Polytheism

Polytheism is belief in, or worship of, multiple gods or divinities. 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, but it sometimes includes, 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 conceived as complex personages of greater or lesser status, with individual skills, needs, desires and stories. The Gods are not always omnipotent or omniscient; rather, they are often portrayed as similar to humans in their personality traits, but with additional individual powers, abilities, knowledge or perceptions.

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

In the Polytheistic pantheon, the 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. Thus a God may be the God of music (Apollo) or herding, the God of a food (Ceres) or love (Aphrodite), have a particular role in the God-hierarchy (Zeus), or be the "patron God" of a geographical or cosmological phenomenon, or a region, town, stream or family, or liberation (Dionysos). In mythology, Gods have complex social arrangements. For example, they have friends, allies, spouses, lovers and enemies, they experience human emotions such as jealousy, whimsy or uncontrolled rage, may practise infidelity or be punished, and can be born or die, only to be reborn. However such representions of the 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 the 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 allegorys of) the activities of the soul itself and or the soul's acts of thought.

The material and last is (to regard) material objects actually to be Gods, and so call: e.g., to call the earth Gaia, ocean Posidon, heat Typhon, or again, water Kronos, the fruits of the earth Adonis, and wine Dionysus.

The mixed kind of myth may be seen in many instances: for example they say that in a banquet of the Gods Discord 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 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 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 history include the Sumerian gods, the Egyptian gods, the Ancient Greek religion, 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 polytheistic 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 Akhenaton 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.

Gods and divinity

Hard polytheists believe that the 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 and possibly Smarta Hinduism.

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. Pluralistic 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.

The Indic Traditions

Some forms of Mahayana Buddhism and Smarta Hinduism are regarded by some as polytheistic; however, this designation is the subject of much dispute in both Hinduism and in Buddhism. (Buddhism spread into lands which practiced polytheistic religions beforehand; India, where Hinduism has largely been practiced, was overtaken by staunchly monotheistic Muslims several centuries ago (see Islamic empires in India), and this, in addition to earlier competition by Jainism and Buddhism, may have influenced Hindu beliefs.)

Hinduism

The system prevalent in Hinduism is defined by the Smartha philosophy; this theory allows for the veneration of numberless deities, but on the understanding that all of them are but manifestation of the ONE divine power. That ultimate power is termed Brahman or Atman, and is believed to have no specific form, name or attribute. This system common in Hinduism is often perceived as polytheistic; it is also a form of inclusive monotheism, where one God is perceived as having many forms. In contrast, a hard polytheist thinks that two gods are different, i.e., Zeus and Poseidon, for example. An inclusive monotheist or soft polytheist such as a Smarta, on the other hand, thinks that Vishnu and Shiva are different aspects of a common God. For example, the Smarta theologians, influenced by Advaita philosophy, have cited many references to support this view. In one example, they interpret verses in both the Shri Rudram, the most sacred mantra in Shaivism, and the Vishnu sahasranama, one of the most sacred prayers in Vaishnavism, to show this belief. By contrast, a Vaishnavite considers Vishnu as the only true God worthy of worship, and worship of other forms as subordinate or simply incorrect.

A Smartha, or follower of the Advaita philosophy, would have no problem worshiping every imaginable deity with equal veneration; he or she views these different deities as being manifestations of the same God. Other (somewhat peripheral) Hindu sects, such as Vaishnavism and Shaivism conform more closely to a Western understanding of what a monotheistic faith is. For instance, a Vaishnavite considers Vishnu as being the one and only true God, an attitude that resonates with that of the Abrahamic religions. However, the Smartha philosophy defines a large part of Hindu philosophy, and imparts to Indic spiritual and religious traditions their liberalism.

Though Hinduism as it is now practiced is essentially soft polytheistic/ pantheistic/ monistic /inclusive monotheistic, it is considered likely that this system evolved from the merging of two ancient polytheistic traditions, the Proto-Indo-European religion, and Dravidian religion.

Buddhism

See also God in Buddhism and Nontheism in Buddhism

In Buddhism, there are beings who are seen as gods, Devas. But Devas in Buddhism are not considered as gods. Devas are not immortal, not morally perfect, not omniscient, rarely interacting with the human world, not creators or shapers of the world, are seen as beings with distinctive individuality just like humans, and will die. Devas, in generals, are beings who have had more positive karma in their past lives than humans. When they accumulate negative karma, they are reborn as either human or any of the other lower beings. Humans and other beings also have the opportunity to be reborn as a deva in their next rebirth, if they store many positive karma. Thus the buddhism should be understood more as not polytheistic.

However, different countries in which Buddhism had flourished may have polytheistic features, but generally they are mixed from part of that country's folk religion. For example, in Japan, Buddhist religious practice was mixed by some of the people in folk religion with Shinto, which worships kami, or nature spirits. Thus, there may be elements of worship or gods in some forms of Buddhism.

A purely polytheistic Hindu philosophy

According to the philosophy of (one of the six Hindu philosophies), all the devas (the celestial spirits aka Gods) and ' (Goddesses) are the sovereign rulers of the forces of nature and there is no one Supreme ' (lit., the Supreme Lord) as their Lord. To do a desired action, the humans must please each or several of these devas by worshipping them with proper rituals. This kind of view could be regarded as purely polytheistic. Although the later ' retracted this view and accepted ', this view is still held today by a substantial populace of Hindus.

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.
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.

^* The Pagan Federation - A predominantly polytheistic educational and campaigning organisation serving the Pagan community.