I would do the following using a list, so that path1 is on index 0 and path n on index n-1
Code:
pathlist = list()
for curNumber in range(maxNumberOfPaths) :
path = viz.add(viz.ANIMATION_PATH)
path.speed(1)
path.loop(viz.CIRCULAR)
pathlist.append(path)
The way to concatenate strings in Python is:
'text' + str(otherArgs)',
so 'path' + str(1) would become 'path1'
If you are unsure about the ability of the otherArgs to be casted correctly, you can wrap a try/catch around it.
If you want to call elements in a container by their name, you can use a dictionary.