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115-416: The original sense of apotheosis relates to religion and is the subject of many works of art. Figuratively "apotheosis" may be used in almost any context for "the deification, glorification, or exaltation of a principle, practice, etc.", so normally attached to an abstraction of some sort. In religion, apotheosis was a feature of many religions in the ancient world, and some that are active today. It requires

230-713: A Heavenly Mother , and the prevailing view among Mormons is that God the Father was once a man who lived on a planet with his own higher God, and who became perfect after following this higher God. Some critics of Mormonism argue that statements in the Book of Mormon describe a trinitarian conception of God (e.g. 2 Nephi 31:21 ; Alma 11:44 ), but were superseded by later revelations . Due to teachings within Mormon cosmology , some theologians claim that it allows for an infinite number of gods. Mormons teach that scriptural statements on

345-508: A group of stars that still bear her name. From at least the Geometric period of the ninth century BC, the long-deceased heroes linked with founding myths of Greek sites were accorded chthonic rites in their heroon , or "hero-temple". In the Greek world, the first leader who accorded himself divine honours was Philip II of Macedon . At his wedding to his sixth wife, Philip's enthroned image

460-511: A belief that there is a possibility of newly created gods, so a polytheistic belief system. The major modern religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism do not allow for this, though many recognise minor sacred categories such as saints (created by a process called canonization ). In Christian theology there is a concept of the faithful becoming god-like, called divinization or in Eastern Christianity theosis . In Hinduism there

575-538: A crucial step in the process in which God's spirit children gain a body, which, though formed in the image of the Father's body, is subject to pain, illness, temptation, and death. The purpose of this earth life is to learn to choose the right in the face of that opposition, thereby gaining essential experience and wisdom. The level of intelligence we attain in this life will rise in the Resurrection (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18–19). Bodies will then be immortal like those of

690-465: A deceased ruler was recognized as divine by his successor, usually also by a decree of the Senate and popular consent . The first of these cases was the posthumous deification of the last Roman dictator Julius Caesar in 42 BC by his adopted son, the triumvir Caesar Octavian . In addition to showing respect, often the present ruler deified a popular predecessor to legitimize himself and gain popularity with

805-489: A deity, and the use of deities as symbols rather than supernatural agents. Buddhism is most closely aligned with polytheism when it is linked with other religions, often folk religions. For example, the Japanese Shinto religion, in which deities called kami are worshipped, is sometimes mixed with Buddhism. Although Christianity is usually described as a monotheistic religion, it is sometimes claimed that Christianity

920-454: A distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods". Mormonism, which emerged from Protestantism, teaches exaltation defined as the idea that people can become like god in the afterlife. Mormonism also affirms the existence of

1035-615: A poem entitled "The Apotheosis, or the Snow-Drop" in 1787. Parodic Apotheoses include the conclusion of Alexander Pope 's mock heroic The Rape of the Lock , where the lock of hair that has caused the dispute rises to the heavens: The Lock, obtain'd with Guilt, and kept with Pain, In ev'ry place is sought, but sought in vain: ... But trust the Muse; she saw it upward rise, Tho' mark'd by none but quick Poetick Eyes: (So Rome's great Founder to

1150-441: A proper consecration ritual. It was believed that after the consecration ritual the idol no longer remained as stone or metal and attained a temporary or permanent state of divinity. Some Hindu philosophers and theologians argue for a transcendent metaphysical structure with a single divine essence. This divine essence is usually referred to as Brahman or Atman , but the understanding of the nature of this absolute divine essence

1265-596: A proto-monotheism or at least henotheism in polytheistic religions, for example, when taking from the Chinese pair of Sky and Earth only one part and calling it the King of Heaven , as Matteo Ricci did. In 1508, a London Lollard named William Pottier was accused of believing in six gods. Joseph Smith , the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement , believed in "the plurality of Gods", saying "I have always declared God to be

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1380-509: A rebirth, it is a participation in and partaking of the divine nature" (cf. 2 Peter 1:4 ). In Catholic teaching there is a vital distinction between natural life and supernatural life, the latter being "the life that God, in an act of love, freely gives to human beings to elevate them above their natural lives" and which they receive through prayer and the sacraments; indeed the Catholic Church sees human existence as having as its whole purpose

1495-412: A segment of his ballet Spartacus "Sunrise and Apotheosis." Samuel Menashe (1925–2011) wrote a poem entitled Apotheosis, as did Barbara Kingsolver . Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) wrote Love, Poem 18: Apotheosis. The poet Dejan Stojanović 's Dancing of Sounds contains the line, "Art is apotheosis." Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote a poem entitled Love's Apotheosis. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote

1610-551: A single altar. Many other places had cults of the twelve gods, including Delos , Chalcedon , Magnesia on the Maeander , and Leontinoi in Sicily . As with the twelve Olympians, although the number of gods was fixed at twelve, the membership varied. While the majority of the gods included as members of these other cults of twelve gods were Olympians, non-Olympians were also sometimes included. For example, Herodorus of Heraclea identified

1725-408: A single book, Hinduism is an umbrella term for a collection of ideologies. They are compatible with Hindu texts, since there exists no consensus of standardisation in the faith. Vedanta , the most dominant school of Hinduism, offers a combination of pantheism/panentheism and polytheism, holding that Brahman is the sole ultimate reality of the universe, yet unity with it can be reached by worshipping

