Pantheon

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpænθiən/

Definitions

1. A temple or building dedicated to all gods of a religion ; a collective group of famous or highly respected people in a field or country
2. A structure built to honor every deity worshiped by a culture ; a distinguished assembly of individuals celebrated for their achievements
3. A sacred place for reverence of all gods ; a renowned set of people recognized for their excellence or contributions

Etymology: The most striking fact about "pantheon" is that its first meaning was a building, not a set of gods. The Roman Pantheon, the domed temple in Rome built to honor the gods, took its name from Greek words meaning roughly "all the gods." English borrowed the word for that structure around 1300, and it is the building that gave the word its original sense. From there the meaning spread outward. Because the Roman temple was later converted into a Christian church, the name was also used for that place of worship, and the word gradually shifted from the building to the gods it honored. Eventually "pantheon" came to mean the whole collection of gods a people worshipped, as in the Greek or Norse pantheon. The sense then widened once more, to any group of figures held in highest regard. A nation's pantheon of heroes or a field's pantheon of great thinkers keeps the original idea of a shared, honored space, now filled with people rather than deities or stone.

Synonyms: temple, deities