Concerning the Individuality of the Gods

It is apparent from material evidence that different gods have the same iconographic elements and attributes, such as weapons, attires, gestures and postures, because they might share various divine characteristics and roles. However, I personally discern it as naive to assume that a presence of similarity in function and attributes should imply that it is a natural process to assimilate gods into a single archetypal god. Characteristics and roles might be shared and merged, but it is my opinion that the ancient worshippers were well aware of a definite distinction between different gods. Just by examining religious iconography one can identify a sense of differentiation. Ancient worshippers were not ignorant in regards to which gods they sacrificed and prayed to. Elements and attributes might have been interchangeable but the underlying reason for this was that these divine elements and attributes were relevant to all deities.