1840-479: A son of God." "For He was made man that we might be made God." "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods." Accusations of self deification to some degree may have been placed upon heretical groups such as the Waldensians . The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, authored by Anglican Priest Alan Richardson, contains

1955-635: A space for worship. The imperial cult was mainly popular in the provinces, especially in the Eastern Empire, where many cultures were well-used to deified rulers, and less popular in Rome itself, and among traditionalists and intellectuals. Some privately (and cautiously) ridiculed the apotheosis of inept and feeble emperors, as in the satire The Pumpkinification of (the Divine) Claudius , usually attributed to Seneca . Numerous mortals have been deified into

2070-501: A substance is not found in scripture but, in many aspects, mirrored the Greek metaphysical philosophies that are known to have influenced the thinking of Church Fathers. Latter-day Saints teach that by modern revelation, God restored the knowledge that he is the literal father of our spirits (Hebrews 12:9) and that the Biblical references to God creating mankind in his image and likeness are in no way allegorical. As such, Mormons assert that as

2185-541: A treatment has often been seen by 20th-century critics as "vacuous bombast". Richard Wagner famously used the term metaphorically in describing Beethoven 's Seventh Symphony as "the apotheosis of the dance". Hector Berlioz used "Apotheose" as the title of the final movement of his Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale , a work composed in 1846 for the dedication of a monument to France's war dead. Two of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 's ballets, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker , contain apotheoses as finales;

2300-403: A wide variety of religious traditions and practices are grouped together under this umbrella term and some modern scholars have questioned the legitimacy of unifying them artificially and suggest that one should speak of "Hinduisms" in the plural. Theistic Hinduism encompasses both monotheistic and polytheistic tendencies and variations on or mixes of both structures. Hindus venerate deities in

2415-614: Is God by nature converses with those whom he has made gods by grace, as a friend converses with his friends, face to face.' The Roman Catholic Church does not use the term "apotheosis" in its theology. Corresponding to the Greek word theosis are the Latin -derived words "divinization" and "deification" used in the parts of the Catholic Church that are of Latin tradition. The concept has been given less prominence in Western theology than in that of

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2530-407: Is a leader figure but is not meant to be worshipped as a god. Devas , a Sanskrit word for gods , are also not meant to be worshipped. They are not immortal and have limited powers. They may have been humans who had positive karma in their life and were reborn as a deva. A common Buddhist practice is tantra , which is the use of rituals to achieve enlightenment. Tantra focuses on seeing yourself as

2645-564: Is a type of theism . Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism , the belief in a singular God who is, in most cases, transcendent . In religions that accept polytheism, the different gods and goddesses may be representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles ; they can be viewed either as autonomous or as aspects or emanations of a creator deity or transcendental absolute principle ( monistic theologies), which manifests immanently in nature ( panentheistic and pantheistic theologies). Polytheists do not always worship all

2760-408: Is an undoubted and well-documented historical figure (1781–1830), who is regarded by some Hindus as an avatar of Krishna , himself another avatar of Vishnu, or as being a still more elevated deity. Bharat Mata ("Mother India") began as a national personification devised by a group of Bengali intellectuals in the late 19th century, but now receives some worship. Various Hindu and Buddhist rulers in

2875-568: Is expressed in Latter-day scriptures (Mosiah 3:19, Alma 13:12, D&C 78:7, D&C 78:22, D&C 84:4, D&C 84:23, D&C 88:68, D&C 93:28) and is expressed by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "Though stretched by our challenges, by living righteously and enduring well we can eventually become sufficiently more like Jesus in our traits and attributes, that one day we can dwell in

2990-411: Is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese Folk Religions, is really so, or whether the apparent different objects of worship are to be thought of as manifestations of a singular divinity. Polytheistic belief is usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses , along with their own religious sects and rituals . Polytheism

3105-657: Is not truly monotheistic because of its idea of the Trinity . The Trinity believes that God consists of the Father , the Son and the Holy Spirit . Because the deity is three persons, some people believe Christianity should be considered a form of Tritheism or Polytheism. Christians contend that "one God exists in Three Persons and One Substance," but that a deity cannot be a person, who has one individual identity. Christianity inherited

3220-525: Is on Jesus of Nazareth and his atoning sacrifice for man, Latter-day Saints believe that one purpose for Christ's mission and for his atonement is the exaltation or Christian deification of man. The third Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states that all men may be saved from sin by the atonement of Jesus Christ, and LDS Gospel Doctrine (as published) states that all men will be saved and will be resurrected from death. However, only those who are sufficiently obedient and accept

3335-755: Is restricted to that region. Bramhan is personification of the concept of Moksha and the different gods are paths to moksha or realising the Brahman. The term comes from the Greek πολύ poly ("many") and θεός theos ("god") and was coined by the Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria to argue with the Greeks. When Christianity spread throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, non-Christians were just called Gentiles (a term originally used by Jews to refer to non-Jews) or pagans (locals) or by

3450-578: Is some scope for new deities. A human may be deified by becoming regarded as an avatar of an established deity, usually a major one, or by being regarded as a new, independent, deity (usually a minor one), or some mixture of the two. In art, an apotheosis scene typically shows the subject in the heavens or rising towards them, often accompanied by a number of angels, putti , personifications of virtues, or similar figures. Especially from Baroque art onwards, apotheosis scenes may depict rulers, generals or artists purely as an honorific metaphor; in many cases

