Polytheistic Gods

This refers to the belief in multiple gods, either independent and roughly co-equal (as found in the ancient European and Middle Eastern era where different nations worshipped several local gods, each sub-group having their own protector - Baal, Yahweh, El Shaddai, Asherah, Chemosh, Ishtar, Marduk, Shamash, Aengus, etc.). This frequently occurred through cultural cross-fertilization resulting from military conquest and population migration. Nearby communities did not, in general, dispute the existence of the foreign gods, but preferred their own over their neighbors. As people and tribes from different areas intermixed, so did their deities. As the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman empires expanded, they frequently found it more pragmatic and expedient to accept and assimilate the gods of the peoples they conquered rather than abolish them. The end result was a very diverse basket of deities. Even as early Christianity encroached on the outlying regions of northern and western Europe, we see Christian saints wrestling with pagan deities (e.g., Saint Patrick eloping with the daughter of the Irish god, Aengus, or Saint George slaying the dragon).

Sometimes, after assimilation, these gods fall into a hierarchical relationship as in the Greek pantheon with Zeus at the top, or the Norse pantheon ruled by Odin. Sometimes the gods each have their own bailiwick and special area of application and expertise. The majority of the many thousands of Hindu gods follow this pattern, though there are a small finite number at the apex (i.e., Bhagavan, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu).