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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 (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 (ch. 9) he says that the chief gods of the ancient Germans were Hercules and Mercury—referring to Thor and Odin respectively.

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.

Greek	Greek (Anglicized)	Roman	Roman (Anglicized)	Etruscan
Άδωνις	Adonis			Atunis
Αμφιτρίτη	Amphitrite	Salacia
Aνάγκη	Ananke	Necessitas
Άνεμοι	Anemoi	Venti	Winds
Aφροδίτη	Aphrodite	Venus		Turan
Απόλλων (Apollōn) / Φοίβος (Phoibos)	Apollo / Phoebus	Apollo / Phoebus		Aplu
Άρης	Ares	Mars		Maris
Άρτεμις	Artemis	Diana		Artume
Ασκληπιός (Asklēpios)	Asclepius	Aesculapius / Veiovis
Αθηνά	Athena / Athene	Minerva		Menrva
Άτροπος	Atropos	Morta		Leinth
Βορέας	Boreas	Aquilo / Aquilon		Andas
Χάριτες (Kharites)	Charites	Gratiae	Graces
Χάρων (Kharōn)	Charon	Charon		Charun
Χλωρίς (Khlōris)	Chloris	Flora
Κλωθώ (Klōthō)	Clotho	Nona
Κρόνος (Kronos)	Cronus	Saturnus	Saturn
Κυβέλη (Kubelē)	Cybele	Magna Mater
Δημήτηρ	Demeter	Ceres
Διόνυσος (Diōnusos) / Βάκχος (Bakkhos)	Dionysus / Bacchus	Liber / Bacchus		Fufluns
Ενυώ	Enyo	Bellona
Ηώς	Eos	Aurora / Matuta		Thesan
Ερινύες	Erinyes	Dirae / Furiae	Furies
Έρις	Eris	Discordia
Έρως	Eros	Cupido / Amor	Cupid
Εύρος (Euros)	Eurus	Vulturnus
Γαία	Gaia / Gaea	Terra / Tellus
	Galanthis / Galinthias	Galinthis
Άδης (Hadēs) / Πλούτων (Plouton)	Hades / Pluto	Dis Pater / Pluto / Orcus		Aita
Ήβη	Hebe	Iuventas	Juventas
Εκάτη (Hekatē)	Hecate	Trivia
Ήλιος	Helios	Sol		Aplu
Ήφαιστος (Hḗphaistos)	Hephaestus	Vulcanus	Vulcan	Sethlans
Ήρα	Hera	Iuno	Juno	Uni
Ηρακλής (Hēraklē̂s)	Heracles	Hercules		Hercle
Ερμής	Hermes	Mercurius	Mercury	Turms
Έσπερος (Hesperos)	Hesperus	Vesper
Εστία	Hestia	Vesta
Υγεία	Hygeia	Salus
Ύπνος	Hypnos	Somnus
Ειρήνη (Eirēnē)	Irene	Pax
		Ianus	Janus	Ani
Λάχεσις (Lakhesis)	Lachesis	Decima
Λητώ	Leto	Latona
Μοίραι (Moirai)	Moirae / Moerae	Parcae / Fatae	Fates
Μούσαι (Mousai)	Musae	Camenae	Muses
Νίκη	Nike	Victoria
Νότος (Notos)	Notus	Auster
Νυξ (Nuks)	Nyx	Nox
Οδυσσεύς	Odysseus	Ulixes / Ulysses		Uthuze
Παλαίμων (Palaimōn)	Palaemon	Portunes
Πάν	Pan	Faunus
			Silvanus	Selvans
Περσεφόνη	Persephone	Proserpina
Φήμη	Pheme	Fama
Φωσφόρος (Phōsphoros)	Phosphorus	Vesper
Ποσειδών	Poseidon	Neptunus	Neptune	Nethuns
Πρίαπος (Priapos)	Priapus	Mutinus Mutunus
Ρέα	Rhea	Magna Mater / Ops (See Cybele, above)
Σάτυροι (Saturoi) / Πάνες	Satyrs / Panes (See Pan, above)	Fauni	Fauns
Σελήνη	Selene	Luna
Σεμέλη	Semele	Stimula		Semla
θάνατος	Thanatos	Mors		Leinth, Charun
Θέμις	Themis	Iustitia	Justitia
Τύχη (Tukhe)	Tyche	Fortuna		Nortia
Ουρανός (Ouranos)	Uranus	Caelus
		Vertumnus		Voltumna
Ζέφυρος (Zephuros)	Zephyrus / Zephyr	Favonius
Ζεύς	Zeus	Iuppiter / Iovis	Jupiter / Jove	Tinia

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.