3565-407: Is suggested that Hestia stepped down when Dionysus was invited to Mount Olympus , this is a matter of controversy. Robert Graves' The Greek Myths cites two sources that obviously do not suggest Hestia surrendered her seat, though he suggests she did. Hades was often excluded because he dwelt in the underworld. All of the gods had a power. There was, however, a great deal of fluidity as to whom

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3680-774: Is the concept of *dyēus , which is attested in several religious systems of Indo-European-speaking peoples. Well-known historical polytheistic pantheons include the Sumerian gods, the Egyptian gods, the pantheon attested in Classical Antiquity (in ancient Greek and Roman religion), the Norse Æsir and Vanir , the Yoruba Orisha , and the Aztec gods. In many civilizations, pantheons tended to grow over time. Deities first worshipped as

3795-540: Is the line which defines many Hindu philosophical traditions such as Vedanta . Among lay Hindus, some believe in different deities emanating from Brahman, while others practice more traditional polytheism and henotheism, focusing their worship on one or more personal deities, while granting the existence of others. Academically speaking, the ancient Vedic scriptures, upon which Hinduism is derived, describe four authorized disciplic lines of teaching coming down over thousands of years. (Padma Purana). Four of them propound that

3910-455: Is the most influential and important Hindu theological tradition, there are a great number of deities in Hinduism, such as Vishnu , Shiva , Ganesha , Hanuman , Lakshmi , Kali , Parvati , Durga , Rama , Krishna but they are essentially different forms of the same "Being". However, many Vedantic philosophers also argue that all individuals were united by the same impersonal, divine power in

4025-630: Is the transformation of oneself in union with God . The theosis transformation includes a purification of the body and mind ( catharsis ), an illumination via a vision of God ( theoria ). In Eastern Christianity , the purpose of human life is theosis . According to Hierotheos (Vlachos) , this process is based on direct spiritual insight ( gnosis ) rather than the rational thought or intellectual and academic pursuits primary in Western Christian traditions. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormons ), believes in apotheosis along

4140-514: The Campus Martius sit below, and eagles fly above. The imperial couple are represented as Jupiter and Juno . The historian Dio Cassius , who says he was present, gives a detailed description of the large and lavish public consecratio of Pertinax , emperor for three months in 193, ordered by Septimius Severus . At the height of the imperial cult during the Roman Empire , sometimes

4255-601: The Ascension of Jesus in Christian art share many similarities in composition to apotheosis subjects, as do many images of saints being raised to heaven. These last may use "apotheosis" in their modern titles. Early examples were often of the founders of religious orders , later canonized, with those of Saint Ignatius Loyola in the Church of the Gesù ( Andrea Pozzo , 1691–1694, to the side of

4370-531: The Eastern Catholic Churches , but is present in the Latin Church 's liturgical prayers, such as that of the deacon or priest when pouring wine and a little water into the chalice: "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity." Catholic theology stresses the concept of supernatural life, "a new creation and elevation,

4485-838: The Eumolpides (descended from Eumolpus ) of the Eleusinian mysteries , and some inherited priesthoods at oracle sites . The Greek hero cults can be distinguished on the other hand from the Roman cult of dead emperors , because the hero was not thought of as having ascended to Olympus or become a god: he was beneath the earth, and his power purely local. For this reason, hero cults were chthonic in nature, and their rituals more closely resembled those for Hecate and Persephone than those for Zeus and Apollo . Two exceptions were Heracles and Asclepius , who might be honoured as either gods or heroes, sometimes by chthonic night-time rites and sacrifice on

4600-557: The Horae , the Graces , the Muses , Eileithyia , Iris , Dione , and Ganymede . Besides the twelve Olympians, there were many other various cultic groupings of twelve gods throughout ancient Greece. The earliest evidence of Greek religious practice involving twelve gods ( Greek : δωδεκάθεον , dōdekátheon , from δώδεκα dōdeka , "twelve", and θεοί theoi , "gods") comes no earlier than

4715-598: The Taoist pantheon , such as Guan Yu , Iron-crutch Li and Fan Kuai . Song dynasty general Yue Fei was deified during the Ming dynasty and is considered by some practitioners to be one of the three highest-ranking heavenly generals. The Ming dynasty epic Investiture of the Gods deals heavily with deification legends. In the complicated and variable conceptions of deity in Buddhism ,

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4830-684: The Twelve Olympians . In the Roman story Cupid and Psyche , Zeus gives the ambrosia of the gods to the mortal Psyche, transforming her into a goddess herself. In the case of the Hellenistic queen Berenice II of Egypt , herself deified like other rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty , the court propagated a myth that her hair, cut off to fulfill a vow, had its own apotheosis before becoming the Coma Berenices ,

4945-462: The animist beliefs prevalent in most folk religions . The gods of polytheism are in many cases the highest order of a continuum of supernatural beings or spirits, which may include ancestors , demons , wights , and others. In some cases these spirits are divided into celestial or chthonic classes, and belief in the existence of all these beings does not imply that all are worshipped. Types of deities often found in polytheism may include: In

