To what extent did ancient civilizations realize cultural appropriation was responsible for similarities in mythical gods and heroes vs the assumption that there was one pantheon recognized by different names in various places?

by RusticBohemian
  • Ra/Apollo/Sol
  • Horus/Mars/Ares
  • Minerva/Athena/
  • Zeus/Jupiter/Varja
  • Hercules/Krishna
  • Aphrodite/Hathor/Venus

Did the greeks assume these similar or identical gods and heroes were the result of cultural appropriation, or was the assumption that the one-true set of gods just traveled the world and so all cultures had seen them? Any other scenarios the ancients discussed regarding these obvious similarities?

Bentresh

For the Bronze Age and early Iron Age, you may be interested in my response to To what degree were Pantheons shared in the Late Bronze Age Near East?