A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθεον - pantheon, literally "a temple of all gods", "of or common to all gods", from πᾶν pan- "all" + θεῖος theios, "of or for the gods", from θεός theos "god") is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.

Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a pantheon of gods and the development of monotheism.

Pantheon can also refer to a temple or sacred building explicitly dedicated to "all deities", avoiding the difficulty of giving an exhaustive list. The most known such structure is the Pantheon of Rome, built in the year 27 BC. The building was dedicated to "all gods" as a gesture embracing the religious syncretism in the increasingly multicultural Roman Empire, with subjects worshipping gods from many cultures and traditions. The building was later renovated for use as a Christian church in 609 under Pope Boniface IV.

Since the 16th century "pantheon" also refers in a secular sense to the set of a society's exalted persons. For example "Mick Jagger was exalted into the pantheon of rock megastars".

The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Bill Raymond. The Greek is the head of an international criminal organization involved in narcotics and human trafficking. The Greek is a mysterious figure involved in numerous criminal activities. His given name is never mentioned on the show, and though he is known only as "The Greek", he has stated (in the episode Port in a Storm) that he is not actually Greek. A quiet and unassuming man, the Greek prefers to keep a low profile, operating all of his business through his lieutenant Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos. His smuggling organization operated from a small diner in Baltimore for years, and while Vondas would conduct business the Greek would listen in quietly at the counter. Nick Sobotka, upon seeing the Greek identify himself, was amazed that the shadowy figure had been in plain sight the entire time.

Despite his calm appearance, the Greek is cunning and ruthless, and only interested in facts that make him more money. Series creator David Simon has said that The Greek is an embodiment of raw unencumbered capitalism. Anyone interfering in this process is eliminated immediately, and he prefers to leave victims headless and handless to hinder identification.

Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (/ˈɛrɨk vɒn ˈdænɨkɨn/; born 14 April 1935 in Zofingen, Aargau) is a Swiss author best known for his controversial claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, in books such as Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronaut hypotheses.

Däniken is a co-founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA), and designed the theme park Mystery Park in Interlaken, Switzerland, that first opened on 23 May 2003. Däniken's first book, Chariots of the Gods?, was an immediate best seller in the United States, Europe and India, with subsequent books "according to von Däniken, have been translated into 32 languages and together have sold more than 63 million copies."

His ideas are largely rejected by scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology.

Von Däniken was raised a strict Catholic, and attended the international Catholic school Saint-Michel in Fribourg, Switzerland. During his time at the school he rejected the church's interpretations of the Bible, and developed an interest in astronomy and the phenomenon of flying saucers.

Michael Tellinger is an author and songwriter who entered the South African music scene during the Apartheid years. His song "We come from Johannesburg" in 1986 was a nine-minute anti-apartheid epic. It was also the first Rap album to be released by a South African artist.^{[citation needed]} The song was instantly banned due to its anti-government stance^{[citation needed]}. Tellinger became a target of the regime: phone tapping, South African Police surveillance, several threats on his life, and other intimidatory tactics.^{[citation needed]} The song was originally written by Michael Tellinger and Neil Johnson of Radio 702 fame in Los Angeles while living in exile. It was a response to Little Steven Van Zandt's "Sun City". Tellinger and Johnson wrote the rap epic to put on record a South African perspective on the situation in their country.

Tellinger released his first SA record in 1981, HAZEL, nominated for the SARIE award in that year as best male vocalist.^{[citation needed]} Later in 1981 Tellinger played the part of Joseph in the opening of the State Theatre in Pretoria. The show toured with great success for 2 years.