Characterize the ancient gods and their attitudes towards man?

there are many ancient religions, but if you are talking about greek mythology, which most people are when they say 'ancient. The gods varied in character, but they were all very human. some were more tolerant and kind than others, but to them, almost all men were expendable. When Zues thought the world was too corrupt, he killed all but a few people in a flood. But Zues also killed Apollo's son when he was damaging the world by driving the sun chariot erratically. The god's picked favorites(and sometimes fell in love) but overall were fickle and inconsistent in their treatment of humans. A good way to keep think of them is super-powered humans that cope with immortality by rarely getting too attatched but are prone to bursts of anger, jealousy, and generosity.