Apotheosis (from Ancient Greek ἀποθέωσις (apothéōsis), from ἀποθεόω/ἀποθεῶ (apotheóō/apotheô) 'to deify'), also calleddivinization ordeification (from Latin deificatio 'making divine'), is the glorification of a subject todivine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in thelikeness of a deity.
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.[1]
In religion, apotheosis was a feature of many religions in the ancient world, and some that are active today. It requires a belief that there is a possibility of newly created gods, so apolytheistic belief system. The Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism do not allow for this, though many recognise minor sacred categories such as saints (created by a process calledcanonization). InChristian theology there is a concept of the faithful becoming god-like, calleddivinization or inEastern Christianitytheosis. InHinduism there is some scope for new deities. A human may be deified by becoming regarded as anavatar of an establisheddeity, 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 fromBaroque art onwards, apotheosis scenes may depict rulers, generals or artists purely as an honorific metaphor; in many cases the "religious" context is classical Greco-Roman pagan religion,[2]: 332 as inThe Apotheosis of Voltaire, featuring Apollo.The Apotheosis of Washington (1865), high up in the dome of theUnited 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 the Hellenistic period,imperial cults were known inancient Egypt (pharaohs) andMesopotamia (fromNaram-Sin throughHammurabi). In theNew Kingdom of Egypt, all deceased pharaohs were deified as the godOsiris, having been identified asHorus while on the throne, andsometimes referred to as the "son" of various other deities.
The architectImhotep was deified after his death, though 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.[3]
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Ancient Greek religion and its Roman equivalent have many figures who were born as humans but became gods, for exampleHercules.[4] They are typically made divine by one of the main deities, theTwelve Olympians.[5] In the Roman storyCupid and Psyche, Zeus gives theambrosia of the gods to the mortal Psyche, transforming her into a goddess herself.[6] In the case of the Hellenistic queenBerenice II of Egypt, herself deified like other rulers of thePtolemaic dynasty, the court propagated a myth that her hair, cut off to fulfill a vow, had its own apotheosis before becoming theComa Berenices, agroup of stars that still bear her name.[7]
From at least theGeometric period of the ninth century BC, the long-deceased heroes linked withfounding myths of Greek sites were accordedchthonic rites in theirheroon, or "hero-temple".
In the Greek world, the first leader who accorded himself divine honours wasPhilip II of Macedon. At his wedding to his sixth wife, Philip's enthroned image was carried in procession among theOlympian gods; "his example atAigai became a custom, passing to the Macedonian kings who were later worshipped inGreek Asia, from them toJulius Caesar and so to the emperors of Rome".[8] 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 was also an honour given to a few revered artists of the distant past, notablyHomer.[citation needed]
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 theEumolpides (descended fromEumolpus) of theEleusinian Mysteries, and some inherited priesthoods atoracle sites.[9][10]
The Greek hero cults can be distinguished on the other hand from theRomancult 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 werechthonic in nature, and their rituals more closely resembled those forHecate andPersephone than those forZeus andApollo. Two exceptions wereHeracles andAsclepius, who might be honoured as either gods or heroes, sometimes by chthonic night-time rites and sacrifice on the following day. One god considered as a hero to mankind isPrometheus, who secretly stole fire fromMount Olympus and introduced it to mankind.[citation needed]
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Up to the end of theRepublic, the godQuirinus was the only one the Romans accepted as having undergone apotheosis, for his identification/syncretism withRomulus (seeEuhemerism).[11] Subsequently, apotheosis inancient Rome was a process whereby a deceased ruler was recognized as divine by his successor, usually also by adecree of the Senate and popular consent. The first of these cases was the posthumous deification of the last Roman dictatorJulius Caesar in 42 BC by his adopted son, thetriumvirCaesar Octavian. In addition to showing respect, often the present ruler deified a popular predecessor to legitimize himself and gain popularity with the people.
A vote in theRoman 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 aconsecratio, including the release of an eagle which flew high, representing 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.[2]: 47–48
The largest and most famous example in art is arelief on the base of theColumn of Antoninus Pius (d. 161), showing the emperor and his wifeFaustina the Elder (d. c. 140) being carried up by a much larger winged figure, described as representing "Eternity", aspersonifications of "Roma" and theCampus Martius sit below, and eagles fly above. The imperial couple are represented asJupiter andJuno.[2]: 47–48
The historianDio Cassius, who says he was present, gives a detailed description of the large and lavish publicconsecratio ofPertinax, emperor for three months in 193, ordered bySeptimius Severus.[12]
At the height of theimperial cult during theRoman Empire, sometimes theemperor's deceased loved ones—heirs, empresses, or lovers, as Hadrian'sAntinous—were deified as well. Deified people were awarded posthumously the titleDivus (Diva if women) to their names to signify their divinity.Traditional Roman religion distinguished between adeus (god) and adivus (a mortal who became divine or deified),[2]: 47 though not consistently. Temples and columns were erected to provide 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 satireThe Pumpkinification of (the Divine) Claudius, usually attributed toSeneca.[11]
Numerous mortals have been deified into theTaoistpantheon, such asGuan Yu,Iron-crutch Li andFan Kuai.Song dynasty generalYue Fei was deified during theMing dynasty and is considered by some practitioners to be one of the three highest-ranking heavenly generals.[13][14] TheMing dynasty epicInvestiture of the Gods deals heavily with deification legends.
