Polytheism

Polytheism is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or deities. The word comes from the Greek words poly+theoi, literally "many gods." Ancient religion was polytheistic, holding to a pantheon of traditional deities. The belief in many gods does not necessarily preclude the belief in an all-powerful all-knowing supreme being, as the ruler and parent (often king and father) of gods and mankind.

In polytheistic belief, gods are perceived as complex personages of greater or lesser status, with individual skills, needs, desires and histories. These gods are not always omnipotent or omniscient; rather, they are often portrayed as similar to humans (anthropomorphic) in their personality traits, but with additional individual powers, abilities, knowledge or perceptions.

Philosphical perceptions of gods are different to the way they are portrayed in mythology. In philosophical traditions gods are seen as eternal, perfect at one with each other and collectively omnipotent. Neoplatonism taught the existence of 'The One', the transcendent ineffable God and unifying principle of polytheism. "The One is God": Plotinus 204-270 BCE

For polytheists, gods have multiple epithets, each with its own significance in specific roles, and have dominion or authority over specified areas of life and the cosmos. Greek gods are used to illustrate this: a god may be the god of music, such as Apollo, the god(des) of a type of food Ceres or the god(des) of love Aphrodite. A god can also have a particular role in the god-hierarchy, such as Zeus, the father god, or a god can be a god, designated to a certain geographical phenomenon, acosmological phenomenon, a region, town, stream or family, but also to abstract ideas such as liberation Dionysos. In mythology, gods can have complex social arrangements. For example, they have friends and foes, spouses and (illegitimate) lovers, they experience human emotions such as jealousy, whimsy or uncontrolled rage and they may practise infidelity or be punished. They can be born or they can die, only to be reborn. However such representations of gods are seen by the philosophers as hiding deeper spiritual truths.

Mythology and the gods

In the Classical era, Sallustius (4th century CE) categorised mythology into five types:

Theological
Physical
Psychological
Material
Mixed

The theological are those myths which use no bodily form but contemplate the very essence of the Gods: e.g., Kronos swallowing his children. Since divinity is intellectual, and all intellect returns into itself, this myth expresses in allegory the essence of divinity.

Myths may be regarded physically when they express the activities of gods in the world: e.g., people before now have regarded Kronos as time, and calling the divisions of time his sons say that the sons are swallowed by the father.

The psychological way is to regard (myths as allegories of) the activities of the soul itself and or the soul's acts of thought.

The material is to regard material objects to actually be gods, for example: to call the earth Gaia, ocean Okeanos, or heat Typhon.

The mixed kind of myth may be seen in many instances: for example they say that in a banquet of the Gods, Eris threw down a golden apple; the goddesses contended for it, and were sent by Zeus to Paris to be judged. Paris saw Aphrodite to be beautiful and gave her the apple. Here the banquet signifies the hypercosmic powers of the gods; that is why they are all together. The golden apple is the world, which being formed out of opposites, is naturally said to be 'thrown by Eris '(or Discord). The different gods bestow different gifts upon the world, and are thus said to 'contend for the apple'. And the soul which lives according to sense - for that is what Paris is - not seeing the other powers in the world but only beauty, declares that the apple belongs to Aphrodite.

Overview

Polytheism refers to the honouring of 'many deities', each of whom is experienced and acknowledged as an independent, individual personality, not as an aspect or archetype of something else. Polytheist belief systems have a number of deities or sacred beings. Some may have jurisdiction or governance over a large area, others may be associated with (e.g.) a particular river or town, or a particular family. Sacred beings may include spirits, wights, ancestors, 'small gods'. Often individuals within polytheistic cultures will form relationships with a small number of specific goddesses, Gods, or other beings while acknowledging their kinship to other discrete entities who are important within the culture, cosmology, and landscape.

In polytheistic cultures, deities are experienced as complex personages. Many have particular skills or abilities but are not restricted to these. A goddess is unlikely to be, for instance, simply a 'goddess of grain' or a 'goddess of weaving', although she may have particular interest in these areas, just as a human musician is also a member of a family and a community, visiting shops and participating in political debates.

The pre-Christian culture of Europe, and indeed many cultures around the world, have been, and in many cases remain, polytheistic, and polytheism is reviving in popularity in the West, often accompanied by a return to old texts and recreation of the rituals and way of life they describe. Present-day polytheistic religions include revivalist Hellenic polytheism, some forms of Wicca, and Ásatrú. Often they will attempt to reconstruct or re-establish a specific pre-Christian belief system, by studying its history and archaeology, ancient writings (which may or may not be viewed as 'sacred texts'), and the cultures which embraced it, to recreate a living spirituality that works within today's world. Examples of ancient texts include the Iliad,Odyssey, the Epic of Gilgamesh, or the Eddas - writings which make reference to deities and other non-human beings, and give insight into the worldviews of those who composed them.

Ancient polytheism

Well-known polytheistic pantheons in Pre-history include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods. Whilst historical classical attested pantheon includes the Ancient Greek religion, and Roman Religion. Post classical polytheistic religions include Norse Æsir and Vanir, the Yoruba Orisha, the Aztec gods, and many others. Today, most historical polytheistic religions are pejoratively referred to as "mythology", though the stories cultures tell about their gods should be distinguished from their cultus or religious practice. For instance deities portrayed in conflict in mythology would still be worshipped sometimes in the same temple side by side, illustrating the distinction in the devotees mind between the myth and the reality. The theoretical Proto-Indo-European religion, from which perhaps the Greek, Roman, Vedic, German, Slavic and Persian may have descended was, it is speculated, an essentially naturalist numenistic religion. Some deities from this religion, such as Dyeus and Mitra, were preserved in the daughter religions.