5060-432: The emperor 's deceased loved ones—heirs, empresses, or lovers, as Hadrian's Antinous —were deified as well. Deified people were awarded posthumously the title Divus ( Diva if women) to their names to signify their divinity. Traditional Roman religion distinguished between a deus (god) and a divus (a mortal who became divine or deified), though not consistently. Temples and columns were erected to provide

5175-546: The "religious" context is classical Greco-Roman pagan religion, as in The Apotheosis of Voltaire , featuring Apollo. The Apotheosis of Washington (1865), high up in the dome of the United States Capitol Building , is another example. Personifications of places or abstractions are also showed receiving an apotheosis. The typical composition was suitable for placement on ceilings or inside domes. Before

5290-749: The Absolute Truth is Fully Personal, as in Judeo-Christian theology. They say that the Primal Original God is Personal, both transcendent and immanent throughout creation. He can be, and is often approached through worship of Prathimas, called "Archa-Vigraha", which are described in the Vedas as identical with His various dynamic, spiritual Forms. This is the Vaisnava theology. The fifth disciplic line of Vedic spirituality, founded by Adi Shankaracharya , promotes

5405-550: The Alpheus, to the "twelve ruling gods": [Heracles] enclosed the Altis all around and marked it off in the open, and he made the encircling area a resting-place for feasting, honoring the stream of the Alpheus along with the twelve ruling gods. Another of Pindar's Olympian odes mentions "six double altars". Herodorus of Heraclea (c. 400 BC) also has Heracles founding a shrine at Olympia, with six pairs of gods, each pair sharing

5520-488: The Classical era , 4th century CE Neoplatonist Sallustius categorized mythology into five types: The beliefs of many historical polytheistic religions are commonly referred to as "mythology", though the stories cultures tell about their gods should be distinguished from their worship or religious practice. For instance, deities portrayed in conflict in mythology were often nonetheless worshipped side by side, illustrating

5635-491: The Father and the Son (Philippians 3:21), but the degree of glory to which each person will resurrect is contingent upon the Final Judgment (Revelation 20:13, 1 Corinthians 15:40–41). Those who are worthy to return to God's presence can continue to progress towards a fullness of God's glory, which Mormons refer to as eternal life, or exaltation (Doctrine and Covenants 76). The Latter-day Saint concept of apotheosis/exaltation

5750-462: The Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did." Many scholars also have discussed the correlation between Latter-day Saint belief in exaltation and the ancient Christian theosis, or deification, as set forth by early Church Fathers . Several Members of the Church believe that the original Christian belief in man's divine potential gradually lost its meaning and importance in

5865-413: The Father's presence forever and ever" (Neal Maxwell, October 1997). In early 2014, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published an essay on the official church website specifically addressing the foundations, history, and official beliefs regarding apotheosis. The essay addresses the scriptural foundations of this belief, teachings of the early Church Fathers on the subject of deification, and

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5980-399: The Greeks, Etruscans , and Romans, and also to the cultural transmission of elements of an extraneous religion, as with the ancient Egyptian deity Osiris , who was later worshipped in ancient Greece . Most ancient belief systems held that gods influenced human lives. However, the Greek philosopher Epicurus held that the gods were incorruptible but material, blissful beings who inhabited

6095-542: The Heav'ns withdrew, To Proculus alone confess'd in View.) A sudden Star, it shot thro' liquid Air, And drew behind a radiant Trail of Hair. Not Berenice 's Locks first rose so bright, The Skies bespangling with dishevel'd Light. The Sylphs behold it kindling as it flies, And pleas'd pursue its Progress thro' the Skies. Anthropolatry is the deification and worship of humans. It

6210-465: The Hellenistic period, imperial cults were known in ancient Egypt ( pharaohs ) and Mesopotamia (from Naram-Sin through Hammurabi ). In the New Kingdom of Egypt , all deceased pharaohs were deified as the god Osiris , having been identified as Horus while on the throne, and sometimes referred to as the "son" of various other deities . The architect Imhotep was deified after his death, though

6325-607: The Imam Al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh was God incarnate . Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of the Druze faith and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts, he proclaimed that God became flesh, assumed a human nature, and became a man in the form of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah . Historian David R. W. Bryer defines the Druzes as ghulat of Isma'ilism, since they exaggerated the cult of

6440-430: The achievement of Buddhahood may be regarded as an achievable goal for the faithful, and many significant deities are considered to have begun as normal humans, from Gautama Buddha himself downwards. Most of these are seen as avatars or re-births of earlier figures. Some significant Hindu deities, in particular Rama , were also born as humans; he is seen as an avatar of Vishnu . In more modern times, Swaminarayan

6555-525: The acquisition, preservation and intensification of this supernatural life. Deification for humans is holistic because people have a body and a soul. It begins immaterially or spiritually in the soul via the infusion of sanctifying grace - such as the fruit of the Holy Spirit - in baptism. Spiritual deification is consummated at entry into Paradise . Full deification is achieved at the resurrection on Judgment Day , via material or physical deification, when

6670-409: The appearance of a theme in grand or exalted form, typically as a finale. The term is especially associated with the symphonic works of Franz Liszt , where "the main theme, which may by and large be considered as characterizing the hero, is presented in its constituent elements blown up beyond all proportions and, because it is typically slowed down tremendously, is split up into smaller segments". Such

