Short answers, pulled from the story.
The English word deity derives from Old French and the Latin noun deus meaning divine nature. Augustine of Hippo coined this term in late antiquity to describe a being with powers greater than ordinary humans.
Archaeologists examine terracotta figurines from Çatalhöyük dating around 6000 B.C.E. to infer early religious beliefs about supernatural beings. A seated nude woman flanked by two felines represents one probable goddess figure found at this site.
Egyptian records list more than 1,400 named deities according to Egyptologist James P. Allen. Christian Leitz estimates thousands upon thousands exist within Egyptian texts alone.
Twelve Olympians dominated the Greek pantheon including Zeus Hera Poseidon Athena Apollo Artemis Aphrodite Hermes Demeter Dionysus Hephaestus and Ares. Local deities like Pan guarded shepherds while Nymphs inhabited specific landforms.
The First Council of Nicaea condemned Subordinationism in the fourth century declaring all three persons of the Holy Trinity equal. Origen first described these three persons as homooúsios meaning of the same substance.