Monotheism vs. Polytheism in Western Civilization

Introduction to Monotheism and Polytheism

According to Rita Nosotro, monotheism is the belief in a single, all-powerful god and is derived from the Greek words theos (god) and monos (one). One of the main characteristics of monotheism is that practitioners "believe that God created all reality and is totally self-sufficient" while denying the existence of all other gods. In Western culture, the three main religious systems that practice monotheism are Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. All other religious denominations in Western culture sprang from these three traditions and are still practiced today by billions of people worldwide.

In contrast to monotheism, polytheism is "the belief in many gods and goddesses," such as found in the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Mesopotamia — often called the "cradle of Western civilization." Monotheism is generally based upon the beliefs and tenets of a particular religious text, such as the Holy Bible, the Holy Quran, and the Jewish Talmud, while polytheism is generally based on myth, such as found in ancient Greece and Rome (Nosotro, "Monotheism and Polytheism").

Polytheism in Ancient Mesopotamia

The religious practice of polytheism is undoubtedly much older than monotheism and has a very long history going back more than 5,000 years. It originated in what is now the geographical area of Iraq and Iran, formerly known as the Persian Empire. This region was called Mesopotamia and was dominated by the Sumerians and Babylonians, both of which practiced polytheism. In all Mesopotamian city-states, religion dominated everyday life and determined the various forms of social organization. The city-state was under the protection of its patron god, and the king represented that god on earth, serving as the steward of his earthly treasures.

One of these Mesopotamian gods was Enlil, the god of the city of Nippur in the Sumerian civilization. All Mesopotamian gods had temples dedicated to them, in which the citizens of cities like Babylon and Ur worshipped a pantheon of gods and goddesses believed to protect the land and its people.

Greek and Roman Polytheistic Traditions

One of the most famous Western civilizations to practice polytheism was ancient Greece, with its rich pantheon of gods and goddesses — among them Zeus, the king of the gods on Mount Olympus; Hera, his wife; Athena, the goddess of wisdom and protector of Athens; Dionysus, the god of wine; and Poseidon, the god of the seas. For the ancient Greeks, polytheistic religion provided the context for nearly all social activity. War was conducted according to divine signs, and gods were honored through the sacrifice of animals in religious rituals. The foundation of Greek polytheistic religion was myth, derived from the Greek word mythos, meaning "story" or "tale" — as illustrated, for example, in the labors and tribulations of Hercules.

Ancient Rome borrowed many myths from the ancient Greeks and incorporated them into its own culture and society. Like the Greeks, the Romans maintained a great pantheon of gods and goddesses, shaped in part by an earlier civilization known as the Etruscans, which had itself been influenced by Greek polytheism. Most of these deities were worshipped in temples and given Romanized names: Jupiter for Zeus, Juno for Hera, and Minerva for Athena. As Rome's power grew during the 1st century B.C.E., it rapidly absorbed the polytheistic gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks. Other notable Roman deities included Diana (the equivalent of Artemis), Mercury (Hermes), Neptune (Poseidon), and Venus (Aphrodite).