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In the complicated and variable conceptions of deity inBuddhism, the achievement ofBuddhahood may be regarded as an achievable goal for the faithful, and many significant deities are considered to have begun as normal humans, fromGautama Buddha himself downwards. Most of these are seen asavatars or re-births of earlier figures.
Some significant Hindu deities, in particularRama, were also born as humans; he is seen as anavatar ofVishnu. In more modern times,Swaminarayan is an undoubted and well-documented historical figure (1781–1830), who is regarded by some Hindus as an avatar ofKrishna, himself another avatar of Vishnu, or as being a still more elevated deity.Bharat Mata ("Mother India") began as anational personification devised by a group of Bengali intellectuals in the late 19th century, but now receives some worship.[15]
Various Hindu and Buddhist rulers in the past have been represented as deities, especially after death, from India toIndonesia.Jayavarman VII, King of theKhmer Empire (r. 1181–1218) the first Buddhist king of Cambodia, had his own features used for the many statues of Buddha/Avalokitesvara he erected.[16]
Theextreme personality cult instituted by the founder of North Korea,Kim Il-Sung, has been said to represent a deification, though the state is avowedly atheist.[17][18]
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, viewsJesus Christ as the preexisting God who undertook mortal existence, not as a mortal being who attained divinity (a view known asadoptionism). It holds that he has made it possible for human beings to be raised to 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".[19][original research?] 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?"[20] 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 a son of God."[21] "For He was made man that we might be made God."[22] "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."[23] Accusations of self deification to some degree may have been placed upon heretical groups such as theWaldensians.[24][25][26][27]
The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, authored by Anglican Priest Alan Richardson,[28] contains 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 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 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 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 wordtheosis are theLatin-derived words "divinization" and "deification" used in the parts of theCatholic Church that are of Latin tradition. The concept has been given less prominence in Western theology than in that of theEastern Catholic Churches, but is present in theLatin 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."[29]
Catholic theology stresses the concept of supernatural life, "a new creation and elevation, a rebirth, it is a participation in and partaking of the divine nature"[30] (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 the acquisition, preservation and intensification of this supernatural life.[31]
Deification for humans is holistic because people have a body and a soul. It begins immaterially or spiritually in the soul via the infusion ofsanctifying grace - such as thefruit of the Holy Spirit - in baptism. Spiritual deification is consummated at entry intoParadise.[32] Full deification is achieved at the resurrection onJudgment Day, via material or physical deification, when the body is deified. Only saints will be fully deified, whereas the damned will only be made immortal.[33]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.[34]
Despite the theological differences, in Catholic church art depictions of theAssumption of the Virgin Mary in art and theAscension 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 ofreligious orders, later canonized, with those of SaintIgnatius Loyola in theChurch of the Gesù (Andrea Pozzo, 1691–1694, to the side of the nave cupola) and SaintDominic inSanti Domenico e Sisto (1674–1675) two examples in Rome.[2]: 332
TheAllegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power byPietro da Cortona (1630s) celebratedPope Urban VIII and his family, combining heraldic symbols including thecrossed keys of the papacy and giant bees representing theBarberini family with personifications.[2]: 332–333
InEastern Orthodox theology,Theosis is the transformation of oneself in union withGod. Thetheosis transformation includes a purification of the body and mind (catharsis), an illumination via a vision of God (theoria). InEastern Christianity, the purpose of human life istheosis. According toHierotheos (Vlachos), this process is based on direct spiritual insight (gnosis) rather than therational thought or intellectual and academic pursuits primary in Western Christian traditions.[35]
Several denominations inMormonism teach the concept of apotheosis using the termexaltation.[38] The largest denomination ofMormons,the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), teaches that through exaltation, many sufficiently obedient adherents will reach the highest level ofsalvation in thecelestial kingdom and eternally live inGod's presence, continue as families, become gods, create worlds, and makespirit children over whom they will govern.[39][40][41][42] Some morefundamentalist denominations like theFundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) teach thatreligious polygamy is required to achieve exaltation.[36] The LDS Church no longer teaches thatpolygyny is a requirement for exaltation.[43]
Distinctively, inWesleyan 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 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.[44]
TheDruze faith further split fromIsma'ilism as it developed its own unique doctrines, and finally separated from both Ismāʿīlīsm and Islam altogether; these include the belief that the ImamAl-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh wasGod incarnate.[45][46]Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of theDruze faith and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts,[47] he proclaimed that God became flesh, assumed a human nature, and became a man in the form ofal-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.[45]
Historian David R. W. Bryer defines theDruzes asghulat of Isma'ilism, since they exaggerated the cult of the caliphal-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and considered him divine; he also defines the Druzes as a religion that deviated from Islam.[48] 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".[46] The Druze deify al-Hākim bi-Amr Allāh, attributing to him divine qualities similar to thoseChristians attribute toJesus.[49]
Apart from the visual arts, several works of classical music use the term in the titles or works or sections.
