View source for Interpretatio graeca

{{Short description|Methodology for cultural comparison}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Pompeii - Temple of Isis - Io and Isis - MAN.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A Roman wall painting showing the Egyptian goddess [[Isis]] ''(seated right)'' welcoming the Greek heroine [[Io (mythology)|Io]] to Egypt]]

{{langnf|la|'''Interpretatio graeca'''|Greek translation}}, or "interpretation by means of Greek [models]", refers to the tendency of the ancient Greeks to identify foreign [[deity|deities]] with their own gods.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Tomasz|first1=Giaro|last2=Graf|first2=Fritz|title=''Interpretatio''|encyclopedia=Brill's New Pauly|volume=5 (Equ-Has)|editor-last1=Cancik|editor-first1=Hubert|editor-last2=Schneider|editor-first2=Helmuth|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|year=2004|isbn=978-90-04-12268-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Gordon|first=Richard L.|title=syncretism|encyclopedia=Oxford Classical Dictionary|editor-last1=Hornblower|editor-first1=Simon|editor-last2=Spawforth|editor-first2=Antony|edition=revised 3rd|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=0-19-860641-9}}</ref> It is a [[discourse]]<ref>Characterized as "discourse" by Mark S. Smith, ''God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World'' (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008, 2010), p. 246.</ref> used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cultures; a [[Comparative religion|comparative]] methodology using [[Religion in ancient Greece|ancient Greek religious concepts and practices]], [[List of Greek deities|deities]], and [[Greek mythology|myths]], [[Comparative mythology|equivalencies, and shared characteristics]].

The phrase may describe Greek efforts to explain others' beliefs and myths, as when [[Herodotus]] describes [[ancient Egyptian religion|Egyptian religion]] in terms of perceived Greek analogues, or when [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] and [[Plutarch]] document [[Cult (religious practice)|Roman cults]], [[Roman temple|temples]], and practices under the names of equivalent Greek deities. {{Lang|la|Interpretatio graeca}} may also describe non-Greeks' interpretation of their own belief systems by comparison or assimilation with Greek models, as when [[ancient Romans|Romans]] adapt Greek myths and [[iconography]] under the names of their own gods.

'''{{lang|la|Interpretatio romana}}''' is comparative discourse in reference to [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religion]] and [[Roman mythology|myth]], as in the formation of a distinctive [[Gallo-Roman religion]]. Both the Romans and the Gauls reinterpreted Gallic religious traditions in relation to Roman models, particularly [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Imperial cult]].

[[Jan Assmann]] considers the [[polytheism|polytheistic]] approach to [[internationalization|internationalizing]] gods as a form of "intercultural translation":

<blockquote>The great achievement of polytheism is the articulation of a common semantic universe.&nbsp;... The meaning of a deity is his or her specific character as it unfolded in myths, hymns, rites, and so on. This character makes a deity comparable to other deities with similar traits. The similarity of gods makes their names mutually translatable. ... The practice of translating the names of the gods created a concept of similarity and produced the idea or conviction that the gods are international.<ref>''Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism'' (Harvard University Press, 1997), pp. 44–54 (quotation p. 45), as cited by Smith, ''God in Translation,'' p. 39.</ref></blockquote>

[[Pliny the Elder]] expressed the "translatability" of deities as "different names to different peoples" ''(nomina alia aliis gentibus).''<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], ''Natural History'' 2.5.15.</ref> This capacity made possible the [[religious syncretism]] of the [[Hellenistic religion|Hellenistic era]] and the pre-Christian [[Roman Empire]].

