The "Sacred history" of Euhemerus of Messene / Marek Winiarczyk ; translated from Polish by Witold Zbirohowski-Kościa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Winiarczyk, Marek.

Contributor:

Zbirohowski-Kościa, Witold.

Series:

Beiträge zur Altertumskunde

Beiträge zur Altertumskunde ; 312

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Euhemerus, of Messene, active 4th century B.C.

Euhemerus.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (296 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin : De Gruyter, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In his utopian novel Hiera Anagraphe (Sacred History) Euhemerus of Messene (ca. 300 B.C.) describes his travel to the island Panchaia in the Indian Ocean where he discovered an inscribed stele in the temple of Zeus Triphylius. It turned out that the Olympian gods (Uranos, Kronos, Zeus) were deified kings. The travels of Zeus allowed to describe peoples and places all over the world. Winiarczyk investigates the sources of the theological views of Euhemerus. He proves that Euhemerus’ religious views were rooted in old Greek tradition (the worship of heroes, gods as founders of their own cult, tombs of gods, euergetism, rationalistic interpretation of myths, the explanations of the origin of religion by the sophists, the ruler cult). The description of the Panchaian society is intended to suggest an archaic and closed culture, in which the stele recording res gestae of the deified kings might have been preserved. The translation of Ennius’ Euhemerus sive Sacra historia (ca. 200 - ca. 194) is a free prose rendering, which Lactantius knew only indirectly. The book is concluded by a short history of Euhemerism in the pagan, Christian and Jewish literature.

Contents:

Front matter

Preface

Contents

Abbreviations

I. The life of Euhemerus

II. Euhemerus’ Ἱερὰ Ἀναγραφή

III. The theological views of Euhemerus of Messene

IV. Society and economy in the Ἱερὰ Ἀναγραφή

V. The Zeus Sanctuary on the Island of Panchaea

VI. An attempt to interpret the Ἱερὰ Ἀναγραφή

VII. Ennius’ Euhemerus sive sacra historia

VIII. Euhemerism in the ancient world

IX. Conclusions

Appendix I: Homines pro diis culti

Appendix II: Deos homines fuisse

Appendix III: The tombs of the gods

Bibliography

Indexes

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9783110294880

3110294885

OCLC:

851970153