InFrench Baroque music it was an alternative title totombeau ("tomb" or "tombstone") for "memorial pieces" forchamber forces to commemorate individuals who were friends or patrons.François Couperin wrote two pieces titled as apotheoses, one forArcangelo Corelli (Le Parnasse, ou L'Apothéose de Corelli), and one forJean Baptiste Lully (L'Apothéose de Lully), whose movements have titles such asEnlévement de Lully au Parnasse ("The raising of Lully to Parnassus").[50]
InRomantic music, apotheosis sections usually contain the appearance of a theme in grand or exalted form, typically as a finale. The term is especially associated with the symphonic works ofFranz 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".[51]: 48–52 Such a treatment has often been seen by 20th-century critics as "vacuous bombast".[51]: 52
Richard Wagner famously used the term metaphorically in describingBeethoven'sSeventh Symphony as "the apotheosis of the dance".
Hector Berlioz used "Apotheose" as the title of the final movement of hisGrande symphonie funèbre et triomphale, a work composed in 1846 for the dedication of a monument to France's war dead. Two ofPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballets,The Sleeping Beauty andThe Nutcracker, contain apotheoses as finales; the same is true ofLudwig Minkus'sLa Bayadère.Igor Stravinsky composed two ballets,Apollo andOrpheus, which both contain episodes entitled "Apotheose". The concluding tableau ofMaurice Ravel'sMa mère l'Oye is also titled "Apotheose." Czech composerKarel Husa, concerned in 1970 about arms proliferation and environmental deterioration, named his musical responseApotheosis for This Earth.Aram Khachaturian entitled a segment of his balletSpartacus "Sunrise and Apotheosis."
Samuel Menashe (1925–2011) wrote a poem entitledApotheosis, as didBarbara Kingsolver.Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) wroteLove, Poem 18: Apotheosis. The poetDejan Stojanović'sDancing of Sounds contains the line, "Art is apotheosis."Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote a poem entitledLove's Apotheosis.Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote a poem entitled "The Apotheosis, or the Snow-Drop" in 1787.
Parodic Apotheoses include the conclusion ofAlexander Pope'smock heroicThe Rape of the Lock, where the lock of hair that has caused the dispute rises to the heavens:[52]
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'sgreat Founder to the Heav'ns withdrew,
ToProculus alone confess'd in View.)
A sudden Star, it shot thro' liquid Air,
And drew behind a radiant Trail of Hair.
NotBerenice'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.[53][54] It was practiced in ancient Japan towards their emperors.[55] Followers ofSocinianism were later accused of practicing anthropolatry.[56][57] AnthropologistLudwig Feuerbach professed a religion to worship all human beings whileAuguste Comte venerated only individuals who made positive contributions and excluded those who did not.[58][59][60]
In general, like the Allred group, the LeBaron saints believe that God is an exalted man and that if they are worthy, they can become gods and goddesses on their own worlds.
Today, an accepted doctrine of the [LDS Church] interprets verses in Doctrine and Covenants 132 as references to the birth of spirit offspring by exalted married couples in the celestial kingdom
Mormons believe in eternal progression and have taught that men may become the gods of other worlds.
They [resurrected and perfected mortals] will dwell again with God the Father, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness ... above all they will have the power of procreating endless lives. ... Those who become like him will likewise contribute to this eternal process by adding further spirit offspring to the eternal family.
They [the people who will live in the celestial kingdom] will receive everything our Father in Heaven has and will become like Him. They will even be able to have spirit children and make new worlds for them to live on, and do all the things our Father in Heaven has done.
Although plural marriage is not essential to salvation or 'exaltation' any more, Mormon doctrine maintains that polygamy will commence again after the 'Second Coming' ....
