Avoiding the Names of the Gods

In ancient times, people who were particularly pious avoided mentioning the names of the Gods. For example, Demetra and Persephone are referred to as the Mother and the Daughter. If one wanted for continue this practice, what are the appropriate "titles" that can be used to refer to each of the Twelve Olympians?

Dimitrios65 wrote:In ancient times, people who were particularly pious avoided mentioning the names of the Gods. For example, Demetra and Persephone are referred to as the Mother and the Daughter. If one wanted for continue this practice, what are the appropriate "titles" that can be used to refer to each of the Twelve Olympians?

That practice is extinct, even in Greece. An appropriate alternative is to try not to translate the name of a deity outside the Holy Language, except in a pertinent circumstance. So you would write 'Δίας' or 'Ζευς' instead of Zeus and 'Αθηνά' or 'Πάλλας' for Athena, for example. A corresponding exercise exists in the Jewish tradition too.

Should one also try and always use the Greek pronunciation of the Gods' names instead of using the English pronunciation?

Dimitrios65 wrote:Should one also try and always use the Greek pronunciation of the Gods' names instead of using the English pronunciation?

Yes, of course. Never pronounce the name Απόλλων as Apol-low but as Apol-lon, for instance.

Αγαμέμνων wrote:Never pronounce the name Απόλλων as Apol-low but as Apol-lon, for instance.

Why? The Romans did, and not all Greeks said Apollon: some said Apellon, Apeilon, or Aploun. Similarly, they had Demeter and Damater, while the modern [ðimitra] would probably baffle them.

DavidMcCann wrote:Why? The Romans did, and not all Greeks said Apollon: some said Apellon, Apeilon, or Aploun. Similarly, they had Demeter and Damater, while the modern [ðimitra] would probably baffle them.

I instructed him to use Standard Modern Greek pronunciation to remain in sync with the contemporary precedent set in Greece; Apollōn being the formalized variant. A similar question in the Jewish/Christian traditions is whether to pronounce the Tetragrammaton as Yahweh, Yehuda, &c. You can pronounce it howsoever you desire, but the academic preference in English is Yahweh.

Dimitrios65 wrote:In ancient times, people who were particularly pious avoided mentioning the names of the Gods. For example, Demetra and Persephone are referred to as the Mother and the Daughter. If one wanted for continue this practice, what are the appropriate "titles" that can be used to refer to each of the Twelve Olympians?

In some mystical and semi-mystical cults and settings, names would be avoided. In common practice, however, the use of names other than the ones with which people are today familiar usually has less to do with avoiding, for instance, the name 'Δημήτηρ', and more to do with the vast array of titles that any deity would possess, and, while some of them would be more obscure and restricted to particular cults and situations, a great many of these titles would indeed be well known and in fairly common usage.

Why? The Romans did, and not all Greeks said Apollon: some said Apellon, Apeilon, or Aploun. Similarly, they had Demeter and Damater, while the modern [ðimitra] would probably baffle them.

Dialectal forms began falling out of use to a predominant degree during the Hellenistic period and beyond in favor of more standard cosmopolitan Koine forms, which, save for some more recent phonological developments, generally would have corresponded in pronunciation with Modern Greek. Someone living in Smyrna in the 3rd century CE would probably not have had any issue at all understanding the meaning of 'Ðimítra'.

And David McCann is quite right – [a-POL-low] is a perfectly valid pronunciation. It's perfectly proper Latin.