Clanad -
Please read what I wrote carefully. I stated, "... As I'm sure you're aware, earlier civilisations such as the Romans, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Sumerians, etc. were all polytheistic religions. Not one religion prior to the Abrahamic religions were monotheistic...."
Then you try to suggest that I'm wrong because (your quote), "... The Greeks were also among the first cultures to propound monotheistic ideals, at least in a philosophical sense...". But even if this is true, prior to this the Greeks were polytheistic, worshipping multiple Olympian gods:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_religion
I love this quote you cite: "... Although the theory of "Ur-monotheism" or original monotheism was put forward by Wilhelm Schmidt (1868-1954) in a series of volumes beginning in 1912 to claim, in direct opposition to this evolutionary viewpoint, that monotheism was the original belief of humankind, and that subsequent beliefs such as polydaemonism and pantheism, among others, gradually arose out of the degeneration of this primordial monotheism...".
So me get this straight. One chap, called Wilhelm Schmidt *suggests* that people were all originally monothestic. And that's it. Well that's that then. Ha, ha. Check this out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheism
From the above link, "... Polytheism was the typical form of religion during the Bronze Age (ie. the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, often called, "the cradle of civilization") and Iron Age, up to the Axial Age and the development of Abrahamic religions which enforced strict monotheism..."
You then go on to link an article about Akhenaten which has the following to say, "Akhenaten... is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic or henotheistic. // Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted. After his death, traditional religious practice was gradually restored..."
So prior to Akhenaten, the Egyptians were polytheistic and after Akhenaten they were polytheistic. I don't see how this example supports your argument.