euhemerism

A theory that the gods of mythology should be interpreted as deified men

Instance of: philosophical theory

Overview

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In the fields of philosophy and mythography, euhemerism is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exaggerated in the retelling, accumulating elaborations and alterations that reflect cultural mores. It was named after the Greek mythographer Euhemerus, who lived in the late 4th century BC.

Overview

All data

21 statements · 33% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Named after: Euhemerus
1
Sources
1.Stated in Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend (2002 edition)
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Facet of: mythology

On other databases

19 identifiers linking euhemerism across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

33%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 4, 2026. AIDb refreshes this page daily.

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AIDb. (2026). euhemerism (Q2513013). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/euhemerism-Q2513013