6785-545: The ascent of the deified person's soul to heaven. Imagery featuring the ascent, sometimes using a chariot, was common on coins and in other art. The largest and most famous example in art is a relief on the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius (d. 161), showing the emperor and his wife Faustina the Elder (d. c. 140) being carried up by a much larger winged figure, described as representing "Eternity", as personifications of "Roma" and

6900-491: The atonement and the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ before the resurrection and final judgment will be "exalted" and receive a literal Christian deification . A quote often attributed to the early Church leader Lorenzo Snow in 1837, is "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be." The teaching was taught first by Joseph Smith while he was pointing to John 5:19 in the New Testament ; he said that "God himself,

7015-443: The believer's occupation, tastes, personal experience, family tradition, etc. It is also possible to worship a single deity, considered supreme, without ruling out the existence of other gods. This religious position has been called henotheism, but some prefer to call it monolatry. Although the term "henotheism" is controversial, it is recognized by scholars that the worship of a single God accompanied by belief in other deities maintains

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7130-565: The body is deified. Only saints will be fully deified, whereas the damned will only be made immortal. The whole Universe is unconditionally predestined for deification on Judgment Day, save for humans and angels, whose predestination to deification is conditioned on moral behavior. Despite the theological differences, in Catholic church art depictions of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in art and

7245-478: The caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and considered him divine; he also defines the Druzes as a religion that deviated from Islam. He also added that as a result of this deviation, the Druze faith "seems as different from Islam as Islam is from Christianity or Christianity is from Judaism". The Druze deify al-Hākim bi-Amr Allāh, attributing to him divine qualities similar to those Christians attribute to Jesus . Apart from

7360-491: The centuries after the death of the apostles, as doctrinal changes by post-apostolic theologians caused Christians to lose sight of the true nature of God and his purpose for creating humanity. The concept of God's nature that was eventually accepted as Christian doctrine in the 4th century set divinity apart from humanity by defining the Godhead as three persons sharing a common divine substance. That classification of God in terms of

7475-609: The clearly pejorative term idolaters (worshippers of "false" gods). In modern times, the term polytheism was first revived in French by Jean Bodin in 1580, followed by Samuel Purchas 's usage in English in 1614. A major division in modern polytheistic practices is between so-called soft polytheism and hard polytheism. "Soft" polytheism is the belief that different gods may either be psychological archetypes , personifications of natural forces, or as being one essential god interpreted through

7590-445: The concept that the Absolute is Brahman, without clear differentiations, without will, without thought, without intelligence. In the Smarta denomination of Hinduism, the philosophy of Advaita expounded by Shankara allows veneration of numerous deities with the understanding that all of them are but manifestations of one impersonal divine power, Brahman . Therefore, according to various schools of Vedanta including Shankara, which

7705-433: The distinction within the religion between belief and practice. Scholars such as Jaan Puhvel , J. P. Mallory , and Douglas Q. Adams have reconstructed aspects of the ancient Proto-Indo-European religion from which the religions of the various Indo-European peoples are thought to derive, which is believed to have been an essentially naturalist numenistic religion. An example of a religious notion from this shared past

7820-408: The drama of salvation leading to the deification (apotheosis) of the human, in order that such perfection as originally part of human nature in creation but distorted by the fall might bring fellowship with the divine. The Druze faith further split from Isma'ilism as it developed its own unique doctrines, and finally separated from both Ismāʿīlīsm and Islam altogether; these include the belief that

7935-407: The empty spaces between worlds and did not trouble themselves with the affairs of mortals, but could be perceived by the mind, especially during sleep. The classical scheme in Ancient Greece of the Twelve Olympians (the Canonical Twelve of art and poetry) were: Zeus , Hera , Poseidon , Athena , Ares , Demeter , Apollo , Artemis , Hephaestus , Aphrodite , Hermes , and Hestia . Though it

8050-420: The fifth century, St. Cyril of Alexandria says that we shall become sons 'by participation' (Greek methexis). Deification is the central idea in the spirituality of St. Maximus the Confessor, for whom the doctrine is the corollary of the Incarnation: 'Deification, briefly, is the encompassing and fulfillment of all times and ages', ... and St. Symeon the New Theologian at the end of the tenth century writes, 'He who

8165-409: The following day. One god considered as a hero to mankind is Prometheus , who secretly stole fire from Mount Olympus and introduced it to mankind. Up to the end of the Republic , the god Quirinus was the only one the Romans accepted as having undergone apotheosis, for his identification/ syncretism with Romulus (see Euhemerism ). Subsequently, apotheosis in ancient Rome was a process whereby

8280-452: The following in an article titled "Deification": Deification (Greek theosis) is for Orthodoxy the goal of every Christian. Man, according to the Bible, is 'made in the image and likeness of God'. ... It is possible for man to become like God, to become deified, to become god by grace. This doctrine is based on many passages of both OT and NT (e.g. Ps. 82 (81).6; II Peter 1.4), and it is essentially

8395-482: The form of the pratima , or idol. The Puja (worship) of the pratima is like a way to communicate with the formless, abstract divinity ( Brahman in Hinduism) which creates, sustains and dissolves creation. However, there are sects who have advocated that there is no need of giving a shape to God and that it is omnipresent and beyond the things which human can see or feel tangibly.These gods were not worshipped without

