The God Transformed

Abstract

This chapter sets out to trace the language of transformation in Greco-Roman religious literature from the time of Homer to the first century of the Common Era. It is the contention of the author that both the manner by which a god was transformed as well as the end stage of the transformation as it is described in the Greco-Roman religious literary corpus is the proper literary antecedent for understanding similar descriptions in the material normally designated as Christ Hymns in the New Testament. The chapter examines how the language of transformation in regard to the incarnation of divinities changed over time in the Greek and Roman religious literature leading up to the first century CE. In the works of Euripides, a similar approach to the god taking human form is seen as in the Homeric Hymns with the use of verbs which convey greater action and describe the transformation. Keywords: Euripides; God; Greco-Roman religious literary; Homeric hymns