Polytheism vs Monotheism & How Polytheism Ended - From City States to Persian Period |S1E33-34

Polytheism vs Monotheism - interesting topic, but why should we care? Why should we care about forgotten gods and faded cults?

There are many reasons. And I'll give you one: the Middle East experienced no religious wars in its long history of polytheism. Simply put, scholars have found no evidence of anyone getting killed for worshiping the wrong god in the ancient Middle East. Now compare that to the history of religious wars since the advent of Monotheism. How is that for a reason!

Perhaps the modern Middle East (actually, the modern world) can learn religious tolerance from the ancient polytheists?

But there is way more to this history. Here are two examples that stood out for me:
►Although tolerant, polytheism was tightly bound to each individual's understanding of self and society. This is a fascinating concept that is 'relational' - a totally foreign way of thinking to us modern-monotheists.
► Unlike what most people may think, monotheism didn't become pervasive and later dominant because the ancients perceived it as a better form of faith. No! Religions reflected (and perhaps still reflect) societies and governments. And as empires engulfed city states in the Middle East, and as kings retreated and the One King assumed center stage, the gods faded into the background and the One God became central. This is the story of the Persian period, an era ushered in by the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
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🚩About Our Guest:
Dr. Beate Pongratz-Leisten is a professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Institute For the Study of the Ancient World at NYU. She is the author and editor of many books on the political, intellectual and religious history of the ancient Near East. Visit her academic homepage for more information: https://isaw.nyu.edu/people/faculty/i....
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►Other interviews about ancient Middle East:
☑️Ancient Middle East: How Men Manipulated Royal Women For Power | End of A Priestess Cult (S1E19-20) 📽️   • Ancient Middle East: Women's Roles & ...  
☑️Life Stories of Middle Easterners Described by Ancient Syria and Mesopotamia Expert (S1E10)
📽️   • Life Stories of Middle Easterners Des...  
☑️Peace in the Middle East? Ancients knew how to do it. Historian explains 5 parts to peace. (S1E9) 📽️   • Peace in the Middle East? Ancients kn...  
✅ Epic of Gilgamesh:
My interview with Dr. Sophus Helle about his new translation and perspective on this enduring ancient tale will initially air in audio (🎧 https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify) and then in video form here on our YouTube channel.
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📑 Chapters:
00:00 highlights
02:00 program intro
02:55 guest intro
04:33 ways of talking about religion
10:58 polytheism vs. monotheism
15:49 local cults
17:40 personhood & divinity
28:57 how gods were represented
32:17 slide presentation
54:47 society & pantheon of gods
58:35 Persian period
1:00:39 the lesser gods?
1:06:45 age of prophets
1:08:37 evolution of religion
1:11:51 mythology vs. theology
1:18:35 list of gods
1:21:19 religious tolerance
1:23:12 Dr. Pongratz' career
1:27:50 nation-building in Middle East
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⏩This video interview is about Polytheism vs Monotheism & How Polytheism Ended. It's a history that's not about the past. It's about us. It's about our humanity in the present moment. It's about our faiths and religious wars. It's about how we see ourselves in relation to others and to god/s.
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🚩Image Attribution:
►Medals
By M.samei - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
►images that flash at the end of the video's introduction are from Dr. Pongratz's slide presentation which begins at    • Polytheism vs Monotheism & How Polyth...  

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