Well, per the classics, the Greek gods went to Egypt and inspired the religion there. So, it could be: which Egyptian gods are the equivalent of a Greek god?
Can we prove which came first? Not really.
When Plato wrote about Atlantis, he said Solon was told by the Egyptians that 9,000 years before him, the Greek nation had an advanced civilization that rose up and defeated the rulers of that time: the Atlanteans. But, because of a great flood, the coastal areas of Greece where the more advanced cities were got destroyed and only shepherds in the mountains who were illiterate and knew nothing of advancement survived. And they said Egypt was spared the destruction because of their geographic location.
We can trace human presence in Egypt to about 400,000 years ago. But we can trace human presence in Greece to somewhere between 1 million and 400,000 years ago.
But, back then they didn’t have the religious pantheons they came to have later. So even though one civilization is older, the religion shifted over time.
Per the Muses in Greece, when the god Typhon battled with the Olympians, they fled to Greece and hid there as animals.
So, because we have in writing that the Greek gods went to Egypt and the Egyptian priests all collaborated this in worshipping these animal-gods, my money is on it that the Greek gods came first.
Per the narratives:
"Typhoeus, issuing from earth's lowest depths, struck terror in those heavenly hearts, and they all turned their backs and fled, until they found refuge in Aegyptus and the seven-mouthed Nilus …Typhoeus Earthborn even there pursued them and the gods concealed themselves in spurious shapes; ‘And Juppiter became a ram,’ she said, ‘lord of the herd, and so today great Libyan Ammon shown with curling horns. Delius hid as a raven [i.e. the Egyptian god Horus], Semeleia as a goat [Egyptian Osiris or Arsaphes], Phoebe a cat [Egyptian Bastet], Saturnia a snow-white cow [Egyptian Hathor], Venus a fish [the Syrian goddess Ashtarte] and Cyllenius an ibis [Egyptian Thoth].’"
So:
Zeus-ram: Ammon
Apollo- Raven: Horus
Dionysus-goat: Osiris
Artemis- Cat: Bastet
Hera - cow: Hathor
Aphrodite-fish: Astarte/Atargatis
Hermes- Ibis: Thoth
This is repeated in several works:
“Apollon became a hawk [i.e. the Egyptian god Horus], Hermes an ibis [the Egyptian god Thoth], Ares became a fish, the lepidotus [Egyptian Lepidotus or Onuris], Artemis a cat [Neith or Bastet], Dionysos took the shape of a goat [Osiris or Arsaphes], Herakles a fawn, Hephaistos (Hephaestus) an ox [Ptah], and Leto a shrew mouse [Wadjet]. The rest of the gods each took on what transformations they could.”
From this we add:
Ares-fish: Lepidotus or Onuris
Herakles-fawn: (no god mentioned)
Since this one is so obviously backward from what he is, I’d say he took the job seriously. No one would ever guess this muscled guy would be a wimpy, cute little fawn…😏
Hephaestus-ox: Ptah
Leto-shrew: Wadjet
Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 28
:
"Egyptian priests and some poets say that once when many gods had assembled in Egypt, suddenly Typhon, an exceedingly fierce monster and deadly enemy of the gods, came to that place. Terrified by him, they changed their shapes into other forms: Mercurius [Hermes] became an ibis, Apollo [Apollon], the bird that is called Thracian, Diana [Artemis], a cat. For this reason they say the Egyptians do not permit these creatures to be injured, because they are called representations of gods. At this same time, they say, Pan cast himself into the river, making the lower part of his body a fish, and the rest a goat, and thus escaped from Typhon."Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 28
From this we add:
Pan-half fish/half goat: Sea-goat or Capricorn
This one is kinda hilarious. He’s already half goat, so I’m not sure why he didn’t just go all out goat. Being a half goat/half fish, yea sure that doesn’t seem suspicious at all…😙 I see those around all the time.
But it is Capricorn so, it is a sacred symbol.
"Diognetus Erythraeus says that once Venus [Aphrodite] and her son Cupid [Eros] came in Syria to the river Euphrates. There Typhon, of whom we have already spoken, suddenly appeared. Venus and her son threw themselves into the river and there changed their forms to fishes, and by so doing this escaped danger."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 30
From this we add Eros-fish: no god named.
And I’ve read that Demeter hid as a horse. And Poseidon frolicked with her.
Demeter & Poseidon: Horses
He didn’t have to be there as an animal because he could hide at the bottom of the sea anyway. But he did it to be with Demeter. And I read that this is where the herds of earthly horses come from, per the mythology.
And Hades also didn’t flee as he could be invisible and just hang out in the underworld, but he came to help and hung out in Egypt with his siblings as the black wolf and Anubis
Hades-black wolf: Anubis