8510-509: The form of the Atman . Many other Hindus, however, view polytheism as far preferable to monotheism. Ram Swarup , for example, points to the Vedas as being specifically polytheistic, and states that, "only some form of polytheism alone can do justice to this variety and richness." Nasadiya Sukta (Hymn of non-Eternity, origin of universe): There was neither non-existence nor existence then; Neither

8625-463: The god Hermes divide a sacrifice of two cows he has stolen from Apollo, into twelve parts, on the banks of the river Alpheus (presumably at Olympia): Next glad-hearted Hermes dragged the rich meats he had prepared and put them on a smooth, flat stone, and divided them into twelve portions distributed by lot, making each portion wholly honorable. Pindar, in an ode written to be sung at Olympia c. 480 BC, has Heracles sacrificing, alongside

8740-460: The gods equally; they can be in monolatrists or kathenotheists , specializing in the worship of one particular deity only or at certain times (respectively). The recognition of the existence of multiple gods and goddesses does not necessarily equate to the worship of all the deities of one or more pantheons, as the believer can either worship them as a whole, or concentrate only on a specific group of deities, determined by various conditions such as

8855-426: The idea of one God from Judaism, and maintains that its monotheistic doctrine is central to the faith. Jordan Paper, a Western scholar and self-described polytheist, considers polytheism to be the normal state in human culture. He argues that "Even the Catholic Church shows polytheistic aspects with the 'veneration' of the saints." On the other hand, he complains, monotheistic missionaries and scholars were eager to see

8970-485: The idea that "all gods are one essential god" and may also reject the existence of gods outside their own pantheon altogether . The deities of polytheism are often portrayed as complex personages of greater or lesser status, with individual skills, needs, desires and histories, in many ways similar to humans ( anthropomorphic ) in their personality traits, but with additional individual powers, abilities, knowledge or perceptions. Polytheism cannot be cleanly separated from

9085-514: The innumerable deities that represent the Supreme Absolute Truth . Hindus who practice Bhakti ultimately believe in one God, who is known variously as Paramatman , Parabrahman , Bhagavan , Ishvara , and so on, that transcends all categories (e.g. both of form and formless), however the common people who remain unaware of these concepts worship their deities as ultimate god. Different regions can have their own local deities whose worship

9200-491: The late sixth century BC. According to Thucydides , an altar of the twelve gods was established in the agora of Athens by the archon Pisistratus (son of Hippias and the grandson of the tyrant Pisistratus ), around 522 BC. The altar became the central point from which distances from Athens were measured and a place of supplication and refuge. Olympia apparently also had an early tradition of twelve gods. The Homeric Hymn to Hermes ( c.  500 BC ) has

9315-511: The later Roman religion . During the Hellenistic Era, philosophical schools like Epicureanism developed distinct theologies. Hellenism is, in practice, primarily centered around polytheistic and animistic worship. The majority of so-called " folk religions " in the world today (distinguished from traditional ethnic religions ) are found in the Asia-Pacific region . This fact conforms to

9430-445: The lenses of different cultures (e.g. Odin , Zeus , and Indra all being the same god as interpreted by Germanic, Greek, and Indic peoples respectively) – known as omnitheism . In this way, gods may be interchangeable for one another across cultures. "Hard" polytheism is the belief that gods are distinct, separate, real divine beings, rather than psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces. Hard polytheists reject

9545-498: The level of sharing the divine nature as 2 Peter 1:4 states that he became human to make humans "partakers of the divine nature". In John 10:34, Jesus referenced Psalm 82:6 when he stated "Is it not written in your Law, I have said you are gods?" Other authors stated: "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become

9660-462: The lines of the Christian tradition of divinization or deification but refers to it as exaltation , or eternal life, and considers it to be accomplished by "sanctification". They believe that people may live with God throughout eternity in families and eventually become gods themselves but remain subordinate to God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. While the primary focus of the LDS Church

9775-500: The literal offspring of God the Father (Acts 17:28–29), humans have the potential to be heirs of his glory and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16–17). The glory, Mormons believe, lies not in God's substance but in his intelligence: in other words, light and truth (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36). Thus, the purpose of humans is to grow and progress to become like the Father in Heaven. Mortality is seen as

9890-528: The nave cupola) and Saint Dominic in Santi Domenico e Sisto (1674–1675) two examples in Rome. The Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power by Pietro da Cortona (1630s) celebrated Pope Urban VIII and his family, combining heraldic symbols including the crossed keys of the papacy and giant bees representing the Barberini family with personifications. In Eastern Orthodox theology , Theosis

10005-563: The original twelve being "cast out". In the Iliad , the goddess Themis , who is listed among the twelve Titans , dwells on Olympus alongside the other gods, making her a Titan and an Olympian at the same time. According to Hesiod, the children of Styx — Zelus (Envy), Nike (Victory), Kratos (Strength), and Bia (Force)—"have no house apart from Zeus, nor any dwelling nor path except that wherein God leads them, but they dwell always with Zeus". Some others who might be considered Olympians include

10120-469: The past have been represented as deities, especially after death, from India to Indonesia . Jayavarman VII , King of the Khmer Empire (r. 1181–1218) the first Buddhist king of Cambodia, had his own features used for the many statues of Buddha/ Avalokitesvara he erected. The extreme personality cult instituted by the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung , has been said to represent a deification, though