==Examples==
[[File:Hall of the Augustals.jpg|thumb|A Roman fresco from [[Herculaneum]] depicting [[Hercules]] (from Etruscan ''[[Hercle]]'' and ultimately Greek ''[[Heracles]]'') and [[Achelous]] (patron deity of the [[Achelous River]] in Greece) from [[Greek mythology|Greco]]-[[Roman mythology]], 1st century AD]]
[[Herodotus]] was one of the earliest authors to engage in this form of interpretation. In his observations regarding the Egyptians, he establishes Greco-Egyptian equivalents that endured into the [[Hellenistic era]], including [[Amun|Amon]]/[[Zeus]], [[Osiris]]/[[Dionysus]], and [[Ptah]]/[[Hephaestus]]. In his observations regarding the [[Scythians]], he equates their queen of the gods, [[Tabiti]], to [[Hestia]], [[Papaios]] and [[Scythian religion#Pantheon|Api]] to [[Zeus]] and [[Gaia]] respectively, and [[Argimpasa]] to [[Aphrodite Urania]], while also claiming that the Scythians worshipped equivalents to [[Herakles]] and [[Ares]], but which he does not name.

Some pairs of Greek and Roman gods, such as Zeus and [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], are thought to derive from a common [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Indo-European]] archetype ([[Dyeus]] as the supreme sky god), and thus exhibit shared functions by nature. Others required more expansive theological and poetic efforts: though both [[Ares]] and [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] are war gods, Ares was a relatively minor figure in Greek religious practice and deprecated by the poets, while Mars was a father of the Roman people and a central figure of archaic Roman religion.

Some deities dating to Rome's oldest religious stratum, such as [[Janus (mythology)|Janus]] and [[Terminus (mythology)|Terminus]], had no Greek equivalent. Other Greek divine figures, most notably [[Apollo]], were adopted directly into Roman culture, but underwent a distinctly Roman development, as when [[Augustus]] made Apollo one of his [[tutelary deity|patron deities]]. In the early period, [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan culture]] played an intermediary role in transmitting Greek myth and religion to the Romans, as evidenced in the linguistic transformation of Greek ''[[Heracles]]'' to Etruscan ''[[Hercle|Her[e]cle]]'' to Roman ''[[Hercules]]''.

==''Interpretatio romana''==
The phrase ''interpretatio romana'' was first used by the [[Roman Empire|Imperial-era]] [[Roman historiography|historian]] [[Tacitus]] in the ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]''.<ref>Tacitus, ''Germania'' [http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Germania#43 43.]</ref> Tacitus reports that in a [[sacred grove]] of the [[Nahanarvali]]<!--also spelled Naharvali-->, "a priest adorned as a woman presides, but they commemorate gods who in Roman terms ''(interpretatione romana)'' are [[Castor and Pollux]]" when identifying the divine [[Alcis (gods)|Alcis]].<ref>"Praesidet sacerdos muliebri ornatu, sed deos interpretatione romana Castorem Pollucemque memorant. Ea vis numini, nomen Alcis."</ref> Elsewhere,<ref>Tacitus, ''Germania'' [http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Germania#9 9.]</ref> he identifies the principal god of the Germans as [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], perhaps referring to [[Odin|Wotan]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4rezhDpcWwkC&pg=PA251 |title=Robert Leo Odom, ''Sunday in Roman Paganism'' (TEACH 2003 ISBN 978-1-57258242-2), pp. 251-252 |date= 2003-01-01|access-date=2013-01-24|isbn=9781572582422 |last1=Odom |first1=Robert Leo |publisher=TEACH Services }}</ref>

[[File:Sulis Minerva head Bath.jpg|thumb|Gilt bronze head from the cult statue of Sulis Minerva from the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Temple at Bath]]]]

