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 Greek and Roman religions were polytheistic, holding to a pantheon of traditional deities. Polytheism is in most cases the origin of later monotheism, where one of the divinities becomes the only worshipped one.

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 portrayed in mythology as being 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.

Philosophical 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 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 may have multiple epithets, each with its own significance in specific roles, and have dominion or authority over specified areas of life and the cosmos. The Greek gods are an example of one system that assigns each god one or more clearly defined roles: Apollo is the god of music, but also medicine, Demeter the goddess of agriculture and the spring season, and Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty. A god can also have a particular role in the god-hierarchy, such as Zeus, the father of the Greek pantheon, or designated to a certain geographical phenomenon, a cosmological 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 (Zeus and Hera) and (illegitimate) lovers (Zeus and his consorts and children), they experience human emotions such as jealousy, whimsy or uncontrolled rage (The fight between Tiamat and Marduk) and they may practise infidelity or be punished. They can be born or they can die (especially in Norse mythology), only to be reborn. However, such representations of gods are seen by the philosophers as hiding deeper spiritual and psychological truths such as archetypes in mythology

Whereas monotheism is a self-description of religions subsumed under this term, there is no equivalent self-description for polytheist religions: monotheism asserts itself by opposing polytheism, while polytheism does not use the same argumentative device, as it includes a concept of divine unity despite worshiping a plethora of gods. . ^[1]

Mythology and the gods

Image representing Polytheism 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. (See also the Judgement of Paris.) 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 honoring 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, and the Eddas - writings which make reference to deities and other non-human beings, and give insight into the worldviews of those who composed them.

Historical polytheism

Well-known historical polytheistic pantheons include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods, and the classical attested pantheon which 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 worship 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. It is speculated that there was once a Proto-Indo-European religion, from which the religions of the various Indo-European peoples derive, and that this religion was an essentially naturalist numenistic religion. An example of a religious notion from this shared past is the concept of *dyēus, which is attested in several distinct religious systems.

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, incorruptible, 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.

Bronze Age to Classical Antiquity

Late Antiquity to High Middle Ages

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. 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 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. 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

See also: Hindu views on monotheism

The system prevalent in Hinduism is defined by the soft polytheistic Smartha 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 considers Vishnu as the only true God worthy of worship, and worship of other forms as subordinate or simply incorrect. Shaivite worshippers's position is usually similar to Smartism. They worship Shiva, but with understanding that all divinities are manifestations of Brahman...

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. For example, in Japan, Buddhism, mixed with Shinto, which worships kami, created a tradition which prays to the kamis. Thus, there may be elements of worship of gods in some forms of later Buddhism.

Christianity

The doctrine of Trinity in post-Nicene Christianity is explicitly monotheistic, but still denounced as polytheism in Islam, Judaism and Unitarianism. Veneration of Saints in folk Christianity, in particular the concept of patron saints "responsible" for a certain aspect of life or society, may in some cases become indistinguishable from polytheism, and indeed in many cases seamlessly continues pre-Christian traditions.^{[citation needed]}. Some Critics of Christianity have also criticized the concept of the Trinity as soft polytheism.

Islam

According to the Qur'an, polytheism (shirk) is the greatest of sins. Belief in Trinity or worshiping saints and angels is also believed by some Muslims to be a form of polytheism. It is also believed that all religions lead to the same God, which puts the question of polytheism in Islam in a new perspective.

Comparison with other belief systems

Monotheism, in contrast with polytheism, is belief in the existence of only one God. It is found in the Abrahamic religions.

Duotheism teaches that there are two independent eternal principles or realities, e.g.: such as God and Goddess in Wicca; or Good and Evil, as in Zoroastrianism.

Monism teaches that there is one ultimate reality and that the material world is an illusion, there is therefore only one reality. Philosophical traditions that are associated with polytheistic religions, such as Hellenismos and Hinduism, are usually monistic in outlook. Such philosophical traditions are Neoplatonism and Advaita.

Dualism is a monotheistic philosophy that teaches that a personal God is separate from his creation, there are therefore two ultimate realities such as Dvaita propounded by Madhvacharya in Hinduism.

References

^ Assman, Jan, Monotheism and Polytheism, in Johnston, Sarah Iles, Ancient Religions, pp. 17, The Belknap Press of Harvard University (2007), ISBN 978-0-674-02548-6

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.
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.
International Year Of Polytheism Philosophical project promoting polytheism by group monochrom

[1] Assman, Jan, Monotheism and Polytheism, in Johnston, Sarah Iles, Ancient Religions, pp. 17, The Belknap Press of Harvard University (2007), ISBN 978-0-674-02548-6

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