Polytheism permits it's believers as many behaviors
as the society they are part of need represented through their gods.
In such a place every deity has their own narrative
which reflects the complex gender and family relations between humans.
Their pantheons become halls of mirrors,
where people recognize themselves, but only dimly.
Cynics, atheists, and modernists will mutter
'anthropomorphism as tradition' to describe this,
whilst being blithe about the limits that their beliefs
set upon any society they happen to be part of.
But what of monotheism? The old alternative...
Men are never more singular than when fighting wars.
In the singularity of war warriors and their god become one.
Their spoils as victors was not just the captives they took home
but the forced conversion of their enemies to their belief.
This leaves far less room for the deity to be a symbol
who reflects gender, choice and inconsistency in society.
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