Different Myths different gods or same gods ?

[RockDemon]

So there many different myths all over the world. Despite differences and the distance there are many parallels and similarities between them. So I wander if you work with some entity/deity from a certain myth (for example Zeus from the Greek myth) does that mean you also work with (Odin,Marduk,Jupiter and etc)? So these are just different aspects of the same entity or entirely different entities ?

[RaineAshford]

It could be either, nobody knows for certain.

[Desecrated]

So there many different myths all over the world. Despite differences and the distance there are many parallels and similarities between them. So I wander if you work with some entity/deity from a certain myth (for example Zeus from the Greek myth) does that mean you also work with (Odin,Marduk,Jupiter and etc)? So these are just different aspects of the same entity or entirely different entities ?

In generally no.
It's such a huge subject that it is almost impossibly to write about it on an Internet-forum.
Even some gods like zeus/jupiter (that seems obvious at first) are actually a much more complex subject.
There has been many different gods named Jupiter and many minor regional gods are often combined into more complex godheads as society grows.
Odin is not the same as Zeus just because both of them can be placed in a similar position in a pantheon.
And it's also important to realize that what we today know as Odin is actually a compilation of different Odins and different variation of the same god.

There has obvious been crosscontamination of cultures, but I've also noticed the tendency from scholars to group together gods just because they are from the same region or have similar background. Not all Norse gods was worshiped by Scandinavian people. There is no archaeological evidence of Swedish people ever worshiping the gods as they are presented in the Icelandic texts.
The German Odin, is different from the Odin in Finland.
What makes the situation even worse is that Sweden today, used to consist of 15 smaller countries, all with their own religion, culture, language and beliefs. So just because they have found Thor statues in one region in Sweden doesn't mean that all regions that today are inside of Sweden worshiped that god.

A food analogy: Hot sauce is hot sauce, by Texas hot sauce is different from New York hot sauce even though they consist of mostly the same ingredients and are made in the same country.

UFO enthusiasts and other new age hippies that wants a unified spiritual teaching are exceptionally good at generalizing religion/cultures/gods and tend to turn a blind eyes to details just to prove a point.
If you want to draw parallels between Egyptian gods and Aztec gods you can absolutely do so, I think humans are incredible able in fitting pieces of information into a knowledge-puzzle that seems coherent.
Why there are similarities are sadly that the human brain is fairly limited and we tend to come up with pretty much the same solutions even if we are separated by land or time. There is only so many ways you can build a house before you accidentally ends up with a similar shape somebody has already built.

[taijitu2]

There has obvious been crosscontamination of cultures, but I've also noticed the tendency from scholars to group together gods just because they are from the same region or have similar background. Not all Norse gods was worshiped by Scandinavian people. There is no archaeological evidence of Swedish people ever worshiping the gods as they are presented in the Icelandic texts.
The German Odin, is different from the Odin in Finland.
What makes the situation even worse is that Sweden today, used to consist of 15 smaller countries, all with their own religion, culture, language and beliefs. So just because they have found Thor statues in one region in Sweden doesn't mean that all regions that today are inside of Sweden worshiped that god.

The belief people possessed in a particular region about a deity shouldn't be enough to change the deity itself.It wasn't so easy for people to get around back in the day. Doesn't it seem more likely regional variants are based upon what individual town/communities/nations experienced with said deity's as opposed to them worshiping separate spirits who they mistakenly took for Thor or Odin.

[BrokenSeeker]

I think it might be a mistake to impose our limited human concepts as mortal beings upon immortal (or effectively immortal) gods. To think that gods exist in a way that is similar to how humans exist, wrapped up in small boxes of identity probably leads to a lot of confusion. Major gods must be very difficult for humans to fully comprehend. Humans have a hard enough time understanding other humans. The gods operate on a completely different level of existence and consciousness. I think it's likely that when we interact with a god, we interact with our concept of the god. It's not that our concept changes the god, but our concept informs our perception of the god. This probably happens to a greater extent with gods than it does in our interactions with other humans, as our mind tries to come up with some explanation for something with which it has very little experience.