Some information about the deities of the ancient [[Gauls]] (the [[continental Celts]]), who left no written literature other than inscriptions, is preserved by Greco-Roman sources under the names of Greek and Latin equivalents. A large number of [[Gaulish]] [[theonym]]s or cult titles are preserved, for instance, [[Mars (mythology)#Provincial epithets|in association with Mars]]. As with some Greek and Roman divine counterparts, the perceived similarities between a Gallic and a Roman or Greek deity may reflect a common Indo-European origin.<ref>John T. Koch, "Interpretatio romana," in ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia'' (ABC-Clio, 2006), p. 974.</ref> [[Lugus]] was identified with [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], [[Nodens]] with Mars as healer and protector, and [[Sulis]] with [[Minerva]]. In some cases, however, a Gallic deity is given an ''interpretatio romana'' by means of more than one god, varying among literary texts or inscriptions. Since the religions of the [[Greco-Roman world]] were not dogmatic, and [[polytheism]] lent itself to multiplicity, the concept of "deity" was often expansive, permitting multiple and even contradictory functions within a single divinity, and overlapping powers and functions among the diverse figures of each pantheon. These tendencies extended to cross-cultural identifications.<ref>Koch, "Interpretatio romana," in ''Celtic Culture'', pp. 974–975; Assmann, ''Moses the Egyptian'', p. 45.</ref>

In the Eastern empire, the [[Teshub|Anatolian storm god]] with his [[labrys|double-headed axe]] became [[Jupiter Dolichenus]], a favorite cult figure among soldiers.

===Application to the Jewish religion===
Roman scholars such as [[Varro]]{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} interpreted the monotheistic god of the Jews into Roman terms as [[Caelus]] or [[Jupiter Optimus Maximus]]. Some Greco-Roman authors seem to have understood the Jewish invocation of [[Yahweh]] [[Sabaoth]] as [[Sabazius]].<ref>[http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost01/Valerius/val_fac1.html#03 (Valerius Maximus), epitome of ''Nine Books of Memorable Deeds and Sayings'', i. 3, 2], see ''EXEMPLUM 3''. [Par.]</ref>
In a similar vein, [[Plutarch]] gave an example of a symposium question "Who is the god of the Jews?", by which he meant: "What is his Greek name?" as we can deduce from the first speaker at the symposium, who maintained that the Jews worshiped [[Dionysus]], and that the day of [[Shabbat|Sabbath]] was a festival of Sabazius. [[Lacuna (manuscripts)|Lacunae]] prevent modern scholars from knowing the other speakers' thoughts.<ref>Plutarch. ''Symposiacs'', iv, 6.</ref> [[Tacitus]], on the topic of the [[Sabbath]], claims that "others say that it is an observance in honour of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]], either from the primitive elements of their faith having been transmitted from the [[Mount Ida|Idæi]], who are said to have shared the flight of that God, and to have founded the race",<ref>Tacitus, [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Histories_(Tacitus)/Book_5#4 ''Histories'' 5.4]</ref> implying Saturn was the god of the Jews.

From the Roman point of view, it was natural to apply the above principle to the [[Jew]]ish God. However, the Jews, unlike other peoples living under Roman rule, rejected any such attempt out of hand, regarding such an identification as the worst of [[sacrilege]]. This complete divergence of views was one of the factors contributing to the frequent friction between the Jews and the Roman Empire; for example, the Emperor [[Hadrian]]'s decision to rebuild [[Jerusalem]] under the name of [[Aelia Capitolina]], a city dedicated to Jupiter, precipitated the bloodbath of the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]].

Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]], the 4th century pagan emperor, remarked that "these Jews are in part god-fearing, seeing that they revere a god who is truly most powerful and most good and governs this world of sense, and, as I well know, is worshipped by us also under other names".<ref>Julian, [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letters_of_Julian/Letter_20 Letter XX to Theodorus], translated by [[Wilmer Cave Wright]] (1913)</ref>

In late-antique mysticism, the sun god [[Helios]] is sometimes equated to the Judeo-Christian God.<ref>Eleni Pachoumi, [http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/viewFile/15325/6623 ''The Religious and Philosophical Assimilation of Helios in the Greek Papyri'']</ref>

==Identifications==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2023}}
The following table is a list of [[Greek deities]] and [[Roman deities|Roman]], [[Etruscan deities|Etruscan]], [[Ancient Egyptian deities|Egyptian]], [[Semitic deities|Phoenician]], [[Ancient Iranian religion|Zoroastrian]], and [[Celtic deities|Celtic]] ones which the Greeks identified with their own, either explicitly in surviving works, or as supported by the analyses of modern scholars. These are not necessarily gods who share similar traits, and rarely do they share a common origin (for that, see [[Proto-Indo-European mythology|comparative Indo-European pantheons]]).

