Apotheosis

"Deified" redirects here. For the deification of the self, seeEgotheism.For the album by Keak da Sneak, seeDeified (album).

This article is about the term. For the film by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, seeApotheosis (film).For the series by Douglas Hill, seeApotheosis (series).For discussion on the theory that a deity was once an actual living person, seeEuhemerism.

Apotheosis of Venice(1585) byPaolo Veronese,a ceiling in theDoge's Palace

The apotheosis ofCornelis de Witt,with theraid on Chathamin the background.

Apotheosis(fromAncient Greekἀποθέωσις(apothéōsis),fromἀποθεόω/ἀποθεῶ(apotheóō/apotheô)'to deify'), also calleddivinizationordeification(fromLatindeificatio'making divine'), is the glorification of a subject todivinelevels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of adeity.

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.

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 apolytheisticbelief system. The major modern religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism do not allow for this, though many recognise minor sacred categories such as saints (created by a process calledcanonization). InChristian theologythere is a concept of the faithful becoming god-like, calleddivinizationor inEastern Christianitytheosis.InHinduismthere is some scope for new deities. A human may be deified by becoming regarded as anavatarof 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,personificationsof virtues, or similar figures. Especially fromBaroque artonwards, 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,as inThe Apotheosis of Voltaire,featuring Apollo.The Apotheosis of Washington(1865), high up in the dome of theUnited States Capitol Building,is another example.Personificationsof places or abstractions are also showed receiving an apotheosis. The typical composition was suitable for placement on ceilings or inside domes.

Ancient Near East

Further information:imperial cultandsacred king

Before the Hellenistic period,imperial cultswere known inAncient Egypt(pharaohs) andMesopotamia(fromNaram-SinthroughHammurabi). In theNew Kingdom of Egypt,all deceased pharaohs were deified as the godOsiris,having been identified asHoruswhile on the throne, andsometimes referred to as the "son" of various other deities.

The architectImhotepwas 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.

Ancient Greece

Main article:Greek hero cult

TheApotheosis ofAchilles,from theMonteleone Chariot,Etruscan, 6th century BC

Ancient Greek religionand its Roman equivalent have many figures who were born as humans but became gods, for exampleHercules.They are typically made divine by one of the main deities, theTwelve Olympians.In the Roman storyCupid and Psyche,Zeus gives theambrosiaof the gods to the mortal Psyche, transforming her into a goddess herself. In the case of the Hellenistic queenBerenice II of Egypt,herself deified like other rulers of thePtolemaic dynasty,the court propagated a myth that her hair, cut off to fulfill a vow, had its own apotheosis before becoming theComa Berenices,agroup of starsthat still bear her name.

From at least theGeometricperiod of the ninth century BC, the long-deceased heroes linked withfounding mythsof Greek sites were accordedchthonicrites in theirheroon,or "hero-temple".

In the Greek world, the first leader who accorded himself divine honours wasPhilip II of Macedon.At his wedding to his sixth wife, Philip's enthroned image was carried in procession among theOlympian gods;"his example atAigaibecame a custom, passing to the Macedonian kings who were later worshipped inGreek Asia,from them toJulius Caesarand 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, notablyHomer.

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 theEumolpides(descended fromEumolpus) of theEleusinian mysteries,and some inherited priesthoods atoracle sites.

The Greek hero cults can be distinguished on the other hand from theRomancult 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 werechthonicin nature, and their rituals more closely resembled those forHecateandPersephonethan those forZeusandApollo.Two exceptions wereHeraclesandAsclepius,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 isPrometheus,who secretly stole fire fromMount Olympusand introduced it to mankind.

Ancient Rome

Main article:Imperial cult (ancient Rome)

Apotheosis of EmperorAntoninus Pius(d. 161) and his wifeFaustina the Elder(d. c. 140), base ofhis columnin Rome

Up to the end of theRepublic,the godQuirinuswas the only one the Romans accepted as having undergone apotheosis, for his identification/syncretismwithRomulus(seeEuhemerism).Subsequently, apotheosis inancient Romewas a process whereby a deceased ruler was recognized as divine by his successor, usually also by adecree of the Senate and popular consent.The first of these cases was the posthumous deification of the last Roman dictatorJulius Caesarin 42 BC by his adopted son, thetriumvirCaesar Octavian.In addition to showing respect, often the present ruler deified a popular predecessor to legitimize himself and gain popularity with the people.

A vote in theRoman 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 aconsecratio,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.

The largest and most famous example in art is areliefon the base of theColumn of Antoninus Pius(d. 161), showing the emperor and his wifeFaustina the Elder(d. c. 140) being carried up by a much larger winged figure, described as representing "Eternity", aspersonificationsof "Roma" and theCampus Martiussit below, and eagles fly above. The imperial couple are represented asJupiterandJuno.

