Which Euhemerism will You Use? Celsus on the Divine Nature of Jesus

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper deals with euhemerism as a theory that has been (mis-) treated in various ways by both ancient and modern writers. This theory, formulated by Euhemerus of Messene (late fourth century B.C.E.), maintained that Zeus and the other Olympian gods were but mere kings that were deified due to their good deeds. Soon Euhemerus' theory was taken to be a declaration of atheism in antiquity and early Christian writers almost immediately seized on this opportunity in order to support their own arguments regarding the non-divine nature of the gods of the gentiles. Euhemerism went under significant modification in order to fit into the early Christian apologetic argumentation. After such a modification, the theory came to be known to subsequent periods, including our own, only through this Christian usage. Taking Celsus' attack on the Christians regarding the divinity of Jesus as a case study, I argue that a close reading of both the survived fragments of Euhemerus' ‘Iερά ‘Aναγραφή (Sacred Inscription) and of Origen's Contra Celsum III 22–43, can redefine what Euhemerus' theory is about and how (and if) it has been used by Celsus in his treatise Λóγoσ ‘Aληθήσ (True Doctrine).