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!scope="col" | Greek
!scope="col" | Roman
!scope="col" | Etruscan
!scope="col" | Egyptian
!scope="col" | Phoenician
!scope="col" | Zoroastrian
!scope="col" | Celtic
|-
!scope="row" | [[Achilles]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Achle|Achle]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Adonis]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Atunis|Atunis]]
|[[Osiris]]{{sfn|Reed|p=411}}
|[[Tammuz (deity)|Tammuz]] (Adōn)
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Amphitrite]]
|[[Salacia]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Anemoi]]
|Venti
|
|
|
|[[Vayu-Vata]]
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Aphrodite]]
|[[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]{{sfn|Grimal|loc=s.v. Aphrodite, p. 46}}
|[[Turan (mythology)|Turan]]
|[[Hathor]] / [[Isis]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Witt|first=R. E.|title=Isis in the Ancient World|year=1997|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|page=126|isbn=9780801856426}}</ref>
|[[Astarte]]{{sfn|Budin|p=95}}
|[[Anahita]]
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Apollo]]
|
|[[Apulu]]
|[[Horus]]{{sfn|Shachar|p=16}}
|[[Resheph]]
|[[Mithra]]
|[[Belenus]] / [[Maponos]] / [[Borvo]] / [[Grannus]]
|-
!scope="row" | [[Ares]]
|[[Mars (mythology)|Mars]]{{sfn|Gordon|loc=para. 7}}
|[[Laran]]
|[[Anhur]] / [[Montu]]
|
|[[Verethragna]]
|[[Teutates]] / [[Nodens]] / Neton
|-
!scope="row" | [[Artemis]]
|[[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]{{sfn|Graf|2003a|loc=para. 1}}
|[[Artume]]
|[[Bastet]]{{sfn|von Lieven|p=64}}
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Asclepius]]
|[[Aesculapius]] / [[Vejove]]
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Veiove|Veiove]]
|[[Imhotep]]
|[[Eshmun]]
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Athena]]
|[[Minerva]]{{sfn|Hard|p=181}}
|[[Menrva]]
|[[Neith]]{{sfn|von Lieven|p=67}} / [[Isis]]
|[[Anat]]{{sfn|Graf|2003b|loc=para. 1}}
|[[Anahita]]
|[[Sulis]] / [[Belisama]] / [[Senuna]] / [[Coventina]] / [[Icovellauna]] / [[Sequana]]
|-
!scope="row" | [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Aril|Aril]]
|[[Shu (Egyptian god)|Shu]]<ref name="A-Z">{{cite book|last=Remler|first=Pat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLUjtPDyu-IC|title=''Egyptian Mythology, A to Z''|publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]]|year=2010|isbn=9781438131801|page=24|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Boreas]]
|[[Boreas#Aquilo (Septentrio)|Aquilo]]{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Atropos]]
|[[Morta (deity)|Morta]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Castor and Pollux]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Castur|Castur and Pultuce]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Charon (mythology)|Charon]]
|
|[[Charun]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Clotho]]
|[[Nona (mythology)|Nona]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Cronus]]
|[[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]{{sfn|Baudy|loc=para. 1}}
|[[Satre (Etruscan god)|Satre]]
|[[Geb]]{{sfn|Bull|p=97}}
|[[El (deity)|El]]{{sfn|Baudy|loc=para. 1}}
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Cybele]]
|[[Magna Mater]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Demeter]]
|[[Ceres (Roman mythology)|Ceres]]{{sfn|Graf|2003c|loc=para. 1}}
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Zerene|Zerene]]
|[[Isis]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Graf|first1=Fritz|last2=Johnston|first2=Sarah Iles|title=Ritual Texts for the Afterlife: Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|page=76|isbn=978-0-415-41550-7}}</ref>
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Dionysus]]
|[[Liber]] / [[Dionysus|Bacchus]]
|[[Fufluns]]{{sfn|Schlesier|loc=para. 15}}
|[[Osiris]]{{sfn|von Lieven|p=67}}
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Eileithyia]]
|[[Lucina (mythology)|Lucina]]<!--According to the Wikipedia article on Lucina (as of 21 May 2020), Lucina was also a "title or epithet given to the goddess Juno, and sometimes to Diana, in their roles as goddesses of childbirth who safeguarded the lives of women in labor."-->
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Ilithiia|Ilithiia]]
|[[Tawaret]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Eirene (goddess)|Eirene]]
|[[Pax (mythology)|Pax]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Enyo]]
