Home›Polytheistic (Historical)›Conception of the Divine›Polytheistic: many godsBrowse ByPolytheistic: many godsThis page groups religions by how they conceive of the divine, since traditions disagree sharply about whether there is one god, many, or none in the usual sense. Wikipedia notes that Hinduism's many deities, "Deva (masculine) and Devi (feminine)," are often understood as aspects of "the same Ultimate Reality called Brahman," a very different picture from the strict monotheism of the Abrahamic faiths. Browsing by conception of the divine lets a visitor compare how differently two religions answer the same basic question.FactsLearn MorePolytheistic: many godsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe many-deity religions of the ancient world, known from their own texts, temples, inscriptions and art, and no longer carried on as public state religion in their original form. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedAncient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Etruria, the Hittites, Mesopotamia and Canaan, together with the Aztec, Maya and Inca religions of the Americas - whose descendant peoples are living communities today. 2StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA standard historical grouping, with one thing worth saying about the word: polytheism was coined by monotheists for other people's religion, and none of the religions here thought of itself as a member of a class. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedReligions 1Learn MoreHistorical Polytheisms This group holds the historical polytheistic religions, the many-god religions of the ancient world that were once the established faiths of great civilisations and are no longer practised in their original form. They are known through their texts, monuments and the records of their neighbours. The browser will find the religions of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia and other vanished worlds. The atlas describes each as a historical religion, reconstructed from the sources, and distinguishes it from any modern revival, which is classed separately.Polytheistic: many godsFilter Results18 entriesPlace of OriginAllAnatolia and Asia Minor (1)Ancient Rome (1)Assyria (1)Etruria (1)Greece (1)Rome (1)The Andes (1)Valley of Mexico (1)ScripturesAllAmduat (1)Book of Gates (1)Book of the Dead (1)Books of Chilam Balam (1)Coffin Texts (1)Popol Vuh (1)Pyramid Texts (1)Where PractisedAllAnatolia and Asia Minor (2)Egypt (1)Etruria (1)Greece (1)Italy (1)Mesoamerica (2)Mesopotamia (1)The Andes (1)Yucatan (1)Origin EraAll-3500 (1)-3300 (1)-2300 (1)-2000 (2)-1750 (1)-1400 (2)-800 (2)-750 (1)-700 (1)-500 (1)-400 (1)-100 (1)32 (1)80 (1)1325 (1)Decline EraAll-1200 (2)-100 (2)350 (1)380 (3)1521 (1)1533 (1)Status TodayAllHistorical; not practised continuously (17)Living tradition, practised today (1)Closed Practice StatusAllClosed ceremonial knowledge, described but not reproduced (2)Discontinued as a state religion (9)Living, and practised in varied local forms (1)Giving Obligation EnforceabilityAllCodified Obligation With Consequences (1)Kind of TraditionAllPolytheistic (Historical) (9)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 18Ancient Egyptian ReligionPolytheistic: many godsAncient Greek ReligionPolytheistic: many godsAztec ReligionPolytheistic: many godsCanaanite ReligionPolytheistic: many godsEtruscan ReligionPolytheistic: many godsHittite ReligionPolytheistic: many godsHurrian ReligionPolytheistic: many godsInca ReligionPolytheistic: many godsMaya ReligionPolytheistic: many godsMesopotamian ReligionPolytheistic: many godsMithraismPolytheistic: many godsNabataean ReligionPolytheistic: many godsNazca ReligionPolytheistic: many godsPalmyrene ReligionPolytheistic: many godsPhrygian ReligionPolytheistic: many godsRoman ReligionPolytheistic: many godsThe Eleusinian MysteriesPolytheistic: many godsZapotec ReligionPolytheistic: many godsSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. PolytheismView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.