300 DOCTRINE OF EVOLUTION 



is properly denoted more ethical than a religion which 

 teaches that sacrifice of any kind will exempt the sinner 

 from deserved penalties and bring about the bestowal of 

 unearned rewards. 



Polytheism is the name given to a religion such as that 

 of the Greeks or Romans, who believed in many gods 

 and spirits of greater and lesser power. These super- 

 natural beings, each in its own sphere, immediately 

 directed the processes of nature and controlled the lives 

 of men. One of them, Zeus, was regarded as the su- 

 preme ^^ father of gods and men," who delegated specific 

 duties to others ; Ares was the god of battles, Hermes 

 was the messenger, Athena implanted wisdom in the 

 minds of men, and Poseidon ruled the sea. The gods 

 were very human to the Greek mind, hving in Olympus as 

 men do upon earth, and even visiting the mortals. Their 

 worship involved propitiatory sacrifices and rites as well as 

 thanksgiving offerings when favors were bestowed. But 

 although they were immortal, they did not allow the im- 

 mortal souls of human beings to j oin them in their elysium, 

 but compelled the disembodied shades to wander un- 

 happily among the tombs and about their earthly abodes. 



Roman theology and religion comprise almost identi- 

 cal forms of the three fundamental elements. The names 

 are changed, and Zeus becomes Jove, his wife Hera 

 is Juno, Ares is Mars, and Hermes is called Mercury. 

 In all other respects, however, the two systems are as 

 much alike as the Greek and Roman languages and 

 Greek and Roman physique. 



The religions of savagery are far less analytical, and 

 much more naive in their reference of natural happen- 

 ings to the direct interposition of malevolent and be- 