|[[Bellona (goddess)|Bellona]]{{sfn|Tripp|loc=s.v. Enyo, p. 223}}
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Enie|Enie]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Eos]]
|[[Aurora (mythology)|Aurora]] / [[Mater Matuta|Matuta]]
|[[Thesan]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Erinyes]]
|Furies{{sfn|Grimal|loc=s.v. Erinyes, p. 151}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]]
|[[Discordia]]
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Eris|Eris]]
|[[Anat]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Eros (mythology)|Eros]]
|[[Cupid]]
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Erus|Erus]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Euterpe]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Euturpa|Euturpa]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Eurus]]
|[[Eurus#Vulturnus|Vulturnus]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]
|[[Terra (mythology)|Terra]]
|[[Cel (mythology)|Cel]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hades]]
|[[Dis Pater]] / [[Orcus (mythology)|Orcus]]
|[[Aita]]
|[[Anubis]] / [[Osiris]]
|[[Mot (god)|Mot]]
|[[Angra Mainyu]]
|See ''[[Gaulish Dis Pater]]''
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]
|[[Juventas]]
|
|[[Renpet]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hecate]]
|[[Diana (mythology)#As a triple goddess|Trivia]]
|
|[[Heqet]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Helios]]
|[[Sol Invictus]] / [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol Indiges]]
|[[Usil]]
|[[Ra]]{{sfn|von Lieven|p=62}}
|[[Elagabalus (deity)|Elagabalus]]
|[[Mithra]]
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hephaestus]]
|[[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]]
|[[Sethlans]]
|[[Ptah]]
|[[Kothar-wa-Khasis]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Kothar – Semitic Deity |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kothar |date=2021 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=5 May 2021}}</ref>
|[[Atar]]
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hera]]
|[[Juno (mythology)|Juno]]
|[[Uni (mythology)|Uni]]
|[[Mut]] / [[Hathor]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Heracles]]
|[[Hercules]]
|[[Hercle]]
|[[Heryshaf]] / [[Shu (Egyptian god)|Shu]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herodotus |title=Herodotus. 1: Books I - II |date=2004 |publisher=Harvard Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-674-99130-9 |edition=Repr |series=The Loeb classical library |location=Cambridge, Mass |pages=327 n}}</ref>
|[[Melqart]]<ref name="Kemosh-Cornell">{{cite journal |last1=Cornell |first1=Collin |title=What happened to Kemosh? |journal=Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft |date=2016 |volume=182 |issue=2 |page=284-299 |url=https://works.hcommons.org/records/9gpsn-r7887/files/zaw2-2016_014_cornell.pdf?download=0&preview=1 |access-date=8 March 2025}}</ref>
|
|[[Ogmios]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=MacKillop |first=James |date=2004 |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology |publisher=Oxford University Press  |title=Hercules |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198609674.001.0001/acref-9780198609674-e-2720 }}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hermes]]
|[[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]
|[[Turms]]
|[[Anubis]] / [[Thoth]]
|[[Taautus]]
|
|[[Lugus]] (?) / [[Artaius]] (?) / [[Moccus]] / [[Visucius]] / [[Cissonius]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=MacKillop |first=James |date=2004 |title=Mercury |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198609674.001.0001/acref-9780198609674-e-3167 }}
</ref>
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hesperus]]
|[[Hesperus|Vesper]]
|
|
|[[Shalim]]
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hestia]]
|[[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]]{{sfn|Phillips|loc=para. 1}}
|
|[[Anuket]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Hygeia]]
|[[Salus]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Iris (mythology)|Iris]]
|Arcus / Iris
|
|[[Nut (goddess)|Nut]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Lachesis (mythology)|Lachesis]]
|[[Decima (mythology)|Decima]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Leto]]
|[[Latona]]
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Letun|Letun]]
|[[Wadjet]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Maia]]
