# Is there a more "typical" sounding name for Greek/Roman/Norse etc mythology? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492 "2009-03-06T05:47:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/21 "2009-03-06T16:46:22Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > The _Iliad_ is fiction. It did not happen. Even within the fictional world of the _Iliad_, Troy was not Greek. :smack: I missed the part where you differentiated between fiction and RL. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/22 "2009-03-06T17:01:40Z")
> [@Bluffcityguy](#): > > To partially answer the original poster, modern neopagans whose religion is a revival of Norse/Germanic paganism refer to their religion as “Asatru”, or by several other names. See: > > [Heathenry (new religious movement) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_Neopaganism) I’ve also heard Aesirism (or Æsirism), but that could just be a creation of modern gamers. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/23 "2009-03-06T17:03:43Z")
> [@](#): > > by **Khampelf** > The philosophy of Aleister Crowley leaned heavily on Egyptian Mythos, so you could use his name for his followers “Thelemites”. There are a number of [Kemetic reconstructionist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemetic_reconstructionism) groups. One of them, the “House of Netjer” is led by [Tamara L. Siuda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_Siuda), who claims to be the modern incarnation of Horus. ---
**Author:** ![Bluffcityguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bluffcityguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluffcityguy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/24 "2009-03-06T17:05:34Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > I’ve also heard Aesirism (or Æsirism), but that could just be a creation of modern gamers. Not picking on you, but I think that the Wikipedia article I cited mentioned that. Then again, I’m sure you wanted to show off your ability to enter the “Æ” ligature in the text entry box. 😉 Cheers, bcg ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/25 "2009-03-06T17:33:17Z")
> [@Khampelf](#): > > Beat me to it, but I can add: The philosophy of Aleister Crowley leaned heavily on Egyptian Mythos, so you could use his name for his followers “Thelemites”. > > If you wanted. I’ve seen this – but also people who claim to be devotees of Egyptian mythology with no reference to Crowley who refer to themselves as Kemites. (From Khem, Egyptian/Coptic for Egypt the country) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/26 "2009-03-06T17:36:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > :smack: I missed the part where you differentiated between fiction and RL. I think **Helen’s Eidolon** ’s point was that, even within the mindset that would have accepted Zeus, Apollo, and the rest as the deities together in charge of the world, the Iliad was a fictionalized retelling of a major incident within the (to them historical) Trojan War, with the various Olympian deities depicted as taking sides in the conflict. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/27 "2009-03-06T17:48:44Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > By that I mean we have Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto (sometimes, but more rarely, called Shintoism), etc. Is there a more “typical sounding” term for these ancient mythologies (Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Arabian, Chinese etc) that follows similar conventions? (To clarify, I mean is there a name for Greek Mythology like “Olympianism” or even something covered by the patron god(dess) like Artemisianity or Athenianism). Hellenism? ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/28 "2009-03-06T21:07:08Z")
> [@](#): > > I have never seen any evidence at all that the enmity between gods that appears in fiction had an impact on ritual practice. Me neither (although I’m VERY far from an expert - I’ve just read a lot about this). There’s also the fact that, even if you were a votary of one particular god and you considered him to be in off-and-on conflict with another god, that didn’t mean that you didn’t \*believe \*in the other god. You can be a worshipper of Apollo, and you can believe that he sometimes clashes with, say, Athena - but that doesn’t mean you don’t believe in Athena, and it doesn’t put you personally into any kind of conflict with her or her worshippers. It’s not like the Crusades, where the Christians are basically setting out to prove, by smashing heads, that everyone else’s God doesn’t exist. So, basically, just because you might be more attached to one god, that doesn’t mean that the rest of the pantheon doesn’t exist for you. You can be a worshipper of Dionysus and still turn to, say, Demeter if you’re having a hard time getting pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/29 "2009-03-06T23:27:16Z")
Hmmm…weren’t they once referred to, collectively, as Classical Religion? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/30 "2009-03-07T00:05:14Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > I’ve also heard Aesirism (or Æsirism), but that could just be a creation of modern gamers. Oh sure, just ignore the Vannir deities. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/31 "2009-03-07T01:03:07Z")
If modern times are any indication of the past, then I think, _historically_, religions were probably referred to locally in hundreds of different words and traditions by clan, temple, and language (denominations, so to speak.) Generally, I would think that any other religion outside of that local religious jargon and geography would probably be described in foreign terms or as a descriptor of Nationality, like the _Hellenes_ mentioned above. Often, Religion was probably inseperable as the built-in culture of that nationality. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/32 "2009-03-07T13:50:54Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Hmmm..weren’t they once referred to, collectively, as Classical Religion? By who? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/33 "2009-03-07T15:54:22Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > By who? The _Golden Bough_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/34 "2009-03-07T18:32:59Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > No Greek city-states ever, as far as I’m aware, went to war based on religious disagreements. There were wars over control of certain sacred sites (which all considered sacred). The closest I can think of is that the Greeks and Persians tried to burn each others’ temples as revenge for original temple burnings, but, again, that’s revenge and not a religious difference, and the Persians aren’t Greek. The closest I can think of was the Sacred War, but like you said, that’s more a war over control of sacred sites (Phocis cultivated some land that was suppsed to be sacred to the shrine at Delphi, the Amphictyonic council fined them. To pay the fine, Phocis sacked the shrine. War broke out.) ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/35 "2009-03-07T21:02:07Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > I don’t really think there were many Ancient Greek who worshipped the entire pantheon, especially since the gods were often depicted in conflict with each other. This is the exact opposite of the way most books I’ve seen explained things. They prayed to and gave offerings to each god based upon what kind of help they wanted. Certain kinds of people would then end up spending more time in worship of gods related to their jobs and so forth, but if something came up in another field they’d pay their respects to others as well. Your concept of how things work seems more like it comes from Dungeons & Dragons-style fantasy than any real world religion I’ve ever heard of. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/36 "2009-03-07T21:07:10Z")
Note that Theseus’ son (name escapes me at the moment) got in trouble for worshipping Artems too much and Aphrodite not enough. With a cautionary example like that, I think that most Hellenites would pay tribute to each deity at least occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/37 "2009-03-07T21:46:13Z")
Hippolytos. But that had political undercurrents: by focusing his devotion on Artemis, he was seen as identifying with his mother, Hippolyta, who was an Amazon and had been seen by some Athenians as an enemy of Athens and possible traitor. You don’t get much religious intolerance without any monotheism around. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/38 "2009-03-08T02:20:38Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > The _Golden Bough_ ? Well, Frazer doesn’t use that term specifically or exclusively. And it’s certainly still modern, not ancient in any way. I mostly agree with **eclectic wench** about Hippolytos. Certainly the political overtones are present in Euripides’ play, but the ‘original’ formation of the myth (as much as such a thing can even be said to exist) is also about the denial of the power of love/lust, which Aphrodite represents. It’s not about religious intolerance. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492/39 "2009-03-08T02:24:29Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Hippolytos. But that had political undercurrents: by focusing his devotion on Artemis, he was seen as identifying with his mother, Hippolyta, who was an Amazon and had been seen by some Athenians as an enemy of Athens and possible traitor. The way I heard it was simple jealousy on Aprhodite’s part [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-more-typical-sounding-name-for-greek-roman-norse-etc-mythology/488492.md?page=1)