Cameo with theApotheosis ofClaudius,c. 54 AD

The historianDio Cassius,who says he was present, gives a detailed description of the large and lavish publicconsecratioofPertinax,emperor for three months in 193, ordered bySeptimius Severus.

At the height of theimperial cultduring theRoman Empire,sometimes theemperor's deceased loved ones—heirs, empresses, or lovers, as Hadrian'sAntinous—were deified as well. Deified people were awarded posthumously the titleDivus(Divaif women) to their names to signify their divinity.Traditional Roman religiondistinguished between adeus(god) and adivus(a mortal who became divine or deified),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 satireThe Pumpkinification of (the Divine) Claudius,usually attributed toSeneca.

Asia

Further information:Xian (Taoism)

Numerous mortals have been deified into theTaoistpantheon,such asGuan Yu,Iron-crutch LiandFan Kuai.Song DynastyGeneralYue Feiwas deified during theMing Dynastyand is considered by some practitioners to be one of the three highest-ranking heavenly generals.TheMing dynastyepicInvestiture of the Godsdeals heavily with deification legends.

Head of Buddha/KingJayavarman VII;probably regarded as a royal portrait, but with attributes of the Buddha.

In the complicated and variable conceptions of deity inBuddhism,the achievement ofBuddhahoodmay be regarded as an achievable goal for the faithful, and many significant deities are considered to have begun as normal humans, fromGautama Buddhahimself downwards. Most of these are seen asavatarsor re-births of earlier figures.

Some significant Hindu deities, in particularRama,were also born as humans; he is seen as anavatarofVishnu.In more modern times,Swaminarayanis an undoubted and well-documented historical figure (1781–1830), who is regarded by some Hindus as an avatar ofKrishna,himself another avatar of Vishnu, or as being a still more elevated deity.Bharat Mata( "Mother India" ) began as anational personificationdevised by a group of Bengali intellectuals in the late 19th century, but now receives some worship.

Various Hindu and Buddhist rulers in the past have been represented as deities, especially after death, from India toIndonesia.Jayavarman VII,King of theKhmer Empire(r. 1181–1218) the first Buddhist king of Cambodia, had his own features used for the many statues of Buddha/Avalokitesvarahe erected.

Theextreme personality cultinstituted by the founder of North Korea,Kim Il-Sung,has been said to represent a deification, though the state is avowedly atheist.

Christianity

Main article:Divinization (Christian)

Instead of the word "apotheosis", Christian theology uses in English the words "deification" or "divinization" or the Greek word "theosis".Pre-Reformationand mainstream theology, in both East and West, viewsJesus Christas the preexisting God who undertook mortal existence, not as a mortal being who attained divinity (a view known asadoptionism). It holds that he has made it possible for human beings to be raised to the level of sharing the divine nature as 2 Peter 1:4 states that he became human to make humans "partakers of the divine nature".In John 10:34, Jesus referenced Psalm 82:6 when he stated "Is it not written in your Law, I have said you are gods?"Other authors stated: "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.""For He was made man that we might be made God.""The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods." Accusations of self deification to some degree may have been placed upon heretical groups such as theWaldensians.

The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, authored by Anglican Priest Alan Richardson,contains the following in an article titled "Deification":

Deification (Greek theosis) is for Orthodoxy the goal of every Christian. Man, according to the Bible, is 'made in the image and likeness of God'.... It is possible for man to become like God, to become deified, to become god by grace. This doctrine is based on many passages of both OT and NT (e.g. Ps. 82 (81).6; II Peter 1.4), and it is essentially the teaching both of St Paul, though he tends to use the language of filial adoption (cf. Rom. 8.9–17; Gal. 4.5–7), and the Fourth Gospel (cf. 17.21–23).

The language of II Peter is taken up by St Irenaeus, in his famous phrase, 'if the Word has been made man, it is so that men may be made gods' (Adv. Haer V, Pref.), and becomes the standard in Greek theology. In the fourth century, St. Athanasius repeats Irenaeus almost word for word, and in the fifth century, St. Cyril of Alexandria says that we shall become sons 'by participation' (Greek methexis). Deification is the central idea in the spirituality of St. Maximus the Confessor, for whom the doctrine is the corollary of the Incarnation: 'Deification, briefly, is the encompassing and fulfillment of all times and ages',... and St. Symeon the New Theologian at the end of the tenth century writes, 'He who is God by nature converses with those whom he has made gods by grace, as a friend converses with his friends, face to face.'

Roman Catholic Church

Sebastiano Ricci,Apotheosis of Saint Sebastian,1725

The Roman Catholic Church does not use the term "apotheosis" in its theology. Corresponding to the Greek wordtheosisare theLatin-derived words "divinization" and "deification" used in the parts of theCatholic Churchthat are of Latin tradition. The concept has been given less prominence in Western theology than in that of theEastern Catholic Churches,but is present in theLatin Church's liturgical prayers, such as that of the deacon or priest when pouring wine and a little water into the chalice: "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity."

