We look at ancient Greek and Roman mythology not as examples of major world religions, but for a variety of other reasons. While ancient mythology does not hold up to today’s standards of organized religion, the culture phenomenon influenced modern religions. For example, when renaissance artists began to put faces on Christianity, they painted key figures such as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to look like easter European people. This made them relatable. This is also why we see modern depictions of Christ as a white man. That’s historically inaccurate considering he was born in the Middle East. Anyway, when artists wished to depict God the father, they turned to imagery of Zeus, the Greek god, and repurposed it.

Also, Greco-Roman polytheism is worthy of examination through a philosophical lens using logical reasoning. If for no other reason, this examination is of value for comparative purposes. Consider Aristotle’s Theory of the Unmoved Mover. It is a logical proof for the existence of a higher power, a greatest conceivable being (GCB). It was significantly refined centuries later by philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas. Interestingly enough, Aristotle asserted this proof in the shadow of polytheistic Athens in 350 BC. Here is Aristotle’s argument in brevitis:

“Aristotle’s fundamental principle is that everything that is in motion is moved by something else, and he offers a number of … arguments to this effect. He then argues that there cannot be an infinite series of moved movers” (Kenny).

So, essentially, Aristotle is saying that since everything in existence is caused by something that precedes it, there must be a beginning. That beginning is an unmoved mover, and uncaused cause that put everything else into motion: the greatest conceivable being. Infinite regress—and unlimited, unending, ongoing series of movers—defies logic. If there is no solid beginning, then nothing exists. So, the greatest conceivable being, the unmoved mover, must exist. QED.

Aristotle (and many after him) logically proved the existence of a single first mover or first cause. 

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Aristotle was teaching and writing in fourth century BC. Here’s the religious climate of the time according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.

“From the later sixth century BC onward, myths and gods were subject to rational criticism on ethical or other grounds. In those circumstances it is easy to overlook the fact that most Greeks ‘believed’ in their gods in roughly the modern sense of the term and that they prayed in a time of crisis not merely to the ‘relevant’ deity but to any deity on whose aid they had established a claim by sacrifice. To that end, each Greek polis had a series of public festivals throughout the year that were intended to ensure the aid of all the gods who were thus honored. They reminded the gods of services rendered and asked for a quid pro quo. Particularly during times of crises, the Greeks, like the Romans, were often willing to petition deities borrowed from other cultures” (Pollard, et al.).