Illustration of various deities associated with polytheistic pantheons from William Cooke's The Pantheon – or, fabulous history of the heathen gods, goddesses, heroes, &c.
The word, pantheon derives from Greek πάνθεον pantheon, literally "(a temple) of all gods", "of or common to all gods" from πᾶν pan- "all" and θεός theos "god". A pantheon of gods is a common element of polytheistic societies, and the nature of a society's pantheon can be considered a reflection of that society:
A pantheon is an overview of a given culture's gods and goddesses and reflects not only the society's values but also its sense of itself. A pantheon directed by a thunderbolt wielding autocrat might suggest a patriarchy and the valuing of warrior skills. A pantheon headed by a great-mother goddess could suggest a village-based agricultural society. To confront the pantheon of the Egyptians is to confront a worldview marked by a sense of death and resurrection and the agricultural importance of the cycles of nature. The Greek pantheon is a metaphor for a pragmatic view of life that values art, beauty, and the power of the individual, and that is somewhat skeptical about human nature.[2]
Some well-known historical polytheistic pantheons include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods, and the classical-attested pantheon which includes the ancient Greek religion and Roman religion.[citation needed] Post-classical polytheistic religions include Norse Æsir and Vanir, the Yoruba Orisha, the Aztec gods, and many others. Today, most historical polytheistic religions are referred to as "mythology".[3]
In many civilizations, pantheons tended to grow over time.[citation needed] 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 Titanomachy, and possibly also the case of the Æsir and Vanir in the Norse mythos.[citation needed] Cultural exchange could lead to "the same" deity being renowned in two places under different names, as seen with the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans, and also to the cultural transmission of elements of an extraneous religion into a local cult, as with worship of the ancient Egyptian deity Osiris, which was later followed in ancient Greece. Max Weber's 1922 opus Economy and Society discusses a tendency of the ancient Greek philosophers to interpret gods worshiped in the pantheons of other cultures as "equivalent to and so identical with the deities of the moderately organized Greek pantheon".[4]
In other instances, however, national pantheons were consolidated or simplified into fewer gods, or into a single god with power over all of the areas originally assigned to a pantheon.[citation needed] For example, in the ancient Near East during the first millennium BCE, Syrian and Palestinian tribes worshiped much smaller pantheons than had been developed in Egypt and Mesopotamia.[5] Weber also identified the link between a pantheon of gods and the development of monotheism, proposing that the domination of a pantheon by a particular god within that pantheon was a step towards followers of the pantheon seeing that god as "an international or universal deity, a transnational god of the entire world".[4] The first known instance of a pantheon being consolidated into a single god, or discarded in favor of a single god, was with the development of the short-lived practice of Atenism in ancient Egypt, with that role being accorded to the sun god.[6] A similar process is thought to have taken place with respect to the Israelite deity Yahweh, who, "as a typical West Semitic deity... would have four or five compatriot gods in attendance as he became the national high god".[5]
The concept of a pantheon of gods has been widely imitated in Twentieth-century fantasy literature and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. These uses tend to borrow heavily from historical patterns. In these contexts, it is considered important for the writer to construct pantheon of gods that fits the genre, where the characteristics of the gods are in balance so that none of them is able to overwhelm the story, and so that the actions of the characters are not overwhelmed by the machinations of the gods.[7]
Extension of the concept into structures and celebrities
A pantheon in its sense as a "temple", this one built in 2nd-century Rome
In order to avoid the difficulty of giving an exhaustive list of deities when devoting a temple or sacred building, a structure explicitly dedicated to "all deities" also came to be referred to as a "Pantheon".[8] The best known of such structures is the Pantheon of Rome, first built by Marcus Agrippa as part of a complex created by him on his own property in the Campus Martius in 29–19 BCE.[9] The building standing today was constructed on the same site around 126 CE. It was dedicated to "all gods" as a gesture embracing the religious syncretism in the increasingly multicultural Roman Empire, with subjects worshipping gods from many cultures and traditions. The building was later renovated for use as a Christianchurch in 609 under Pope Boniface IV.[10]
[T]he relation between the building and the primary reference point of the term 'pantheon', the pantheon of the gods, has always been a matter of the greatest uncertainty. By the sixteenth century these two aspects, the building and the grouping of gods, had become merged, to the extent that the building in Rome became the principal model for subsequent 'pantheons'.[8]
Since the 16th century, "pantheon" has also been used in a secular sense to refer to the set of a society's exalted persons—initially including heroic figures, and later extending to celebrities, generally.[11]Lord Byron drew this connection after viewing the busts of famous historical figures in the Roman Pantheon, writing in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage of how he wished to be at the center of an English Pantheon, and thereby associated with divinity.[12] The Pantheon "thus imbues the modern with the aura of the divine", and "models the interplay of ancient and modern forms of fame".[12] This trend continued into modern times, with the word "pantheon" 'of or for the gods' being reflected in the journalistic meme that refers to financial titans as "Masters of the Universe". For example: Francis Ford Coppola has been described as a member of "that revered pantheon of independent movie directors, which broke the standard Hollywood studio mold as the 1960s expired".[13]
^Christopher R. Fee, Gods, Heroes, & Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain (2004), p. 13.
