this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2025
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"MY lands, OUR gods" (infosec.pub)
submitted 4 months ago by PugJesus@piefed.social to c/roughromanmemes@piefed.social
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[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

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!

[–] trollercoaster@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The Romans even had an official ritual for stealing an enemy's gods: Evocatio deorum, where they would ask the gods of their enemy to abandon them in return for getting a temple built and a cult established in Rome.

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 3 points 4 months ago

God bribery hours 💪

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"Keep the Gods; lose the names."

[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Funny enough, due to the way Roman religion worked, the names were often kept - at least in part! Romans loved having additional epithets for gods, in their specific roles or subaspects. Such as Mars Silvanus for Mars (the god of war) as god of the woods; or Mars Ultor for Mars as god of (righteous) vengeance.

As such, not only were the Romans content to let the Gallic locals honor Mars as Mars Lenus (the Celtic god of healing and war), but the Romans themselves would get in on it, making special offerings to Mars Lenus when they were in the province. After all, maybe Mars likes the sound of that name in those colder northern woods!

In addition, one of the standard formulaic phrases used during sacrifices in Roman religion was to list off the name(s) and epithets of the god being sacrificed to, and then capping it off with "Quocumque nomine" - "[or] by whichever name [you are called]"

Gotta cover all your bases!