Here is a question that I find is asked quite a bit, “Are all the Gods, from all the cultures, the same Gods only known by different names and revealed through different myths, or are all Gods different Gods?” As to not be confused, this is not the same question as, “Are all Gods and Goddesses different manifestations of a single God and Goddess?” This is more along the lines of, “Is an apple called a manzana in Spanish?”
I previously wrote that the totality of all things make up a multiplicity of a single ultimate thing, the One. The One contains all time, all space, all intelligence, and all spirit. It is beyond all beings, is all-inclusive, and functions everywhere unhindered without diminishing diversity or individuality. The One is seen as the source of all spirit, matter, and of all created things. This is were we start.
In a closed-system (the One being that system and containing all things) it is an impossibility for there to exist an infinite number of things. By containing all things, the One is itself infinity. A thing that is contained cannot be infinite. No thing, contained within the One, can be infinite. Therefore, while it is possible for the total number of Gods to be innumerable, there can only ever exist a finite number.
Let us look at this from a scientific perspective. The first law of thermodynamics is a universal law of conservation of energy. It states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. The law of conservation of matter similarly states that the mass of a closed system will remain constant regardless of the processes acting inside that system. Matter also cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change form. Simply, all substance that will ever exist in the universe already exists for the reason it is sourced from and contained within a single thing.
Using this model, we can demonstrate that all things that exist are made of a multiplicity of other existing things. The totality of all things makes the multiplicity of a single ultimate thing; the One that contains all time, all space, all intelligence, and all spirit. If we then acknowledge the Twelve Olympians (from the perspective of Hellenismos) as the ones in primary possession of the world, we can then conclude that all other Gods are contained within or divisions of these. Since all things exist in a state of multiples and is a distribution of the original Unity, each stage of reality is then divided into greater numbers, each with a greater diffusion and weakening of power, more limitations, and greater needs. Therefore, the twelve heavenly Gods would exist within the One, and they would additionally exist in Unity with their offspring as a distribution of their power.
If we accept that the One is the Ultimate Reality that contains each progressively lower reality, and the Gods (being in primary possession of the Cosmos) contain our mundane universe, can we know the truth about the Gods? What we accept as truth is based on our own personal perception. Actual truth is complex, often holding opposing statements as equal. What is true or false is not bound by personal opinions or what we perceive as true or false. Therefore, Divine Truth is independent of belief, and is absolute. While we may have glimpses of Divine Truth, it becomes separated and merges with individual distinctiveness. We cannot perceive the absolute Divine Truth because of our individuality.
Only the Gods can truly know themselves. They are inseparable from the Universe; therefore, their knowledge is all-knowledge, including the knowledge of all that is contained within them. True knowledge of the Gods is inexpressible and beyond the understanding of human intelligence. They participate in all things equally and completely, but we cannot completely participate in them.
Knowing that complete knowledge of the Gods is not possible, we cannot perceive them in their totality, and knowing Divine Truth changes when combined with an individual to preserve diversity or individuality, is it reasonable to believe that all pantheons of Gods are in actuality the same group of Gods? When seeking the truth regarding the Divine we should attempt to both prove and disprove any concepts. [1] If we find that we cannot do either, we should ask whether it is rational and in our best interest to accept the idea compared to others. The true understanding of the Gods is beyond human intelligence. Therefore, no one can know with any amount of certainty that any Gods even exist, let alone if God-A equals God-B. We then must submit to the idea that a person is reasonably justified in accepting a belief as true if it provides for both morality and happiness, in mutually a theoretical and practical way.
This may have seemed like a long road to take for what is, ultimately, a simple answer. Given that we can reason that the total number of Gods is both finite and innumerable, it becomes apparent that it is equally plausible and implausible that all pantheons of Gods are in actuality the same group of Gods, just known by different names. We also know that human understanding of the Gods is limited both by our level of intelligence and by the cosmic laws which preserve diversity. We must accept the possibility that different cultures and different life experiences will cause groups and individuals to perceive the Gods differently. Regardless, knowing of the Gods through different names and different myths do not change them. All spiritual belief must be reasoned to be true based on their qualitative value. Therefore, as a practitioner of Hellenismos, I must concede to the idea that Zeus is the best, most perfect representation of Zeus, regardless of whether or not he is known by different names and myths.
[1] When talking about “proving”, we are talking about actually proving, for instance, that all pantheons of Gods are in actuality the same Gods, not proving that some ancients or someone else believes.