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"(cf.2 Peter 1:4). 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.

Despite the theological differences, in Catholic church art depictions of theAssumption of the Virgin Mary in artand theAscension of Jesus in Christian artshare 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 ofreligious orders,later canonized, with those of SaintIgnatius Loyolain theChurch of the Gesù(Andrea Pozzo,1691–1694, to the side of the nave cupola) and SaintDominicinSanti Domenico e Sisto(1674–1675) two examples in Rome.

TheAllegory of Divine Providence and Barberini PowerbyPietro da Cortona(1630s) celebratedPope Urban VIIIand his family, combining heraldic symbols including thecrossed keysof the Papacy and giant bees representing theBarberini familywith personifications.

Eastern Orthodox Church

Main article:Theosis (Eastern Christian theology)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Main articles:Exaltation (Mormonism)andPlan of salvation (Latter Day Saints)

See also:Mormon cosmologyandKing Follett discourse

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(Mormons), believes in apotheosis along the lines of the Christian tradition ofdivinizationor deification but refers to it asexaltation,or eternal life, and considers it to be accomplished by "sanctification". They believe that people may live with God throughout eternity in families and eventually become gods themselves but remain subordinate to God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. While the primary focus of the LDS Church is onJesus of Nazarethand his atoning sacrifice for man,Latter-day Saints believe that one purpose for Christ's mission and for his atonement is the exaltation orChristian deificationof man.The thirdArticle of Faithof The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states that all men may be saved from sin by the atonement of Jesus Christ, and LDS Gospel Doctrine (as published) states that all men will be saved and will be resurrected from death. However, only those who are sufficiently obedient and accept the atonement and the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ before the resurrection and final judgment will be "exalted" and receive a literal Christiandeification.

A quote often attributed to the early Church leaderLorenzo Snowin 1837, is "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be."The teaching was taught first byJoseph Smithwhile he was pointing toJohn 5:19in theNew Testament;he said that "God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did."Manyscholars also have discussed the correlation between Latter-day Saint belief in exaltation and the ancient Christian theosis, or deification, as set forth by earlyChurch Fathers.SeveralLatter-day Saint and gentile historians specializing in studies of the early Christian Church also claim that the Latter-day Saint belief in eternal progression is more similar to the ancient Christian deification as set forth in numerous patristic writings of the 1st to 4th centuries AD than the beliefs of any other modern faith group of the Christian tradition.

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 theGodheadas three persons sharing a common divine substance. That classification of God in terms of a substance is not found in scripturebut, 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, orexaltation(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.

Wesleyan Protestantism

Distinctively, inWesleyanProtestantism theosis sometimes implies the doctrine of entire sanctification which teaches, in summary, that it is the Christian's goal, in principle possible to achieve, to live without any (voluntary) sin (Christian perfection). Wesleyan theologians detect the influence on Wesley from the Eastern Fathers, who saw the drama of salvation leading to the deification (apotheosis) of the human, in order that such perfection as originally part of human nature in creation but distorted by the fall might bring fellowship with the divine.

Druze faith

TheDruzefaith further split fromIsma'ilismas it developed its own unique doctrines, and finally separated from both Ismāʿīlīsm and Islam altogether; these include the belief that the ImamAl-Ḥākim bi-Amr AllāhwasGod incarnate.Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmadis considered the founder of theDruze faithand the primary author of the Druze manuscripts,he proclaimed that God became flesh, assumed a human nature, and became a man in the form ofal-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.

Historian David R. W. Bryer defines theDruzesasghulatof Isma'ilism, since they exaggerated the cult of the caliphal-Hakim bi-Amr Allahand 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 thoseChristiansattribute toJesus.

Music

Apart from the visual arts, several works of classical music use the term in the titles or works or sections.

InFrench Baroque musicit was an alternative title totombeau( "tomb" or "tombstone" ) for "memorial pieces" forchamber forcesto commemorate individuals who were friends or patrons.François Couperinwrote two pieces titled as apotheoses, one forArcangelo Corelli(Le Parnasse, ou L'Apothéose de Corelli), and one forJean Baptiste Lully(L'Apothéose de Lully), whose movements have titles such asEnlévement de Lully au Parnasse( "The raising of Lully to Parnassus" ).

InRomantic 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 ofFranz 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".Such a treatment has often been seen by 20th-century critics as "vacuous bombast".

Richard Wagnerfamously used the term metaphorically in describingBeethoven'sSeventh Symphonyas "the apotheosis of the dance".