10235-471: The patrons of cities or other places came to be collected together as empires extended over larger territories. Conquests could lead to the subordination of a culture's pantheon to that of the invaders, as in the Greek Titanomachia , and possibly also the Æsir–Vanir war in the Norse mythos . Cultural exchange could lead to "the same" deity being revered in two places under different names, as seen with

10350-475: The people. A vote in the Roman Senate , in the later Empire confirming an imperial decree, was the normal official process, but this sometimes followed a period with the unofficial use of deific language or imagery for the individual, often done rather discreetly within the imperial circle. There was then a public ceremony, called a consecratio , including the release of an eagle which flew high, representing

10465-532: The place of Vesta (Greek Hestia), who played a crucial role in Roman religion as a state goddess maintained by the Vestals . There is no single canonical list of the twelve Olympian gods. The thirteen Greek gods and goddesses, along with their Roman counterparts, most commonly considered to be one of the twelve Olympians are listed below. Some lists of the Twelve Olympians omit her in favor of Dionysus, but

10580-569: The previous generation of ruling immortal beings, the Titans , children of the primordial deities Gaia and Uranus . They were a family of gods, the most important consisting of the first generation of Olympians, offspring of the Titans Cronus and Rhea : Zeus, Poseidon , Hera , Demeter and Hestia , along with the principal offspring of Zeus: Aphrodite , Athena , Artemis , Apollo , Ares , Hephaestus , Hermes and Dionysus . Although Hades

10695-1171: The principle of polytheism. Polytheism was the typical form of religion before the development and spread of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism , Christianity , and Islam , which enforce monotheism. It is well documented throughout history, from prehistory and the earliest records of ancient Egyptian religion and ancient Mesopotamian religion to the religions prevalent during Classical antiquity , such as ancient Greek religion and ancient Roman religion , and in ethnic religions such as Germanic , Slavic , and Baltic paganism and Native American religions . Notable polytheistic religions practiced today include Taoism , Hellenism (modern religion) , Shenism or Chinese folk religion , many schools of Hinduism , Shinto , Santería , most Traditional African religions , and various neopagan faiths such as Wicca . Hinduism , while popularly held as polytheistic by many scholars, cannot be exclusively categorised as such as some Hindus consider themselves to be pantheists , panentheists , henotheist , polymorphist, monotheists or monist . Hinduism does not have

10810-403: The process seems to have been gradual, taking well over a thousand years, by which time he had become associated primarily with medicine. About a dozen non-royal ancient Egyptians became regarded as deities. Ancient Greek religion and its Roman equivalent have many figures who were born as humans but became gods, for example Hercules . They are typically made divine by one of the main deities,

10925-408: The realm of space, nor the sky which is beyond; What stirred? Where? In whose protection? There was neither death nor immortality then; No distinguishing sign of night nor of day; That One breathed, windless, by its own impulse; Other than that there was nothing beyond. Darkness there was at first, by darkness hidden; Without distinctive marks, this all was water; That which, becoming, by

11040-492: The river god Alpheus, with the status of the Graces (here apparently counted as one god) being unclear. Plato connected "twelve gods" with the twelve months and implies that he considered Pluto (Or Hades) one of the twelve in proposing that the final month be devoted to him and the spirits of the dead. The Roman poet Ennius gives the Roman equivalents (the Dii Consentes ) as six male-female complements, preserving

11155-453: The same is true of Ludwig Minkus 's La Bayadère . Igor Stravinsky composed two ballets, Apollo and Orpheus , which both contain episodes entitled "Apotheose". The concluding tableau of Maurice Ravel 's Ma mère l'Oye is also titled "Apotheose." Czech composer Karel Husa , concerned in 1970 about arms proliferation and environmental deterioration, named his musical response Apotheosis for This Earth . Aram Khachaturian entitled

11270-504: The six pairs of gods at Olympia as: Zeus and Poseidon, Hera and Athena, Hermes and Apollo, the Graces and Dionysus, Artemis and Alpheus , and Cronus and Rhea . Thus, while this list includes the eight Olympians: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus, it also contains three clear non-Olympians: the Titan parents of the first generation of Olympians, Cronus and Rhea, and

11385-466: The state is avowedly atheist. Instead of the word "apotheosis", Christian theology uses in English the words "deification" or "divinization" or the Greek word " theosis ". Pre- Reformation and mainstream theology, in both East and West, views Jesus Christ as the preexisting God who undertook mortal existence, not as a mortal being who attained divinity (a view known as adoptionism ). It holds that he has made it possible for human beings to be raised to

11500-505: The teaching both of St Paul, though he tends to use the language of filial adoption (cf. Rom. 8.9–17; Gal. 4.5–7), and the Fourth Gospel (cf. 17.21–23). The language of II Peter is taken up by St Irenaeus, in his famous phrase, 'if the Word has been made man, it is so that men may be made gods' (Adv. Haer V, Pref.), and becomes the standard in Greek theology. In the fourth century, St. Athanasius repeats Irenaeus almost word for word, and in

11615-540: The teachings of modern Church leaders, starting with Joseph Smith. Distinctively, in Wesleyan Protestantism theosis sometimes implies the doctrine of entire sanctification which teaches, in summary, that it is the Christian's goal, in principle possible to achieve, to live without any (voluntary) sin ( Christian perfection ). Wesleyan theologians detect the influence on Wesley from the Eastern Fathers, who saw

