Polytheism

Brittany BodineShir Offsey

Austin Shaw

Gods

• Vary by religion• Examples: – Greek gods: Zeus, Athena, Hera, Hades, Poseidon,

Apollo, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes– Egyptian gods: Ra, Atum, Amun, Ptah, Osiris– Norse gods: Loki, Baldr, Freyja, Odin

Beliefs

• Believe in multiple gods• Gods have individual skills, abilities, needs, or

desires• Have some sort of importance to human life

(can intervene)• Human-like (generally), though with

supernatural powers/immortality

Practice

• Often performed rituals/sacrifices to motivate gods

• For example, the Greeks often made animal blood sacrifices

Women in the Religion

• Varied from religion to religion• Like most other religions of the time, women

were generally not equals

Major Texts/Books

• No central books• Greek’s beliefs recorded in literary works like

“The Iliad” or “The Odyssey”.

Outreach, Diffusion, Outside Contact

• Generally developed individually• Evolved from animism/pantheism• Contact with other people influenced each

other

Quotations• “Zeus does not bring all men’s plans to fulfillment.” –

Homer, The Iliad• “Nothing feebler than a man does the earth raise up, of

all the things which breathe and move on the earth, for he believes that he will never suffer in the future, as long as the gods give him success and he flourishes in his strength; but when the blessed gods bring sorrows too to pass, even these he bears, against his will, with steadfast spirit, for the thoughts of earthly men are like the day which the father of gods and men brings upon them. –Homer, The Odyssey

Works Cited• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469156/polytheism• http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Polytheism• http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Greek_Mythology• http://www.religionfacts.com/greco-roman/overview.htm• The Iliad by Homer• The Odyssey by Homer

• Pictures:• http://jermination.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/greek_gods400.jpg• http://www.g-n-l.com/images/HinduGods.jpg• http://www.molon.de/galleries/Egypt/Luxor/Kings/images01/07%20Bas-relief%20showing%20Egyptian%20gods.jpg• http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2008/10/21/thor_web.jpg• http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/uploadimages/267_00_2.jpg