If a 6 side shape is an hexagon why is the pagan star called a pentagram?

Answer 1

Because the star is a 5 side shape and Penta means 5 as hexa means 6

there are more names for example:

mono-1

bi-2

tri-3

tetra-4

hepta-7

octa-8

ennea-9

deca-10, etc. they are called number prefix.

The above needs a bit of clarification as follows:

A Pagan Star, or Star of David, traditonally has 5 points, but sometimes has 6 points and is then called Solomon's Seal.

In any case, both hexagon and pentagram are inacurate descriptions of these "stars" since plane geometrical figures are named by the number of sides or faces, not by the number of "points".

Therefore, the 5-pointed star is actually a decahedron or decagon, having 10 faces, and the 6-pointed star is a dodecahedron or dodecagon, having 12 faces.