|
|
|
|
|
|[[Rosmerta]]
|-
!scope="row" | [[Moirai]]
|[[Fates]] or [[Parcae]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Muses]]
|[[Camenae]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]]
|[[Victoria (mythology)|Victoria]]
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Meanpe|Meanpe]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Notus]]
|[[Notus#Auster|Auster]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Odysseus]]
|[[Odysseus|Ulysses]] (Ulixes)
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Uthste|Uthste]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Melicertes|Palaemon]]
|[[Portunus (mythology)|Portunus]]
|
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|-
!scope="row" | [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]]
|[[Faunus]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Graf|first1=Fritz|title=Faunus|encyclopedia=Brill's New Pauly|volume=5 (Equ-Has)|editor-last1=Cancik|editor-first1=Hubert|editor-last2=Schneider|editor-first2=Helmuth|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|year=2004|isbn=978-90-04-12268-0}}</ref>
|
|[[Min (god)|Min]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Sarischouli|first=Panagiota|title=Decoding the Osirian Myth: A Transcultural Reading of Plutarch's Narrative|date=2024|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jXshEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA115|publisher=De Gruyter|page=115|isbn=9783111435138}}</ref>
|
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|-
!scope="row" | [[Persephone]]
|[[Proserpina]]
|[[Persipnei]]
|
|
|
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|-
!scope="row" | [[Phaon]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Phaun|Phaun]]
|
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|-
!scope="row" | [[Pheme]]
| [[Pheme|Fama]]
|
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|-
!scope="row" | [[Phosphorus (morning star)|Phosphoros]]
|[[Lucifer]]
|
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|[[Attar (god)|Attar]]
|
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|-
!scope="row" | [[Poseidon]]
|[[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]]{{sfn|Grimal|loc=s.v. Neptune, p. 307}}
|[[Nethuns]]
|[[Sobek]]
|[[Yam (god)|Yam]]
|[[Apam Napat]]
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Priapus]]
|[[Mutunus Tutunus]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Prometheus]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Prumathe|Prumathe]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]
|[[Ops]] / [[Magna Mater deorum Idaea|Magna Mater]]
|
|[[Nut (goddess)|Nut]]
|[[Asherah]]
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Selene]]
|[[Luna (goddess)|Luna]]
|[[Losna (mythology)|Losna]] / [[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Tiur|Tiur]]
|[[Isis]]{{sfn|Burton|p=66 n. 2}}
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Silenus]]
|[[Silvanus (mythology)|Silvanus]]
|[[Selvans]]
|
|
|
|[[Sucellus]]
|-
!scope="row" | [[Thallo]]
|
|[[List of Etruscan mythological figures#Thalna|Thalna]]
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Thanatos]]
|[[Mors (mythology)|Mors]]
|[[Leinth]] / [[Charun]]
|[[Anubis]]
|[[Mot (god)|Mot]]
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Tyche]]
|[[Fortuna (mythology)|Fortuna]]
|[[Nortia]]
|
|[[Gad (deity)|Gad]]
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Typhon]]
|
|
|[[Set (deity)|Set]] / [[Apophis]]
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]
|[[Caelus]]
|
|[[Nut (goddess)|Nut]]
|[[El (deity)|El]]
|[[Asman]]
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Zephyrus]]
|[[Zephyrus#Favonius|Favonius]]
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!scope="row" | [[Zeus]]
|[[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]] (Jove)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Graf|first1=Fritz|last2=Ley|first2=Anne|title=Iuppiter|encyclopedia=Brill's New Pauly|volume=6 (Has-Jus)|editor-last1=Cancik|editor-first1=Hubert|editor-last2=Schneider|editor-first2=Helmuth|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|year=2005|isbn=978-90-04-12269-7}}</ref>
|[[Tinia]]
|[[Amun]]{{sfn|von Lieven|p=62}}
|[[Hadad]]{{sfn|Köckert|loc=para. 4}} ([[Baal]])<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baal-ancient-deity |title=Baal (ancient deity) |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |date=29 March 2024 |edition=online}}</ref>
|[[Ahura Mazda]]
|[[Taranis]]
|}

