elilla
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You-Know-Who
One example could be Ares/Mars. Ares wasn’t something to worship in most of old Greece; the Spartans saw him as a model virile soldier, but for everyone else he was just bloodlust and rage and death, not martial valor. But Mars was a true warrior-god, something to be worshiped, not a loathsome basal force; so that, when the Empire took Greek culture for them and syncretized Mars to Ares, all the old Ares myths became *retroactively* about the mighty, respectable warrior.
Interesting point! It reminds me of the syncretisation of Inanna and Ishtar. But is it correct? The Homeric hymn to Ares quoted at theoi.com seems to paint a different picture when it calls him “Saviour of cities” and “leader of the righteous men”. “Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife.” -- that’s really something. (The page also details his worship, and not just as a god of war.) (@sisterofiris, maybe you can shed some light on this? ETA: Thank you! Interested folks, see the Replies.)
