Becoming God
Deification from Antiquity to the Present
Lecture 1: Introduction
Dr. Nickolas P. Roubekas
University of Vienna
Email: nickolas.roubekas@univie.ac.at
Modes of Deification
There are many modes of deification. How do we
organize them?
A major question: Who was deified, by whom, and
why?
Types/Categories: a) Ante mortem; b) Post
mortem; c) Kingship; d) Rebel; e) Hero
Genre
Archaic / Ancient / Modern / Post-modern
Positive & Negative Impact
Meaning / Explanation / Interpretation
Etymology / Meaning / Terminology
The process of making someone (or something) a
god/goddess
Deus + facio
Broadest sense: the attainment of some sort of
superhuman transcendence
Synonyms: divinization (Lt divinus); theosis (Gr θεός,
theos); apotheosis; exaltation
Typology / Classification
Positional: deification of proximity or intimate
relation = Deity and humanity are closely related
but still divided in their fundamental natures.
Penetrative: realistic union of divinity and
human beings without compromising their
individuality = we could still pull apart deity and
humanity after their union and make them distinct
again.
Metabolic: a full transformation of humanity
into deity.
(Some) Varieties
Political deification
Deification through beauty
Deification via ascent
Deification as magic
Deification as imitation
Self-deification
Knowledge/Gnostic deification
Opinions
Cicero (106–43 BCE)
“For there is nothing in which human virtue
approaches divine power more closely than in
founding new states and preserving those
already founded” (Republic, 1.12; cf. 6.13)
Plutarch (c. 46–120 CE)
“The impulse toward truth, and especially
truth concerning the Gods, is a desire for
divinity” (Moralia, 351e)
Theorizing Deification: Euhemerism
• Euhemerus of Messene (4th-3rd c. BCE)
• Sacred Inscription (Ἱερά Ἀναγραφή)
• Euhemerism
• Criticism / (Re-)Interpretation / Approach
• Hellenistic (Divine) Kingship
• Gods evolved from kings
• Greek Mythology & Cosmological Worldview
Euhemerism: Diodorus
And going to Babylon he was entertained by Belus, and
after that he went to the island of Panchaea, which lies in
the ocean, and here he set up an altar to Uranus, the
founder of his family. From there he passed through Syria
and came to Casius, who was ruler of Syria at that time,
and who gave his name to Mt. Casius. And coming to
Cilicia he conquered in battle Cilix, the governor of the
region, and he visited very many other nations, all of which
paid honour to him and publicly proclaimed him a god.
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 6.1.10
Euhemerism: Lactantius
Ennius in his Sacred History, after describing all the deeds which
he performed in his life, thus writes at the end: “Then Jupiter, after
he had circled the lands five times and divided the command
among all his friends and relatives, and left to men laws and
customs, and prepared grain, and had done many other good
things for them, affected by immortal glory and memory left lasting
memorials of himself. When his age was completely spent in Crete,
he exchanged this life and passed to the gods. His sepulcher is in
Crete, in the town of Cnossos (Vesta is said to have founded this
city) and on his sepulcher is inscribed in ancient Greek characters,
ZAN KRONOY; in Latin, Jupiter son of Saturn.”
Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones 1.11.45–46
Kingship, Gods, and Politics in Euhemerus’ Time
Demetrius the Besieger (337–283 BCE)
The Hymn to Demetrius
... Now, know that other gods are far away or
have no ears or don’t exist or do not
care about us. But you, we see here present,
Not wood, nor stone, but real to the bone.
To you we send our prayer:
So first of all make peace, o most beloved, For you have the
power ...
Hermokles of Kyzikos (preserved by Athenaeus 257f)
Divine Kingship / Sacred Kingship
• Kingship is one of the most enduring forms of
human governance.
• Unknown precise historical origins in time and
space.
• Attested during virtually all eras on all continents.
• For most of human history the tendency was for it
to become more common, not less.
Divine vs. Sacred Kingship I
Divine Kingship
• The essence of sovereignty.