==In art==
Examples of deities depicted in syncretic compositions by means of ''interpretatio graeca'' or ''romana'':
<gallery>
File:Museo Barracco - Giove Ammone 1010637.JPG|Jupiter Ammon (terracotta of Hellenistic style, 1st century AD)
File:Roman - Deity or Genius of the Eastern Provinces - Walters 541330.jpg|Syncretized figure from the Eastern provinces, perhaps a [[Genius (mythology)|Genius]] (1st century BC – 1st century AD)
File:Isis Musei Capitolini MC744.jpg|Isis holding [[sistrum]] and [[oinochoe]] (Roman marble, reign of [[Hadrian]])
File:Isis Sarapis Harpocrates Dionysos Louvre Ma3128.jpg|Isis, [[Serapis]], the child [[Harpocrates]] and Dionysos (relief from [[Africa province|Roman Africa]], late 2nd century AD)
File:ZeusSerapisOhrmazdWithWorshipperBactria3rdCenturyCE.jpg|Worshipper before Zeus–Serapis–[[Ohrmazd]] (Bactria, 3rd century AD)
File:Relief depicting Isis, from the facade of the main temple of the sanctuary of Isis, Archaeological Museum, Dion (7076647679).jpg|[[Votive relief to Isis-Demeter, Dion|Votive relief to Isis-Demeter]] from [[Dion, Pieria|Dion]], Hellenistic period.
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Aion (deity)]]
* [[Mystery religions]]
* [[Honji suijaku]], in Japan
* ''[[Interpretatio germanica]]''
* ''[[Interpretatio Christiana]]''
* [[Celtic deities]]
* [[Proto-Indo-European religion]], a reconstructed religion that relates Greek deities to other Indo-European deities
* [[Shinbutsu-shūgō]], a Japanese amalgamation of Buddhist and Shinto deities
* [[Syncretism]]
* [[Three teachings]], Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism as harmonious aggregate in Chinese philosophy.
* [[Unknown God|Unknown god]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Baudy}} | reference = Baudy, Gerhard, "Kronos", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 7'', K – Lyc, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2005. {{ISBN|9004122702}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Budin}} | reference = Budin, Stephanie L., "A Reconsideration of the Aphrodite-Ashtart Syncretism", in ''Numen'', Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 95–145, 2004. {{JSTOR|3270523}}. {{doi|10.1163/156852704323056643}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Bull}} | reference = Bull, Christian H., ''The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom'', Leiden and Boston, Brill, 2018. {{ISBN|9789004370845}}. {{doi|10.1163/9789004370845}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Burton}} | reference = Burton, Anne, ''Diodorus Siculus, Book I: A Commentary'', Leiden, Brill, 1972. {{ISBN|9789004035140}}. {{doi|10.1163/9789004296312}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Gordon}} | reference = Gordon, Richard L., "Mars: I. Cult and myth", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 8'', Lyd – Mine, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2006. {{ISBN|9004122710}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Graf|2003a}} | reference = Graf, Fritz (2003a), "Artemis: I. Religion", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 2'', Ark – Cas, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2003. {{ISBN|9004122656}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Graf|2003b}} | reference = Graf, Fritz (2003b), "Athena", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 2'', Ark – Cas, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2003. {{ISBN|9004122656}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Graf|2003c}} | reference = Graf, Fritz (2003c), "Ceres", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 3'', Cat – Cyp, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2003. {{ISBN|9004122664}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Grimal}} | reference = [[Pierre Grimal|Grimal, Pierre]], ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Malden, Oxford, and Carlton, Blackwell Publishing, 1986. {{ISBN|0631201025}}. [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofclas0000grim/page/n3/mode/2up Internet Archive]. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Hard}} | reference = Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', London and New York, Routledge, 2004. {{ISBN|020344633X}}. {{doi|10.4324/9780203446331}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Köckert}} | reference = Köckert, Matthias, "Hadad", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 5'', Equ – Has, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2004. {{ISBN|9004122680}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|von Lieven}} | reference = von Lieven, Alexandra, "Translating Gods, Interpreting Gods: On the Mechanisms behind the ''Interpretatio Graeca'' of Egyptian Gods", in ''Greco-Egyptian Interactions: Literature, Translation, and Culture, 500 BC-AD 300'', edited by Ian Rutherford, Oxford University Press, 2016. {{ISBN|9780191630118}}. {{doi|10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656127.001.0001}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Phillips}} | reference = Phillips, C. Robert, "Vesta", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 15'', Tuc – Zyt, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2009. {{ISBN|9789004142206}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Reed}} | reference = Reed, Joseph D., "The Death of Osiris in ''Aeneid'' 12.458", in ''The American Journal of Philology'', Vol. 119, No. 3, pp. 399–418, 1998. {{JSTOR|1561678}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Schlesier}} | reference = Schlesier, Renate, "Dionysus: I. Religion", in ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 4'', Cyr – Epy, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2004. {{ISBN|9004122672}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Shachar}} | reference = Shachar, Ilan, "Greek colonization and the eponymous apollo", in ''Mediterranean Historical Review'', Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 1–26, 2000. {{doi|10.1080/09518960008569776}}. }}
* {{wikicite | ref = {{sfnref|Tripp}} | reference = [[Edward Tripp|Tripp, Edward]], ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', New York, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1970. {{ISBN|069022608X}}. [https://archive.org/details/crowellshandbook00trip/page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive]. }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Assmann |first=Jan |author-link=Jan Assmann |chapter=Translating Gods: Religion as a Factor of Cultural (Un)Translatability |editor-last=de Vries |editor-first=Hent |title=Religion: Beyond a Concept |year=2008 |publisher=Fordham University Press |isbn= 9780823227242 }}
* Bergmann, Jan (1969). "[https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/67039 Beitrag zur Interpretatio Graeca. Ägyptische Götter in griechischer Übertragung.]" In: Sven S. Hartman (ed.), ''Syncretism.'' Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, pp. 207–227.
* Kaspers, Wilhelm. "Germanische Götternamen." Zeitschrift Für Deutsches Altertum Und Deutsche Literatur 83, no. 2 (1951): 79–91. www.jstor.org/stable/20654522.
* {{cite book |last=Pakkanen |first=Petra |title=Interpreting Early Hellenistic Religion: A Study Based on the Mystery Cult of Demeter and the Cult of Isis |year=1996 |publisher=Foundation of the Finnish Institute at Athens |isbn=978-951-95295-4-7 }}
* Pfeiffer, Stefan (2015). "[https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeumdok.00003699 Interpretatio Graeca. Der „übersetzte Gott" in der multikulturellen Gesellschaft des hellenistischen Ägypten.]" In: Lange, Melanie; Rösel, Martin (ed.), ''Der übersetzte Gott.'' Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, pp. 37–53.

{{Ancient Mediterranean religions}}
{{Roman religion|state=collapsed}}
{{Ancient Roman religion horizontal}}

[[Category:Deities in classical mythology]]
[[Category:Etruscan mythology]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Gallo-Roman religion]]
[[Category:Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Hellenistic religion]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Latin religious words and phrases]]
[[Category:Religion in the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Religious pluralism]]
[[Category:Religious syncretism]]
[[Category:Roman mythology]]
[[Category:Phoenician mythology]]
[[Category:Religious interpretation]]