11730-420: The title of "gods" (John 10:33–36), because as literal children of God they can take upon themselves His divine attributes. Mormons teach that "The glory of God is intelligence" (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36), and that it is by sharing the Father's perfect comprehension of all things that both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are also divine. Hinduism is neither a monolithic religion nor an organized religion :

11845-520: The trend of the majority of polytheist religions being found outside the western world. Folk religions are often closely tied to animism . Animistic beliefs are found in historical and modern cultures. Folk beliefs are often labeled superstitions when they are present in monotheistic societies. Folk religions often do not have organized authorities, also known as priesthoods , or any formal sacred texts . They often coincide with other religions as well. Abrahamic monotheistic religions , which dominate

11960-422: The twelve Olympians, there were many other cultic groupings of twelve gods. The Olympians were a race of deities , primarily consisting of a third and fourth generation of immortal beings, worshipped as the principal gods of the Greek pantheon and so named because of their residency atop Mount Olympus . They gained their supremacy in a ten-year-long war of gods , in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over

12075-419: The unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost represent a oneness of purpose, not of substance. They believe that the early Christian church did not characterize divinity in terms of an immaterial, formless shared substance until post-apostolic theologians began to incorporate Greek metaphysical philosophies (such as Neoplatonism ) into Christian doctrine. Mormons believe that the truth about God's nature

12190-652: The visual arts, several works of classical music use the term in the titles or works or sections. In French Baroque music it was an alternative title to tombeau ("tomb" or "tombstone") for "memorial pieces" for chamber forces to commemorate individuals who were friends or patrons. François Couperin wrote two pieces titled as apotheoses, one for Arcangelo Corelli ( Le Parnasse, ou L'Apothéose de Corelli ), and one for Jean Baptiste Lully ( L'Apothéose de Lully ), whose movements have titles such as Enlévement de Lully au Parnasse ("The raising of Lully to Parnassus"). In Romantic music , apotheosis sections usually contain

12305-690: The void was covered; That One by force of heat came into being; Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? Gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen? Olympian gods In ancient Greek religion and mythology , the twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon , commonly considered to be Zeus , Poseidon , Hera , Demeter , Aphrodite , Athena , Artemis , Apollo , Ares , Hephaestus , Hermes , and either Hestia or Dionysus . They were called Olympians because, according to tradition, they resided on Mount Olympus . Besides

12420-403: The western world, typically do not approve of practicing parts of multiple religions, but folk religions often overlap with others. Followers of polytheistic religions do not often problematize following practices and beliefs from multiple religions. Depending on the type of Buddhism practiced, it may be seen as polytheistic as it at least acknowledges the existence of multiple gods. The Buddha

12535-585: Was a major deity in the Greek pantheon and was the brother of Zeus and the other first generation of Olympians, his realm was far away from Olympus in the underworld , and thus he was not usually considered to be one of the Olympians. Olympic gods can be contrasted to chthonic gods including Hades and his wife Persephone , by mode of sacrifice, the latter receiving sacrifices in a bothros ( βόθρος , "pit") or megaron ( μέγαρον , "sunken chamber") rather than at an altar. The canonical number of Olympian gods

12650-400: Was also an honour given to a few revered artists of the distant past, notably Homer . Archaic and Classical Greek hero-cults became primarily civic, extended from their familial origins, in the sixth century; by the fifth century none of the worshipers based their authority by tracing descent back to the hero, with the exception of some families who inherited particular priestly cults, such as

12765-704: Was carried in procession among the Olympian gods ; "his example at Aigai became a custom, passing to the Macedonian kings who were later worshipped in Greek Asia , from them to Julius Caesar and so to the emperors of Rome". Such Hellenistic state leaders might be raised to a status equal to the gods before death (e.g., Alexander the Great ) or afterwards (e.g., members of the Ptolemaic dynasty). A heroic cult status similar to apotheosis

12880-617: Was counted among their number in antiquity. Different cities often worshipped the same deities, sometimes with epithets that distinguished them and specified their local nature. Hellenic Polytheism extended beyond mainland Greece, to the islands and coasts of Ionia in Asia Minor , to Magna Graecia (Sicily and southern Italy), and to scattered Greek colonies in the Western Mediterranean, such as Massalia (Marseille). Greek religion tempered Etruscan cult and belief to form much of

12995-455: Was practiced in ancient Japan towards their emperors. Followers of Socinianism were later accused of practicing anthropolatry. Anthropologist Ludwig Feuerbach professed a religion to worship all human beings while Auguste Comte venerated only individuals who made positive contributions and excluded those who did not. Polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god . According to Oxford Reference, it

13110-525: Was restored through modern day revelation, which reinstated the original Judeo-Christian concept of a natural, corporeal, immortal God, who is the literal Father of the spirits of humans. It is to this personage alone that Mormons pray, as He is and always will be their Heavenly Father, the supreme "God of gods" (Deuteronomy 10:17). In the sense that Mormons worship only God the Father, they consider themselves monotheists. Nevertheless, Mormons adhere to Christ's teaching that those who receive God's word can obtain

13225-404: Was twelve, but besides the (thirteen) principal Olympians listed above, there were many other residents of Olympus, who thus might be considered to be Olympians. Heracles became a resident of Olympus after his apotheosis and married another Olympian resident Hebe . According to Diodorus Siculus , some said that Heracles was offered a place among the twelve, but refused as it would mean one of

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