1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
APOTHEOSIS (Gr. faofttovv, to make a god, to deify), literally deification. The term properly implies a clear polytheistic conception of gods in contrast with men, while it recognizes that some men cross the dividing line. It is characteristic of polytheism to blur that line in several ways. Thus the ancient Greek religion was especially disposed to belief in heroes and demigods. Founders of cities, and even of colonies, received worship; the former are, generally speaking, mythical personages and, in strictness, h…
- Source status
- OCR text aligned to scanned pages
- Pages
- Vol. 2, pp. 206-207