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Ancient Greek theology was polytheistic, based on the assumption that there were many gods and goddesses, as well as a range of lesser supernatural beings of various types. There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus , the king of the gods, having a level of control over all the others, although he was not almighty.
Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. [1] [2] [3] According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese Folk Religions, is really so, or whether the apparent different objects of worship are to be thought of as manifestations of a singular divinity. [1]
Hellenism (Greek: Ἑλληνισμός) [a] in a religious context refers to the modern pluralistic religion practiced in Greece and around the world by several communities derived from the beliefs, mythology, and rituals from antiquity through and up to today.
Ancient Near Eastern religion knew an elaborate system of benevolent, neutral and malevolent demons (which more resembled Greek daemons than the Christian concept of evil demons), and much of medicine consisted of exorcisms, e.g. of Lamashtu, the demoness responsible for complications at childbirth and infant deaths.
Some late Roman and Greek poetry and mythography identifies him as a sun-god, equivalent to Roman Sol and Greek Helios. [2] Ares (Ἄρης, Árēs) God of courage, war, bloodshed, and violence. The son of Zeus and Hera, he was depicted as a beardless youth, either nude with a helmet and spear or sword, or as an armed warrior.
The Greek pantheon is a metaphor for a pragmatic view of life that values art, beauty, and the power of the individual, and that is somewhat skeptical about human nature. [ 2 ] In the modern vernacular , most historical polytheistic religions are referred to as " mythology ".
[16] [17] "Soft" polytheism is the belief that different gods may be psychological archetypes, personifications of natural forces, or fundamentally one deity in different cultural contexts (e.g., Odin, Zeus, and Indra all being the same god as interpreted by Germanic, Greek, and Indic peoples, respectively)—known as omnitheism. [18]
Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others; [49] [50] [note 2] and its concept of creator deity is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed.