The nature of the Gods is an important theme in the story. Classical Greek spirituality was, like many other ancient spiritual systems (Egyptian, Roman, Chinese, Aztec, Native American, etc) is defined as "pantheistic," a word with two facets of meaning, both of which contrast with spiritual systems defined as "monotheistic" (Christianity, Judaism, Islam). Firstly, in pantheism there are several gods, while in monotheism there is only one (mono=one). Secondly, in pantheism the gods are identified with forces and/or experiences of nature, while in monotheism God is identified as being above nature, with dominion over it.