• The ability to act as if one were a god:
1. Step outside the confines of the human and return;
2. Bring rain;
3. Cause destruction, etc.
• Such power is accompanied by the theory that the king
demonstrates that:
1. He is an actual embodiment of some already-existing
metahuman being; or
2. Becomes a metahuman being.
Divine vs. Sacred Kingship II
Sacred Kingship
Sacred = to be set apart.
Emile Durkheim (1858–1917):
“The division of the world into two domains, the one
containing all that is sacred, the other all that is profane, is
the distinctive trait of religious thought... But by sacred
things one must not understand simply those personal beings
which are called gods or spirits ... anything can be
sacred.” (The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, p. 52)
Divine/Sacred Kingship in History: Genre
• For half of humanity the creation of mortal kingship
represents a major blow: kings are, in virtually every
known case, archetypically male.
• Fixing divine political power in the male head of a
royal household was a blow for patriarchy in two ways:
a) the primary human manifestation of divine power
was now masculine; b) the main purpose of the ideal
household is producing powerful men.
• Paleolithic or Neolithic representations of powerful
female figures but mostly mere “mythological”
representations, of no political significance.
Creating & Manufacturing Divine Kingship
• Origins of dynasty: heroic prince from a greater
outside realm, near or distant, legendary or
contemporary, celestial or terrestrial.
• The hero manifests a nature above, beyond, and
greater than the people he is destined to rule—
hence his power to do so.
• His kingdom is often peacefully established.
• Prosperity follows.
‘Treating’ Divine Kingship
• Symbolic Reading
= Divine kingship is about humans rather than
about gods or the world
• Literal Reading
= the referent is the straightforward, apparent one,
i.e. king as god
Self-Deification: The Rebel
• ‘Cosmic’ rebellion occurs when a demigod, king, or
monster rebels against another, older divinity. War
ensues, coupled with destruction. Out of the epic clash a
new world is born.
Examples: Marduk in Enuma Elish; Zeus vs. the Titans
• The rebel is often already a divinity, but a subordinate (or
younger) god who challenges the king of the pantheon.
• When the rebel explicitly claims divinity (or the divine
power of the reigning God), a myth of self-deification is
born.
Self-Deification: The Hero
“Hero myths”
The hero is son of the high God, destined to inherit the
kingdom of his divine father.
He typically assumes human form, is subject to human
emotions, and develops a human self-understanding.
When the hero is too powerful or too wild to fit into
society, he embarks on a journey.
He faces opposition in the world, often in the form of
monsters or demons.
People spurn and reject his person and fear his
extraordinary powers.
The divine son proves his true nature and rises to heaven.
But What is a ‘God/Divinity’?
An agent believed to be free (though not always completely)
from the physical, psychological, and moral constraints that
limit humans. (Who, however, are thought to function in
ways analogous to those of ordinary human beings.)
But:
They may ask for food (e.g., the feast of Lugalbanda)
They may have adversaries (e.g., the Devil)
They may not be omnipotent nor immortal (e.g., Egypt)
They may be amorphous or anthropomorphic (e.g.,
Greek and Roman gods)
Etymology of ‘god/divinity’
Most commonly: a celestial god is the divinity that
comes to mind
Judaism & Christianity
But also:
Proto Indo-European *deiwos (root *dei- = shine),
meaning ‘luminous,’ ‘celestial’
Moreover: Turkish & Mongol tngri (= sky & supreme
god); Chinese Tian (T’ien)
Boundaries between God(s), Humans, and Nature
• God(s) create humans (and nature)
• God(s) reproduce with humans
• God(s) may take the shape of humans (or natural
objects)
• God(s) can communicate with humans (or
animals)
• God(s) can control humans (animals, or the
nature)
• Vice versa?
Becoming God (by, to, and for whom)
• Humans deemed gods by society
• Identities are social
• Deification is a product of society
“The responsiveness to new labels suggests
extraordinary readiness to fall into new slots and to let
selfhood be redefines... It is [a very] dynamic process
by which new names are uttered and forthwith new
creatures corresponding to them emerge.”
(Mary Douglas, How Institutions Think, 1986, p. 100)