Question about Polytheism...

[Paris_Lennon]

I was wondering about basic Polytheistic beliefs such as...

What is the hierarchy of power in a polytheistic belief? God/Demigod/etc.

And also, does anybody know of a website or book that has a listing of ancient/current polytheistic Gods and Goddesses that have been prayed upon throughout history??

Thanks

 

[one_raven]

http://www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm

 

[terpinator72]

Im not too sure I would look up links from a individual whos picture next to thier name is Charles manson, or looks realy close to him.

 

[one_raven]

It is him. It's the picture that was on the cover of Life magazine.

Why wouldn't you follow the links?

 

[Dreamwalker]

I would have given you the same ones... and you distrust people because of their avatars?

...oh, I guess you would not trust me either... anyway, I would use the second link, I always found that site to contain very good information.

 

[Paris_Lennon]

haha, i wasn't too worried about the avatar....Those links are good too, I couldn't find a direct hierarchy chart for polytheism, but good links nonetheless

 

[marv]

What is the hierarchy of power in a polytheistic belief? God/Demigod/etc.

No single hierarchy. It depends on the culture. Some have something like a hierarchy, others just a group of dieties with specific purposes/functions/assignments. Some were anthromorphised, i.e., ancient Greece and Rome, others not.

And also, does anybody know of a website or book that has a listing of ancient/current polytheistic Gods and Goddesses that have been prayed upon throughout history??

Just too many to list.

 

[Leo Volont]

I was wondering about basic Polytheistic beliefs such as...

What is the hierarchy of power in a polytheistic belief? God/Demigod/etc.

And also, does anybody know of a website or book that has a listing of ancient/current polytheistic Gods and Goddesses that have been prayed upon throughout history??

Thanks

The old standby for over half a century has been Edith Hamilton's "Mythology".

But the way to understand Polytheism is to see many of the Demigod figures as personifications of ordinary psychological attributes, good and bad. For self knowledge and coming to terms with your own being, nothing beats Polytheism.

But there is more to it. Many of the Polytheistic Traditions held out an Esoteric and Transcendental extension for the select and the elect.

Modern Religions may be strictly Monotheistic, but our Dreams are still Polytheistic, and it helps to have some handle upon Polytheism in order to make sense of our own psychological dynamics. You can recognize the ascendance of the Transcendental in your own being when in your dreams and meditations you encounter the cryptic oracles -- typically Females who express themselves in a rich but puzzling poetry. In India She goes by many names -- Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali, etc. Hellenic Mythology called her Diana the Huntress. Among Catholics She is The Blessed Virgin. She presents Herself to point the way upward and inward.

I've also encounted, in my Dreams, what must be an archetypical figure -- a Wise Old Man. Where the Goddess Oracle is cryptic and points the Way, the Wise Old Man explains things and offers comprehensible consolations and concrete understandings. Perhaps he is a recent Evolution of the Collective Consciousness. We must consider that our Collective Consciousness may be rich and more advanced than it may have been a few thousand years ago. After all, since Hellenic Civilization rose and fell, we've had a Millenium of Civilized development in both East and West. Perhaps Civilization has a way of perculating down into the psychie.