Is there really any true polytheism?

[Lark]

If polytheism supposes a hierarchy of deities with a single ruling, superior, deity to which all others are subordinate is it not really a monotheism after all?

Are there any pantheons which the position of almighty within the pantheon is subject to rotation?

In polytheism, or any religion or spirituality with a pantheon, did the deities materialise simultaneously or did one create the others?

 

[Madboot]

In most polytheisms the chief god, or goddess, may be the most powerful but is usually not all powerful. Each deity has their own sphere of influence. Odin may have been the chief deity of the Norse, but when one went to sea, one prayed to Thor not to send a storm. One prayed to Freya for healthy children, and so on. So I don't agree that they were monotheistic.

 

[Kanra Jest]

What if many gods are the aspect of one god and one god is the whole of many gods? What is it called then?

 

[Mole]

Over the last 300,000 years we have created 10,000 Gods because whatever we worship, we become.

We are engaged in the great venture of becoming.

 

[Lark]

In most polytheisms the chief god, or goddess, may be the most powerful but is usually not all powerful. Each deity has their own sphere of influence. Odin may have been the chief deity of the Norse, but when one went to sea, one prayed to Thor not to send a storm. One prayed to Freya for healthy children, and so on. So I don't agree that they were monotheistic.

Yeah, they all had their sphere of influence or interest in human affairs, although I'm thinking more of their power among or between themselves when they are all hanging out in Valhalla or Mount Olympus or whatever.

Its fiction but I think that the novel Lord of Light was fantastic in dealing with this kind of topic, its too complex a book to really discuss in a lot of detail but roughly it has a species of super humans or meta humans which have control of a colony on another world and have posed as Gods from a pantheon, they are involved in wars and intrigues with one another, some favour fast tracking the development of the regular humans into being meta humans like themselves and some do not but it was a more or less true polytheism but then they were not really Gods.

 

[Lark]

What if many gods are the aspect of one god and one god is the whole of many gods? What is it called then?

The pantheon, cast of characters, are then avatars of a single God, I think that would be monotheism. Possibly "monotheism at one remove".

I think Jung wrote about that, suggesting that it was similar to the story of Job, ie that people were trying to figure out the problem of evil and why a good God permitted evil things to happen to good people.

Though, if I understand it right, Jung had a pretty weird but interesting idea about a sort of co-evolution or co-development of the deity alongside humanity, leading up to the incarnation and ascension of Jesus. Its not something I understand or remember perfectly though.

- - - Updated - - -

Over the last 300,000 years we have created 10,000 Gods because whatever we worship, we become.

We are engaged in the great venture of becoming.

Where did you get those figures.

10,000? Name them.

 

[Mole]

Where did you get those figures.

10,000 [Gods]? Name them.

Your question is simply answered by clicking on How many gods or goddesses have ever been worshiped since the dawn of humanity? What are their names? - Quora

 

[Lark]

Your question is simply answered by clicking on How many gods or goddesses have ever been worshiped since the dawn of humanity? What are their names? - Quora

OK, thanks.

 

[Madboot]

Yeah, they all had their sphere of influence or interest in human affairs, although I'm thinking more of their power among or between themselves when they are all hanging out in Valhalla or Mount Olympus or whatever.

Its fiction but I think that the novel Lord of Light was fantastic in dealing with this kind of topic, its too complex a book to really discuss in a lot of detail but roughly it has a species of super humans or meta humans which have control of a colony on another world and have posed as Gods from a pantheon, they are involved in wars and intrigues with one another, some favour fast tracking the development of the regular humans into being meta humans like themselves and some do not but it was a more or less true polytheism but then they were not really Gods.

If you delve into the stories of the varied polytheisms, you will find the there was plenty of intrigue and f'ing about between the gods. Loki was not only the god of mischief and trickery, he eventually joins the giants and leads them against the gods in Ragnarok. I could write a veritable wall of text about how the Greek gods and goddess' continuously screwed with each other.

 

[Kanra Jest]

The pantheon, cast of characters, are then avatars of a single God, I think that would be monotheism. Possibly "monotheism at one remove".

I think Jung wrote about that, suggesting that it was similar to the story of Job, ie that people were trying to figure out the problem of evil and why a good God permitted evil things to happen to good people.

Though, if I understand it right, Jung had a pretty weird but interesting idea about a sort of co-evolution or co-development of the deity alongside humanity, leading up to the incarnation and ascension of Jesus. Its not something I understand or remember perfectly though.

But in my understanding these Gods split off from the "God Essence" originally, and in so doing they are all aspects, but have since developed their own identities to retain individuality. Thus many may act independently from each other and have different personalities. Like what once was One, is now Many.