How many people get married and then somewhere ten years down the line say to their spouse "you're not the person I thought I married". This happens fairly often. Has the person changed into a completely different person? Probably not. The more likely explanation is that as the man got to know more and more about the woman she seemed like a different person when in reality, he had only known a small fraction of the person she was when they married.

As humans, we rarely get more than glimpses of what is beyond. Our concepts of the identities of gods must seem incredibly primitive to the gods. I think it's likely that when we interact with the gods, they know what we expect, and what we're capable of comprehending, and so they appear to us that way because otherwise we wouldn't be able to comprehend them at all.

Another illustration about how little we understand of gods and spirits. I've heard it said that two people in geographically different locations can communicate with the same entity at the same time (experiments on this have been conducted). How does that work? We know very little. The myths act as a sort of guide, but I doubt anything we know about these entities presents a complete picture.

So my unhelpful opinion is that it's difficult to know if Zeus and Jupiter are actually completely different entities, or one and the same entity that just appears different based on the assumption and expectations of the humans interacting with him.

I guess if you trust the word of a particular god and you were to have an interaction you could ask.

[Stukov]

Yes. I have some details I discussed with someone for an example somewhere buried in my post history.

[RockDemon]

Yes. I have some details I discussed with someone for an example somewhere buried in my post history.

I don't know which one it is ...but anyway doing a few hours of searching and reading I found very interesting topics and discussions of yours. And these two at least are somehow connected to my question and contribute to it. Anyone interested in this question and ready to do some reading go ahead.

Key Luciferian Doctrine
Kronus....bad guy? or just bad press?
Loki's origins and his name
Asatru prophecy
My experiences with Angels and Demons

[RockDemon]

There has obvious been crosscontamination of cultures, but I've also noticed the tendency from scholars to group together gods just because they are from the same region or have similar background. Not all Norse gods was worshiped by Scandinavian people. There is no archaeological evidence of Swedish people ever worshiping the gods as they are presented in the Icelandic texts.
The German Odin, is different from the Odin in Finland.
What makes the situation even worse is that Sweden today, used to consist of 15 smaller countries, all with their own religion, culture, language and beliefs. So just because they have found Thor statues in one region in Sweden doesn't mean that all regions that today are inside of Sweden worshiped that god.

The belief people possessed in a particular region about a deity shouldn't be enough to change the deity itself.It wasn't so easy for people to get around back in the day. Doesn't it seem more likely regional variants are based upon what individual town/communities/nations experienced with said deity's as opposed to them worshiping separate spirits who they mistakenly took for Thor or Odin.

Interesting point. But with that same logic if belief does not change anything about deity then we can assume that Jupiter is just a regional variant of Zeus and Zeus is a regional variant of the Jew Father God then the Jew Father God is Babylonian Anu or Enki and so on...

[Lumpino]

What about ask a question a god or goddess in a meditation. But take it a longer time. Like do it some mystics. For example Ramakrishna and his vision of Kali.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MLEqluvMII8/T ... poster.jpg

[Clockwork Ghost]

Heya RockDemon, have you read 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' by Joseph Campbell? If not, get your hands on a copy as it's all about the information you're after.

[RockDemon]

What about ask a question a god or goddess in a meditation. But take it a longer time. Like do it some mystics. For example Ramakrishna and his vision of Kali.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MLEqluvMII8/T ... poster.jpg

I did so a few times, assuming I was able to really talk to some of them. But in their answers I sometimes find contradicting things. Maybe it is just my lack of knowledge.

Heya RockDemon, have you read 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' by Joseph Campbell? If not, get your hands on a copy as it's all about the information you're after.

No I didn't read it. I am finishing the current read today or tomorrow, so I'll start reading 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' by Joseph Campbell. Thank you Clockwork_Ghost.

[BlackLavender]

I truly believe they're all the same gods.