Hello everyone! This is Casimir with The Skald’s Circle again. Today we’ll be talking about gaps in mythological information — more specifically, issues with analogous (comparable) gods.
This topic was inspired by an article that was sent to us by one of our fans. (So, yes, you there. If you send us a thing, not only will we read it, but we will also probably tell other people to read the thing too. Oh, and we’ll write about it.) I digress though, first of all, here is the article we were sent, https://axeandplough.com/2015/05/16/woden-vs-odin-differences/.
Some of you may recall that we wrote something remotely similar in the past, that being a comparison between Slavic and Norse Myth. Today though, we’re going to pointedly discuss gods. There are a few examples that come to mind when you have analogous gods from different cultures. You’ve got Thor and Donar, Woden and Odin, Zeus and Jupiter; the list goes on. Analogous deities are awesome situations! You can learn so much about a culture by how they interpret their deities. The Greeks and Romans are the best
As the article discusses though, this becomes an issue when you have gaps in information. As I’ve admitted with sincere pain in my heart, there is next to no information on Slavic mythology. A lot of the ideas on the deities come from contemporary comparisons. Scholars and travelers from the time would compare the deities of the people they met to deities from their own cultures. That’s how we get comparisons of Odin to Mercury. However, these deities are not the same between cultures. The culture may take the god; I mean the Romans took gods all the time, how difficult can it be? However, the culture then changes the way that
So, we are missing information on what gods were like in certain cultures, and for people studying those cultures or worshipping those gods what is there to do? Well, there are a few options available. There are sources that can be used, though those are sometimes tainted with bias since they were recorded after the fact, and there are sources from other cultures. What’s left to do is compare. You can get an idea about Woden by looking and the Norse myths, and then comparing the Christian interpretations of Woden to the Norse myths. Use all of the resources you have available and you can create a mostly accurate picture. Which, until we find some secret treasure trove of knowledge hidden inside of some secret and obviously cursed sepulcher it is about the best we’ve got. Research is really what it comes down to, or if you’re the one worshiping… well, I hate to say it, but do what you feel is right and suits you best. Provided you aren’t being a racist/sexist/homophobic asshole about it no one is really ever going to mind what you do for your personal interpretation of the religion of an ancient and long dead culture. That
I got long winded again and Mynogan is going to yell at me when he edits this… (Editor’s note: I’m going to leave this the way it is worded, because I agree) In short, do your research — do what every person who is studying a culture, or is part of a religion, should be doing and read about what you believe/want to research. Without that basic research-, you’re baseless, and a building without a foundation
I hope you have enjoyed our discussion of mythology folklore, and on History with The Skald’s Circle. If you’d like to know more, or perhaps discuss it with me I’m always more than willing. Also, if you have something you would like us to research, please let us know! Also if you learned something new, give us a like, and let us know, we really appreciate being noticed… Until then, I’ll be back next week with another fascinating topic. This is Casimir, signing off, and remember, always check your sources!