PolytheismPolytheism is the doctrine of several deities, often assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses. The word comes from two Greek words "Poly" meaning more than one "theism" meaning God, unlike monotheism which is "mono" meaning single or one and "theism" meaning God. Many religions fall into the category of polytheism. This is a dominant religious view throughout history, some examples include the Sumerian religion, ancient Egyptian religion as well as the Canaanite religion. Polytheism is still a common view of religion today, as seen in Hinduism. In the polytheistic view, gods have similar characteristics to humans, which is completely opposite to the monotheistic view. The purpose of this essay is to discuss in depth the nature and characteristics of polytheism. The main characteristic is that the gods do not reign supreme. Destiny or Miora is believed to be a super divine force greater than God. Not only does it predetermine the destiny of man, but also that of the Gods. This characteristic is evident in Greek mythologies. For example, Zues was known to be a powerful leader and his power was greater than that of any God. However, he said he was nothing against the powerful "destiny". An example of his "weakness" is when he was unable to save his son. In other words, this is called apotheosis. Similar to other characteristics of polytheism, this also shows that the gods have human characteristics. According to the polytheistic view, gods and humans both attempt to reach the highest position in the same hierarchy. This degrades the position and diminishes the value of the Gods, as it is believed that anyone can achieve this position. The last characteristic is that the Gods represent two independent domains. There is good and evil, light and darkness, happiness and sadness. This, again, is a human