Hector Berliozused "Apotheose" as the title of the final movement of hisGrande symphonie funèbre et triomphale,a work composed in 1846 for the dedication of a monument to France's war dead. Two ofPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballets,The Sleeping BeautyandThe Nutcracker,contain apotheoses as finales; the same is true ofLudwig Minkus'sLa Bayadère.Igor Stravinskycomposed two ballets,ApolloandOrpheus,which both contain episodes entitled "Apotheose". The concluding tableau ofMaurice Ravel'sMa mère l'Oyeis also titled "Apotheose." Czech composerKarel Husa,concerned in 1970 about arms proliferation and environmental deterioration, named his musical responseApotheosis for This Earth.Aram Khachaturianentitled a segment of his balletSpartacus"Sunrise and Apotheosis."

Poetry

Samuel Menashe(1925–2011) wrote a poem entitledApotheosis,as didBarbara Kingsolver.Emily Dickinson(1830–1886) wroteLove, Poem 18: Apotheosis.The poetDejan Stojanović'sDancing of Soundscontains the line, "Art is apotheosis."Paul Laurence Dunbarwrote a poem entitledLove's Apotheosis.Samuel Taylor Coleridgewrote a poem entitled "The Apotheosis, or the Snow-Drop" in 1787.

ParodicApotheoses include the conclusion ofAlexander Pope'smock heroicThe Rape of the Lock,where the lock of hair that has caused the dispute rises to the heavens:

The Lock, obtain'd with Guilt, and kept with Pain,
In ev'ry place is sought, but sought in vain:...
But trust the Muse; she saw it upward rise,
Tho' mark'd by none but quick Poetick Eyes:
(So Rome'sgreat Founderto the Heav'ns withdrew,
ToProculusalone confess'd in View.)
A sudden Star, it shot thro' liquid Air,
And drew behind a radiant Trail of Hair.
NotBerenice's Locks first rose so bright,
The Skies bespangling with dishevel'd Light.
The Sylphs behold it kindling as it flies,
And pleas'd pursue its Progress thro' the Skies.

Anthropolatry

Anthropolatry is the deification and worship of humans.It was practiced in ancient Japan towards their emperors.Followers ofSocinianismwere later accused of practicing anthropolatry.AnthropologistLudwig Feuerbachprofessed a religion to worship all human beings whileAuguste Comtevenerated only individuals who made positive contributions and excluded those who did not.

See also

• Amaterasu
• Charismatic authority
• Cult of personality
• Euhemerus
• God complex
• Incarnation
• James Frazer,The Golden Bough
• Robert Graves,The White Goddess
• Hirohito
• Idolatry
• List of people who have been considered deities
• Religion in ancient Rome
• Sacred king
• Edward Burnett Tylor

References

• James Hall,A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art,1983, John Murray, London,ISBN0719539714
• Garnett, Richard;Mackintosh, Robert (1911)."Apotheosis".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 206–207.
• Rehding, Alexander,Music and Monumentality: Commemoration and Wonderment in Nineteenth Century Germany,2009, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780199736652,google books
• "Smith and Wayte":A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities,by William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, and G. E. Marindin, 1890,John Murray,Online via www.perseus.tufts.edu

Further reading

• Boak, Arthur E.R. "The Theoretical Basis of the Deification of Rulers in Antiquity", in: Classical Journal vol. 11, 1916, pp. 293–297.
• Bömer, Franz. "Ahnenkult und Ahnenglaube im alten Rom", Leipzig 1943.
• Burkert, Walter. "Caesar und Romulus-Quirinus",in: Historia vol. 11, 1962, pp. 356–376.
• Engels, David. "Postea dictus est inter deos receptus.Wetterzauber und Königsmord: Zu den Hintergründen der Vergöttlichung frührömischer Könige ", in: Gymnasium vol 114, 2007, pp. 103–130.
• Kalakaua, David. "The Apotheosis of Pele: The Adventures of the Goddess with Kamapuaa" inThe Legends and Myths of Hawaii
• King, Stephen. "The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
• Liou-Gille, Bernadette. "Divinisation des morts dans la Rome ancienne", in: Revue Belge de Philologie vol. 71, 1993, pp. 107–115.
• Richard, Jean-Claude. "Énée, Romulus, César et les funérailles impériales", in:Mélanges de l'École française de Romevol. 78, 1966, pp. 67–78.
• Subin, Anna Della.Accidental Gods: On Men Unwittingly Turned Divine,Granta (expected January 2022)
• Cook, John Granger. Empty Tomb, Resurrection, Apotheosis. Germany, Mohr Siebeck, 2018.

External links

• 'Living with Gods': BBC Four Thought talk with Anna Della Subin, author ofAccidental Gods,16 January 2020
• Seneca'sApocolocyntosisat Project Gutenberg
• François Couperin."L'Apothéose de Corelli"and"L'Apothéose de Lully"at IMSLP