several places during a Roman Catholic mass. Another image adopted by Christianity was the Celtic high cross, a pre-Christian symbol, which was later mixed and combined to form and symbolize the Christian crucifix. The Celtic High Cross is perhaps the best example of the connection between pagan Celtic and Christian traditions and the Armenian churches. The mixing of Christian traditions with these pagan folk traditions gave rise to religions such as Roman Catholicism, Irish Catholicism, and the Greek and Russian religions..