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Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divinity levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity.
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. OED, "Apotheosis": 3
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 a polytheistic 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 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 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, 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 the "religious" context is classical Greco-Roman pagan religion,Hall, 332 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. of places or abstractions are also showed receiving an apotheosis. The typical composition was suitable for placement on ceilings or inside domes.
The architect Imhotep 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.
From at least the Geometric art period of the ninth century BC, the long-deceased heroes linked with 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 was carried in procession among the Olympian gods; "his example at Vergina 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 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 the Eumolpides (descended from Eumolpus) of the Eleusinian mysteries, and some inherited priesthoods at oracle.
The Greek hero cults can be distinguished on the other hand from the Roman Empire 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 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.
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 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.Hall, 47–48
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 of "Roma" and 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.Smith and Wayte, "Apotheosis"; Historia Augusta, "Pertinax", 15:1
At the height of the imperial cult during the Roman Empire, sometimes the Roman 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),Hall, 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 satire The Pumpkinification of (the Divine) Claudius, usually attributed to Seneca.Smith and Wayte, "Apotheosis"; Garnett
In the complicated and variable conceptions of deity in Buddhism, 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 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 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.Sadan Jha. "The life and times of Bharat Mata". Manushi. Issue 142.
Various Hindu and Buddhist rulers in 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.Jessup, Helen Ibbetson (2004), Art and Architecture of Cambodia, pp. 162–163, Thames & Hudson (World of Art),
The extreme 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.
The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, authored by Anglican Priest Alan Richardson, contains the following in an article titled "Deification":
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"Heinrich Fries, Bultmann-Barth and Catholic theology (Duquesne University Press 1967), p. 160 (cf. ). 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.Stephen M. O'Brien (2008). God and the Devil Are Fighting. City University of New York. . pp. 116–117.
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. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1832 Full deification is achieved at the resurrection on Judgment 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. Catechism of the Catholic Church 991 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. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1047
Despite the theological differences, in Catholic church art depictions of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in art and 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 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.Hall, 332–333
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 in the New Testament; he said that "God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did." Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345–346. 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 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 a substance is not found in scriptureThomas Mozley The creed or a philosophy, 1893 p. 303 (the wording of the Council of Constantinople (360) prohibited use of the terms "substance", "essence", and "ousia" since they were not included in the scriptures) 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 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 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 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 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 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 the teachings of modern Church leaders, starting with Joseph Smith.
Historian David R. W. Bryer defines the as ghulat of Isma'ilism, since they exaggerated the cult of 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.
In French Baroque music it was an alternative title to tombeau ("tomb" or "tombstone") for "memorial pieces" for chamber music 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 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".Rehding, 48-52, 49 quoted Such a treatment has often been seen by 20th-century critics as "vacuous bombast".Rehding, 52
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; 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 a segment of his ballet Spartacus "Sunrise and Apotheosis."
Parody 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:Canto V
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