The concept of God among Greeks and Romans: from classical mythology and philosophy to Christian theology

Abstract

This essay examines how Greeks and Romans conceived of the divine and how those conceptions, filtered through classical philosophy and the official religion of Rome, reached Christian theology. It begins with Greek religion before Homer and with the Homeric and Hesiodic poems, in which the gods appear anthropomorphic, capricious and subject to fate, and it analyzes notions such as hamartia, hubris and themis, as well as the search for heroes who could mediate between humans and gods. It then discusses the philosophical critique of polytheism, from Xenophanes to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, with attention to the Socratic daimōn, the Platonic demiurge and the Aristotelian prime mover, whose ideas of divine timelessness and immobility shaped later theology. Roman religion is traced through the monarchic, republican and imperial periods, with emphasis on Varro’s tripartite theology, the imperial cult and the interpretatio applied to the gods of conquered peoples. Finally, the essay presents Paul’s response to this environment and identifies three factors that drew post-apostolic theology away from its biblical roots: the break with Judaism, an excessive regard for Greek philosophy and the concessions made from Constantine onward. Philosophy can contribute to theological discourse, provided it does not take the place of Scripture in formulating the doctrine of God.