A pantheon is all the gods that a group of people worship together as part of their religion. The ancient Greeks had a pantheon that included Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and many other gods, each with their own powers and personalities. The ancient Romans had their own pantheon with similar gods but different names: Jupiter instead of Zeus, Neptune instead of Poseidon. The Norse pantheon included Odin, Thor, and Loki.

Each pantheon tells us something about what a civilization valued. The Greek pantheon included gods of wisdom, war, love, and the harvest because these things mattered deeply to Greek life. When you study mythology, you're really exploring how different cultures understood the world through their pantheons.

The word also means a group of the most respected or admired people in a particular field. Sports fans might debate which athletes belong in the pantheon of basketball greats. When someone enters the pantheon of great scientists or writers, it means their achievements have earned them a permanent place among the legends.

There's also a famous building in Rome called the Pantheon, a temple originally built to honor all the Roman gods.