Few ancient religions, indeed, were not polytheistic. Those that weren't include possibly early Vedic Hinduism (which has been termed at the most henotheistic or inclusive monotheism with groundings of monistic, and polytheistic philosophy). Possibly some of the Mystery religions of the Greeks and Romans. The Abrahamic religions, dualistic Zoroastrianism and Mithraism, and the short-lived Atenism promulgated by Akhenaten in Egypt in the 1350s BC.

In many civilizations, pantheons tended to grow over time. Deities first worshipped as the patrons of cities or places came to be collected together as empires extended over larger territories. Conquests could lead to the subordination of the elder culture's pantheon to a newer one, as in the Greek Titanomachia, and possibly also the case of the Æsir and Vanir in the Norse mythos. Cultural exchange could lead to "the same" deity being renowned in two places under different names, as with the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans, and also to the introduction of elements of a "foreign" religion into a local cult, as with Egyptian Osiris worship brought to ancient Greece.

Most ancient belief systems held that gods influenced human lives. However, the Greek philosopher Epicurus held that the gods were living, incorruptable, blissful beings who did not trouble themselves with the affairs of mortals, but who could be perceived by the mind, especially during sleep. Epicurus believed that these gods were material, human-like, and that they inhabited the empty spaces between worlds.

Gods and divinity

Hard polytheists believe that gods are distinct and separate beings. Hard polytheists may believe in a unifying principle such as the One of the Platonists.

Soft polytheists regard their multiplicity of Gods as being manifestations of either common entities, or representing different aspects or facets of a single personal God, the latter also sometimes known as "inclusive monotheists", as are many modern neopagan groups.

The Greek gods provide an example. The ancient Greeks believed that their gods were independent deities who weren't aspects of a great deity and did stand on their own. Soft polytheism means that the person practicing a polytheistic religion believes that their gods are aspects of another God or Goddess. In the case of the Ancient Egyptians this comes in the form of triads or triple gods or goddesses. They believed that certain gods were aspects of a great God. Amon was an aspect of Ra and was usually known as Amon-Ra. The triple Gods Ptah-Sokar-Osiris to give an example shows that even though their Gods may have distinct personalities and traits, they are considered to be aspects of an another deity.

Hinduism

The system prevalent in Hinduism is defined by the Smarta philosophy and sect; this theory allows for the veneration of numberless deities, on the understanding that all of them are but manifestation of one impersonal divine power. That ultimate power is termed Brahman (not to be confused with Brahma) or Atman, and is believed to have no specific form, name or attribute. Because the ultimate power is impersonal, the system is monistic. Smarta theologians are influenced by the Advaita philosophy expounded by Sankara. By contrast, a Vaishnavite or Saivite considers Vishnu or Shiva respectively, as the only true God worthy of worship, and worship of other forms as subordinate or simply incorrect.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, there are higher beings commonly designed as gods, Devas. However, Buddhism does not teach the notion of praying nor worship to the Devas or any god(s).

Devas, in general, are beings who have had more positive karma in their past lives than humans. Their lifespan eventually ends. When their lives end, they will be reborn as devas or as other beings. When they accumulate negative karma, they are reborn as either human or any of the other lower beings. Humans and other beings could also be reborn as a deva in their next rebirth, if they accumulate many positive karma, however it is not recommended.

Buddhism flourished in different countries, but it may have polytheistic features there, but generally the "local" types Buddhism are mixed from part of that country's folk religion and the "proto-Buddhism". For example, in Japan, Buddhism, mixed with Shinto, which worships kamis ( or nature spirits), created a tradition which prays to the kamis. Thus, there may be elements of worship of gods in some forms of later Buddhism.

Comparison to Monotheism and Dualism

Main article: Monotheism

Monotheism, in contrast with polytheism, believes in the existence of only one of the gods.

Main article:Dualism

Dualism teaches that there are two independent divine beings or eternal principles, e.g.: sometimes the one good, and the other evil, as set forth especially in Zoroastrianism but more fully in its later offshoots in Gnostic systems, such as Manichaeism. The monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam teach a modified dualism. Dualism is a monotheistic philosophy that teaches that a personal God is separate from his creation, there are therefore two ultimate realities. In contrast Monism teaches that there is one transcendent impersonal unity and that the material world is an illusion, there is therefore only one reality .

From this perspective, certain forms of monistic and dualistic philosophies are polytheistic (e.g. dharmic religions, animism) and others are monotheistic respectively (e.g. gnosticism, Islam) and a number of Christian denominations), while others are not (e.g. orthodox Judaism, Sikkhism, Kabbalah, panentheism).

References

Blain, Jenny (2004) An Understanding of Polytheism. Quotation used here with the author's permission.

External links

godchecker.com – a very lighthearted and irreverent God database
The Association of Polytheist Traditions - APT A UK-based community of Polytheists with a website and a discussion group open to non-members, and a closed list for paid-up members.<nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki>
BritPoly discussion group The Association of Polytheist Tradition's (APT) discussion group open to non-members. All polytheists are welcome, though the emphasis and style of the group is based on that of the UK.

[1] The Pagan Federation - A predominantly polytheistic educational and campaigning organisation serving the Pagan community.