This is probably a complicated question to answer. The reason I'm asking is that, for example, in greek philosophy, they considered wisdom, intellect and the soul to be separate things, and they seems to think that it was in some way shared between people, rather than belonging to the individual. Abstract ideas like 'wisdom' were also often personified in the form of dieties. Inspiration and creativity were often thought to originate from gods.

I guess my question is, did the ancients think of themselves as individuals in control of their own actions, or as mere conduits for forces beyond themselves, or some combination of the above?

I'm sure the answer is different for different cultures, so I guess answer for whichever ones you feel comfortable speaking for.