Definition of "pantheon" []

• A circular temple in Rome, completed in 27 B.C. and dedicated to all the gods. (noun)
• A temple dedicated to all gods. (noun)
• All the gods of a people considered as a group: Jupiter is head of the Roman pantheon. (noun)
• A public building commemorating and dedicated to the heroes and heroines of a nation. (noun)
• A group of persons most highly regarded for contributions to a field or endeavor: the pantheon of modern physics. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I wasn't expecting an upset, but back in my undergrad days, I would have guessed at least a 70-30 split — the pantheon is a harsh mistress."
• "Conversely, the other advantage to a pantheon is that it bestows distance when you are going into God territory."
• "If your pantheon is more complex, say you have two competing factions of deities, laid over an older, animist pattern, that tells you a lot about the social evolution of the society: maybe not-Buddhism came along and supplanted not-Shinto."