Idolatry
the worship of idols, images, or representations made by hands to represent divinity, or of any inanimate object; the worship of false gods; paganism.
According to Lubbock idolatry or anthropomorphism is the fifth of six progressive stages in the history of religion. Ethnic. The ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans, the modern Chinese, Burmese, Hindus, etc., all in that fifth stage of religious development.
Jewish. In all countries where idolatry exists, the tendency is for the uneducated to worship the idol as if it were a deity. Denunciations by the prophet Isaiah are directed against this. When Aaron made the golden calf he built an altar and proclaimed a feast to Jehovah, but the people said: "These be thy gods, O Israel." Idolatry is forbidden in the Decalogue (Exodus xx: 3-6).
IGLOOLIK or of events in pastoral life; as the idyls of Theocritus among the ancients; Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," etc.