• PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    2 days ago

    Explanation: The Interpretatio Romana, in which the Romans perceived all gods as essentially the same as their’s (ie when the Gauls worship the god of war, it’s the same god as when the Romans worship the god of war, regardless of name, rites, or depiction) often led to the Romans using a curious form of their opponents’ religious rhetoric against them. After all, it is not your gods who have abandoned you, it is our gods!

    The Greeks actually did this too (as did many other polytheistic faiths, though less consistently and formally), and in fact the term originates from the Latin Interpretatio Graeca, in which the Greeks do the same thing to other barbarians. Notice us, Greece-senpai!

    • Darkard@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      2 days ago

      Ah neat, I get to use this again:

      Romans when you ask them if they have heard of your god: