Religion Past and Present

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Aion
(578 words)

[German Version]

I. The God Aion – II. Philosophy

I. The God Aion

Αἰών/Aiōn, the Greek god of eternity in the sense of immeasurable, unbounded return is attested from Hellenism onwards. Aion never had a uniform character; sometimes he appears as a (linearly) eternal, sometimes as a (cyclically) ever-renewing god. Origins in the Semitic or Egyptian realm are likely. Alexandrian coins (2nd cent. ce) portray Aion as a self-rejuvenating phoenix. According to the Greek “Alexander Novella” (I 30–33), Aion is the patron god …

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Harich-Schwarzbauer, Henriette and Brague, Rémi, “Aion”, in: Religion Past and Present. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_00310>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013



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