Interpretatio graeca, religious syncretism, and comparative mythology - or, the game of Divine Equivalency

[Iwasamwillbe]

So I read this, this, and this, and I think of the equivalencies and shared characteristics of the many gods, goddesses, and deities throughout human history, and I say to myself:

Let's play a game. The game of Divine Equivalency*.

The rules are: you take two or more gods and equate them together.

The equivalence must be based on multiple shared characteristics between the deities to be "true".

A basic true equivalence (one between two gods) is worth 1 point, with the amount of points earned increasing the more gods are being correctly equated at once.

A false equivalence, one based on no shared characteristics, only minor shared characteristics, or a single shared characteristic to the ignorance of all others, takes away a point, with the amount of points taken away increasing the more gods are being incorrectly equated at once.

A chain of supposed equivalences should be read from left to right.

Those who make the most legitimate equivalences win. Those who make the least legitimate equivalences, or make the most illegitimate or "false" equivalences, lose.

An example equivalence:

Yehowah (the Jewish conception of God) = Jehovah (the Christian conception of God)

An example equivalence chain:

Yahweh (the national god of ancient Israel and Judah) = Yehowah (the Jewish conception of God) = Jehovah (the Christian conception of God)

*"Equivalent" should not be taken to mean "the exact same god". For instance, when the myths or even cult practices of a particular Roman deity were influenced by the Greek or Etruscan tradition, the deity may have had an independent origin and a tradition that is culturally distinctive.

 

[Pozzingmyfilthyneghole]

You're a serial killer, aren't you? It's OK, you can tell us.

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

Dyēus Phter =Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ = Zeu Pater = Jupiter = Tinia = Sabazios

 

[Teri-Teri]

Zeus (Greek God of Thunder) = Jupiter (Roman God of Thunder) = Indra (Indian God of Thunder) = Thor (Norse God of Thunder) = Perun ( Slavic God of Thunder) = Raijin (Japanese God of Thunder)

Am I doing it right?

 

[MiyaEL]

I know of something more powerful then any God more powerful then the god of the bible and of any religion and the only thing more powerful then it would have to be the all creator that has no name and is truly the beginning of all . so can you guess what this #2 most powerful one is?

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

Zeus (Greek God of Thunder) = Jupiter (Roman God of Thunder) = Indra (Indian God of Thunder) = Thor (Norse God of Thunder) = Perun ( Slavic God of Thunder) = Raijin (Japanese God of Thunder)

You get three for true equivalences, and then have three taken away for false ones (Thor and Raijin were never considered kings of the gods, and shouldn't be equated with Perun).

Am I doing it right?

Yes. You are playing the game the way its supposed to be played.

 

[TheCapybara]

I assume we're going to pass on Greek and Roman god comparisons, since the Romans just ripped off the Greeks? (Besides a few outliers with significant differences, like Athena and Minerva)

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

I assume we're going to pass on Greek and Roman god comparisons, since the Romans just ripped off the Greeks? (Besides a few outliers with significant differences, like Athena and Minerva)

lol no

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

Tiamat (Mesopotamian primordial mother goddess of primeval chaos) = Chaos (ancient Greco-Roman cosmogony) = Nu (ancient Egyptian mythology)