--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> Next time you'll be telling the list that the Erminones/Herminones
worshipped Hermes (invoking Tacitus [Germ. 9], of course: "deorum
maxime Mercurium colunt"). Tacitus pairs (West) Germanic and Roman
gods/heroes according to his _interpretatio Romana_. With minor
modifications this pairing survives in the names of the days of the
week. Tacitus' "Germanic Mercury" refers not to unknown *Merxurjaz
but to Woden. His "Mars" is Tiu, and Hercules (later Jove) was
identified with Thunar by the Romans. No Latin/Greek names of gods
are found among the Germani despite the above identifications, so
there is no reason why Hercules should have been the only one known
under his "original" name.
>
> Piotr
>
Shouldn't that be *merGurjaz? As to the (H)erminones, I *could* in
fact come up with an alternative, if our excellent playing referee
hadn't forbidden any further exploration along that line. Suffice it
to say that Dio Cassius and Plutarch call Arminius, the leader of the
Germani, "Armenius". It wouldn't be the last time that the Germans
had a general of that particular nation.
Torsten