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Deification
(1,408 words)

[German version]

I. Ancient Orient

In the Ancient Orient the deification of  rulers always occurred in the context of the legitimization and exercise of  rulership. Deified rulers and proper gods were always differentiated on principle.

[German version]

A. Mesopotamia

References to the deification of living rulers are geographically restricted to Babylonia and temporally to the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC: a) individual rulers claimed divine descent for t…

Cite this page
Renger, Johannes (Berlin), von Lieven, Alexandra (Berlin) and Bendlin, Andreas (Erfurt), “Deification”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e12201440>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510



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