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    Greek Names?

    Is it disrespectful to call the gods by their Greek names? I've been getting involved with Djehuty, and I'm worried about accidentally slighting him by continuing to call him Thoth.

    #2
    Re: Greek Names?

    I think it depends on the deity you deal with. Some of them probably don't mind and some of them... You know..
    "Fair means that everybody gets what they need. And the only way to get that is to make it happen yourself."



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      #3
      Re: Greek Names?

      Thank you. Since I first posted this, I did some meditation (I use it to talk to the gods and my inner self) and found that Thoth doesn't mind. It's safe to assume that deities like Sekhmet don't like being called by their Greek names.

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        #4
        Re: Greek Names?

        I'd think that exact name doesn't matter so much as your true devotion and respect towards them--but it might depend. Looks like your meditation helped.

        On a side note, I never knew that "Thoth" was the Greek name--while studying the Greek astronomer Ptolemy, the calendar he was using was an Egyptian one and one of the months was named (after) Thoth. I figured since it was an Egyptian calendar--he was in Alexandria--that it was an Egyptian name. Guess I learned something today!

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          #5
          Re: Greek Names?

          Asking the Deity what they're okay with is always a good idea!

          I've also found that depending on what name you use for a deity, it can actually change the "flavor", so to speak, of the energy you connect to. Like in the case of Isis, if I want to tap into her aspect as a guide, I would call her by Isis Navigium, if I want to get a purely Egyptian form I might call her Iset or Auset, but if I want to contact a more Demeter-esque form of her than I would call her by Isis.

          So I guess depending on the deity's preference, and on what aspect of the deity you're trying to reach, you can call them by any of the names that are attributed to them.

          Hope this helps!

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            #6
            Re: Greek Names?

            Personally I think it all depends upon which era your calling to. Consider i'd never call the 2nd dynasty Bastet as Artemis as she had not yet been conflated and their imagery was still quite different, ie one solar one lunar, one a war goddess, etc. Nor would I call the 22nd dynasty Pahket as Artemis even though she was conflated with her as confirmed by the Spiros De Artemis being the location of her temple complex.

            Though in truth I honestly think it says more about the practitioner than about the god / goddess by which name they utilize. Seems to me anyway, if you keep referring to the Hellenic or Romanized name then maybe you really do not know who the Kemetic (Egyptian) persona of the god / goddess is.
            I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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              #7

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                #8
                Re: Greek Names?

                Originally posted by DavidMcCann View Post
                I'm a bit late here, but then I've just joined.
                Welcome!




                Back on topic...
                This.

                So much this.

                In regard to the OP, Language changes naturally over time, even excluding events like cultural borrowing. Not only do the distinct meanings of words change over time to gain new meanings and loose old ones, but the sounds of the words themselves and how they are pronouned change over time as well (and they apparently change in a fairly predictable manner that is rather stable from one language with the same phonemes to the next).


                All this might matter if someone is a hard polytheist reconstructionist, but if you aren't, it probably won't. Likely the name (and the corresponding imagery and personality and symbolism, all of which are cultural...along with language) will change how you see the deity and therefor how you interact with him/her, but it doesn't make the experience itself any less authentic.
                Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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