Interpretatio graeca

"Interpretatio graeca" is a Latin term for the common tendency of ancient Greek writers to equate foreign divinities to members of their own pantheon. Herodotus, for example, refers to the ancient Egyptian gods Amon, Osiris and Ptah as "Zeus", "Dionysus" and "Hephaestus", respectively.

Roman version

The equivalent Roman practice was called "interpretatio romana". The first use of this phrase was by Tacitus in his "Germania" ( [http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Germania#43 ch. 43] ), in which he reports on a sacred grove of the Naharvali, saying "Praesidet sacerdos muliebri ornatu, sed deos interpretatione Romana Castorem Pollucemque memorant" ('a priest presides in woman's dress, but in the interpretation of the Romans, they worship the gods Castor and Pollux'). Elsewhere ( [http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Germania#9 ch. 9] ) he says that the chief gods of the ancient Germans were Hercules and Mercury—referring to Thor and Odin respectively.Fact|date=July 2008

Rome assumes the Greek gods

Roman culture owed much to the ancient Greeks. The Etruscans had already incorporated some Greek gods and used a version of the Greek alphabet. The Greek colonies founded in southern Italy from the eighth century BCE contributed much to the young city, and later, when the Romans conquered the Hellenistic world, they adopted a new wave of Greek beliefs and practices. (See "Romans and Greeks" for details.) Where the two mythologies shared an origin, the interpretations came naturally; Zeus and Jupiter, for example, were both derived from Dyeus of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. Elsewhere the fit was less precise, and the Roman god might add attributes borrowed from the Greek, but remain distinct: Mars retained his Latin association with agriculture and fertility alongside his warlike attributes and, quite unlike the fearsome Greek Ares, was a benevolent and widely-revered cult figure.

Some "Di Indigetes" (native Roman gods), such as Janus and Terminus, had no Greek equivalent and so retained an independent tradition; a few, like Bona Dea, did the same despite sharing attributes with a Greek figure (in this case Artemis). Others, like the twelve assistants of Ceres, became mere adjuncts to imported Greek deities (here Demeter).

Rome and the gods of the empire

The Romans interpreted Celtic and Near Eastern gods as Roman deities with equal facility. Cernunnos and Lugh were identified with Mercury, Nodens to Mars as healer and protector, Sulis to Minerva, and the Anatolian storm god with his double-headed axe became Jupiter Dolichenus, a favorite cult figure among soldiers.

Even the Jewish invocation of Yahweh Sabaoth may have been identified with Sabazius.

Where the Romans had no equivalent figure, they did not hesitate to add foreign deities to their pantheon. Sometimes they would change the name: when Cybele was adopted from the Phrygians (the Greeks had previously interpreted her as Rhea), she was called "Magna Mater deorum Idaea". Sometimes they would not: Apollo was called "Apollo" in both Greek and Latin.

Greco-Roman equivalences

Roman mythology was strongly influenced by Greek mythology and Etruscan mythology. The following is a list of most credited cult equivalences between the respective systems. Note however that many mythographers dismiss both the equivalences made in ancient times and those proposed by modern scholars.Fact|date=November 2007

Interpretatio germanica

"Interpretatio germanica" is the equivalent practice among the Germanic peoples seen, for example, in the names of the days of the week. Much like the "interpretatio romana" with regard to the "interpretatio graeca", this was no independent practice, but rather an inversion of the Roman interpretation of Germanic gods following Germanic christianization.Fact|date=September 2008

ee also

*Greek mythology
*Roman mythology
*Syncretism

External links

* [http://www.maryjones.us/jce/interpretatio.html Essay on "interpretatio romana"]