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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]
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 ".
Polytheism (Though Egypt and Greece were Henotheistic societies) City-state–sponsored religions ; Sacred prostitution; Divination; Magic (invocations, conjurings and talismans) Typically, ancient Near Eastern religions were centered on theocracies, with a dominating regional cult of the god of a city-state.
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.
It was once held that Dionysius was a later addition to the Greek pantheon, but the discovery of Linear B tablets confirm his status as a deity from an early period. Bacchus was another name for him in Greek, and came into common usage among the Romans. [7] His sacred animals include dolphins, serpents, tigers, and donkeys.
As a result of this thinking, each god or goddess in polytheistic Greek religion is attributed to an aspect of the human world. For example, Poseidon is the god of the sea, Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty, Ares is the god of war, and so on and so forth for many other gods.
Greek polytheism Antiochus IV Epiphanes [ note 1 ] ( c. 215 BC–November/December 164 BC) [ 1 ] was king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. Notable events during Antiochus' reign include his near-conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt , his persecution of the Jews of Judea and Samaria , and the rebellion of the Jewish Maccabees .