^Eugenie C. Scott, Evolution Vs. Creationism: An Introduction (2009), p. 58.
^ abMax Weber, The Sociology of Religion (1922), p. 23.
^ abRobert Karl Gnuse, No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel (1997), p. 200.
^Robert Karl Gnuse, No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel (1997), p. 167.
^William Sims Bainbridge, eGods: Faith versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming (2013), p. 57.
^ abEdmund Thomas, "From the pantheon of the gods to the Pantheon of Rome", in Matthew Craske, ed., Pantheons: Transformations of a Monumental Idea (2004), p. 11.
^John the Deacon, Monumenta Germaniae Historia (1848) 7.8.20, quoted in MacDonald, William L. (1976). The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progeny. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 139. ISBN0674010191.
^Matthew Craske and Richard Wrigley, "Introduction", in Matthew Craske, ed., Pantheons: Transformations of a Monumental Idea (2004), pp. 1–2.
^ abClara Tuite, Lord Byron and Scandalous Celebrity (2015), pp. 140–141.
^Simon Warner, Text and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll: The Beats and Rock Culture (2013), p. 452.
Further reading
Bouwers, Eveline G. (2012), Public Pantheons in Revolutionary Europe. Comparing Cultures of Remembrance, c. 1790–1840. PalgraveMacmillan, ISBN978-0230294714.
Wrigley, Richard & Craske, Matthew (2004), Pantheons: Transformations of a Monumental Idea. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., ISBN0754608085.
March 17, 2023
pantheon, religion, other, uses, pantheon, disambiguation, look, pantheon, wiktionary, free, dictionary, pantheon, particular, gods, individual, polytheistic, religion, mythology, tradition, illustration, various, deities, associated, with, polytheistic, panth. For other uses see Pantheon disambiguation Look up pantheon in Wiktionary the free dictionary A pantheon is the particular set of all gods of any individual polytheistic religion mythology or tradition 1 Illustration of various deities associated with polytheistic pantheons from William Cooke s The Pantheon or fabulous history of the heathen gods goddesses heroes amp c Contents 1 Significance 2 Evolution of pantheons 3 Extension of the concept into structures and celebrities 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingSignificance EditThe word pantheon derives from Greek pan8eon pantheon literally a temple of all gods of or common to all gods from pᾶn pan all and 8eos theos god A pantheon of gods is a common element of polytheistic societies and the nature of a society s pantheon can be considered a reflection of that society A pantheon is an overview of a given culture s gods and goddesses and reflects not only the society s values but also its sense of itself A pantheon directed by a thunderbolt wielding autocrat might suggest a patriarchy and the valuing of warrior skills A pantheon headed by a great mother goddess could suggest a village based agricultural society To confront the pantheon of the Egyptians is to confront a worldview marked by a sense of death and resurrection and the agricultural importance of the cycles of nature The Greek pantheon is a metaphor for a pragmatic view of life that values art beauty and the power of the individual and that is somewhat skeptical about human nature 2 Some well known historical polytheistic pantheons include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods and the classical attested pantheon which includes the ancient Greek religion and Roman religion citation needed Post classical polytheistic religions include Norse AEsir and Vanir the Yoruba Orisha the Aztec gods and many others Today most historical polytheistic religions are referred to as mythology 3 Evolution of pantheons EditScholars such as Jaan Puhvel J P Mallory and Douglas Q Adams have reconstructed aspects of the ancient Proto Indo European religion from which the religions of the various Indo European peoples derive and that this religion was an essentially naturalist numenistic religion citation needed An example of a religious notion from this shared past is the concept of dyeus which is attested in several distinct religious systems citation needed In many civilizations pantheons tended to grow over time citation needed 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 Titanomachy and possibly also the case of the AEsir and Vanir in the Norse mythos citation needed Cultural exchange could lead to the same deity being renowned in two places under different names as seen with the Greeks Etruscans and Romans and also to the cultural transmission of elements of an extraneous religion into a local cult as with worship of the ancient Egyptian deity Osiris which was later followed in ancient Greece Max Weber s 1922 opus Economy and Society discusses a tendency of the ancient Greek philosophers to interpret gods worshiped in the pantheons of other cultures as equivalent to and so identical with the deities of the moderately organized Greek pantheon 4 In other instances however national pantheons were consolidated or simplified into fewer gods or into a single god with power over all of the areas originally assigned to a pantheon citation needed For example in the ancient Near East during the first millennium BCE Syrian and Palestinian tribes worshiped much smaller pantheons than had been developed in Egypt and Mesopotamia 5 Weber also identified the link between a pantheon of gods and the development of monotheism proposing that the domination of a pantheon by a particular god within that pantheon was a step towards followers of the pantheon seeing that god as an international or universal deity a transnational god of the entire world 4 The first known instance of a pantheon being consolidated into a single god or discarded in favor of a single god was with the development of the short lived practice of Atenism in ancient Egypt with that role being accorded to the sun god 6 A similar process is thought to have taken place with respect to the Israelite deity Yahweh who as a typical West Semitic deity would have four or five compatriot gods in attendance as he became the national high god 5 The concept of a pantheon of gods has been widely imitated in Twentieth century fantasy literature and role playing games like Dungeons amp Dragons These uses tend to borrow heavily from historical patterns In these contexts it is considered important for the writer to construct pantheon of gods that fits the genre where the characteristics of the gods are in balance so that none of them is able to overwhelm the story and so that the actions of the characters are not overwhelmed by the machinations of the gods 7 Extension of the concept into structures and celebrities Edit A pantheon in its sense as a temple this one built in 2nd century Rome In order to avoid the difficulty of giving an exhaustive list of deities when devoting a temple or sacred building a structure explicitly dedicated to all deities also came to be referred to as a Pantheon 8 The best known of such structures is the Pantheon of Rome first built by Marcus Agrippa as part of a complex created by him on his own property in the Campus Martius in 29 19 BCE 9 The building standing today was constructed on the same site around 126 CE It was dedicated to all gods as a gesture embracing the religious syncretism in the increasingly multicultural Roman Empire with subjects worshipping gods from many cultures and traditions The building was later renovated for use as a Christian church in 609 under Pope Boniface IV 10 T he relation between the building and the primary reference point of the term pantheon the pantheon of the gods has always been a matter of the greatest uncertainty By the sixteenth century these two aspects the building and the grouping of gods had become merged to the extent that the building in Rome became the principal model for subsequent pantheons 8 Since the 16th century pantheon has also been used in a secular sense to refer to the set of a society s exalted persons initially including heroic figures and later extending to celebrities generally 11 Lord Byron drew this connection after viewing the busts of famous historical figures in the Roman Pantheon writing in Childe Harold s Pilgrimage of how he wished to be at the center of an English Pantheon and thereby associated with divinity 12 The Pantheon thus imbues the modern with the aura of the divine and models the interplay of ancient and modern forms of fame 12 This trend continued into modern times with the word pantheon of or for the gods being reflected in the journalistic meme that refers to financial titans as Masters of the Universe For example Francis Ford Coppola has been described as a member of that revered pantheon of independent movie directors which broke the standard Hollywood studio mold as the 1960s expired 13 See also EditLists of deities List of pantheonsReferences Edit pantheon Oxford English Dictionary Online ed Oxford University Press Subscription or participating institution membership required Christopher R Fee Gods Heroes amp Kings The Battle for Mythic Britain 2004 p 13 Eugenie C Scott Evolution Vs Creationism An Introduction 2009 p 58 a b Max Weber The Sociology of Religion 1922 p 23 a b Robert Karl Gnuse No Other Gods Emergent Monotheism in Israel 1997 p 200 Robert Karl Gnuse No Other Gods Emergent Monotheism in Israel 1997 p 167 William Sims Bainbridge eGods Faith versus Fantasy in Computer Gaming 2013 p 57 a b Edmund Thomas From the pantheon of the gods to the Pantheon of Rome in Matthew Craske ed Pantheons Transformations of a Monumental Idea 2004 p 11 Dio Cassius Roman History p 53 23 3 John the Deacon Monumenta Germaniae Historia 1848 7 8 20 quoted in MacDonald William L 1976 The Pantheon Design Meaning and Progeny Cambridge MA Harvard University Press p 139 ISBN 0674010191 Matthew Craske and Richard Wrigley Introduction in Matthew Craske ed Pantheons Transformations of a Monumental Idea 2004 pp 1 2 a b Clara Tuite Lord Byron and Scandalous Celebrity 2015 pp 140 141 Simon Warner Text and Drugs and Rock n Roll The Beats and Rock Culture 2013 p 452 Further reading EditBouwers Eveline G 2012 Public Pantheons in Revolutionary Europe Comparing Cultures of Remembrance c 1790 1840 PalgraveMacmillan ISBN 978 0230294714 Wrigley Richard amp Craske Matthew 2004 Pantheons Transformations of a Monumental Idea Ashgate Publishing Ltd ISBN 0754608085 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pantheon religion amp oldid 1143568558, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
