Euhemerus

Euhemerus (flourished c. 300 bc, Messene? [now Messina, Sicily, Italy]) was an author of a utopian work that was popular in the ancient world; his name was given to the theory that gods are great men worshipped after their death (i.e., Euhemerism). His most important work was Hiera Anagraphe (probably early 3rd century bc; “The Sacred Inscription”), which was translated into Latin by the poet Ennius (239–169 bc). Only fragments survive of both the original Greek and the Latin translation.

In Euhemerus’s first-person narrative, he is sent by the Macedonian king Cassander (305–297 bc) on an imaginary voyage to the Indian Ocean, where he eventually lands on an island he calls Panchaea. The island is full of marvels, and it has a clear three-class structure: priests and craftsmen, farmers, and soldiers and shepherds. On Panchaea the poet discovers in a temple of Zeus the sacred inscription that gives the book its name. The inscription explains that Zeus and his ancestors Uranus (Heaven) and the Titan Cronus, as well as the other gods, were mortals who were worshipped because of their accomplishments or merits. Euhemerus may have been simply applying to all the gods what was commonly believed to be true of some—e.g., Dionysus and Heracles. He may also have been influenced by Hellenistic ruler cults, which became popular as a result of the success of Alexander the Great.

Euhemerus’s work combined elements of fiction, political utopianism, and theology. In the ancient world he was considered an atheist. Early Christian writers, such as Lactantius, used the principles of Euhemerus to assert that, because the ancient gods were originally human, they were necessarily inferior to the Christian god.