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No, this may seem true, but no, if you read Lucian, adepts of many of those polytheistic religions would treat their deities like some piece of magic or even like a good aesthetic.
There were cults which required "defending the faith", but, well, not all of them.
many of those polytheistic religions would treat their deities like some piece of magic or even like a good aesthetic
Just like today's believers in Allah, Vishnu, Jesus, or Yahweh. Your observation doesn't really contradict the meme. At its simplest, a reader of the meme could expect to have the same degree of faith they have today just directed towards Shamash. This would include the "good aestheticians" you mention as well as today's true believers.
No, I don't mean that. I mean - like Krishnaites, or Star Wars fans, or Star Trek fans, or superstitious people with plenty of amulets, or hippies, or UFO believers.
It was a more competitive and free religious ecosystem, so to say.
For real, read Lucian, you won't regret it.