Scholars have tended to discuss ancient religions as polytheistic or monotheistic.
Polytheistics have many gods while monotheists believe in only one god. .
The Sumerians were Polytheists. Their gods were humanlike in form. The Sumerians gods were thought of as being very much like human beings except that they were immortal and super powerful. Many Sumerian gods arose out of the forces of nature. There was a sky god, the earth and freshwater god, the air god, the moon god, and the sun god. There were also other gods that presented human passions and the afterlife like the goddess of love and war and the goddess of the underworld. .
Egyptian religion was henotheists, the belief in one god without denying the existence of others. The most important god to the Egyptians was Re, the sun god. The Egyptians would sometimes syncretized Re with other gods to create a powerful new god. For example, Re-Atum was a combination o Re and the creator-god. Various animals, from cats and dogs to crocodiles and lions were thought to represent the divine. There were many other local deities, spirits, and demons as well as gods and goddesses of all Egypt. .
The Hebrew religion is monotheistic. This meant that the powerful goddesses in other religions were absent from in Israel. According to the Israelite belief, humans were made in God's image. Thus, all individuals were equal in a fundamental sense; all bound by God's law. This also meant that Israel's kings were merely the humble servants of God. .
Zoroastrianism was the religion of Persia until the seventh century. A great reformer and prophet named Zarathustra founded the religion. Zarathustra was a monotheist, believing in only one god for all people, the supremely good and wise creator of the universe. He called this god Ahura Mazda meaning "wise lord.".
The terms "polytheistic" and "monotheistic" are very general terms and do not tell us much about the religion.
