While the Roman Empire was pagan in nature, worshipping a wide pantheon of gods, the Eastern Roman Empire had adopted Christianity in its early days, much before its western counterpart did the same. The Western Roman Empire spoke Latin while the Byzantine Empire was Greek both culturally and linguistically. The Western Empire spoke Latin while the Eastern Empire spoke Greek. The Western Empire was Roman Catholic and practiced traditional Roman culture. The Eastern Empire was dominated by the Eastern Orthodox religion and had a more diverse culture influenced by different people.