Divinity: Difference between revisions

[[File:Isaac Oliver Elizabeth I and the Three Goddesses.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''Elizabeth I and the Three Goddesses'' ([[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], [[Minerva]], and [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]), by [[Isaac Oliver]], {{circa|1558}}]]

'''Divinity''' (from Latin {{lang|la|divinitas}}) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is '''divine'''—a term that, before the rise of [[monotheism]], evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the [[Classical antiquity|ancient world]], divinity was not limited to a single [[deity]] or abstract ideal but was recognized in multiple forms: as a [[Divine radiance|radiant]] attribute possessed by gods, as a [[vital force]] cushioning [[nature]], and even as a quality glimpsed in extraordinary humans, laws, or acts. The Latin {{lang|la|divinitas}} and its Greek counterparts ({{lang|grc|theiotēs}}, {{lang|grc|theion}}) conveyed something both immanent and awe-inspiring: a presence that could be felt in [[List of thunder deities#Greco-Roman|thunder]], [[Dike (mythology)|justice]], [[Ecstasy (emotion)|ecstasy]], [[Moirai|fate]], or [[List of beauty deities#Greek|beauty]].

Among the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], divinity was not confined to a rigid theological system. Gods, heroes, and even emperors might be described as partaking in divinity, just as natural forces or [[Virtus|virtue]] could be seen as expressions of '''divine essence'''. Philosophers such as [[Plato]] and the [[Stoics]] used the term to refer to the [[Anima mundi|soul of the cosmos]] or the [[Logos|rational order]] of the universe, while ritual and myth depicted the divine in vivid ways. To call something divine was not always to worship it as a god, but to acknowledge its participation in a higher, sacred order.

In classical antiquity, the divine was not conceived as wholly separate from the world but was instead embedded within it. [[Deity|Gods]], [[hero|heroes]], natural forces, [[abstract concepts]], and even [[imperial cult|exemplary humans]] could all be considered partakers in or bearers of divinity. The term {{lang|la|divinitas}} in Latin and its Greek equivalents were applied not only to deities like [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] or [[Athena]], but also to phenomena such as [[Moirai|fate]] ({{transliteration|grc|moira}}) or [[Dike (mythology)|justice]] ({{transliteration|grc|dike}}).{{sfnmp|1a1=Beard|1a2=North|1a3=Price|1y=1998|2a1=Versnel|2y=2011}}

In [[Gnosticism]], emerging in the same intellectual milieu as Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism, a radical reinterpretation of divinity developed. In many Gnostic systems, true divinity was wholly transcendent and unknowable—often called the ''[[Pleroma]]'' or ''Invisible Spirit''—while the visible world was the flawed creation of a lesser being, the [[Demiurge]], ignorant of the higher realms. This [[cosmological dualism]] recast divine hierarchy not as a continuum of emanation but as a rupture between divine fullness and cosmic error. Gnostic texts such as the ''[[Apocryphon of John|Secret Book of John]]'' describe the soul’s entrapment in materiality and its path of ascent through layers of hostile [[archon]]s, aided by inner revelation (''[[gnosis]]'') and the remembrance of its [[divine spark]].{{sfnmp|1a1=Jonas|1y=1992|2a1=Davies|2y=2012}} In this view, divinity was present as a spark within the human being, a fragment of the higher world seeking return.{{sfnp|Rudolph|2001}}

[[File:Alexandr Ivanov 015.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''Transfiguration'' by [[Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov|Alexandr Ivanov]], 1824]]

The Christian reconfiguration of divinity cannot be understood apart from the theological developments of [[Second Temple Judaism]]. During this period, Jewish thought increasingly emphasized the singular and transcendent nature of [[Yahweh|God]], in contrast to the [[Polytheism|polytheism]] of surrounding cultures. Although the [[Hebrew Bible]] includes references to divine beings—such as [[angel]]s, the [[Elohim]], and the [[Heavenly host|heavenly hosts]]—[[Jewish philosophy]] came to insist that only the God of Israel was truly divine.{{sfnmp|1a1=Wright|1y=2003|2a1=Young|2y=2013}}

At the same time, certain Jewish texts introduced intermediary figures such as [[Chokhmah|Wisdom]] ({{lang|he|חָכְמָה}}, {{transliteration|he|Ḥokhmāh}}), the [[Logos]], and the [[Son of Man]]—portrayed in works like [[1 Enoch]], the [[Book of Daniel]], and the [[Wisdom of Solomon]]. These figures served as vehicles for divine action and presence without threatening strict [[Monotheism|monotheism]]. This layered view of divinity helped lay the groundwork for early [[Christian theology]].{{sfnmp|1a1=Wright|1y=2003|2a1=Young|2y=2013}}

* {{anli|Augoeides|''Augoeides''}}

* {{anli|Classical education}}

* {{anli|Divine Comedy|''Divine Comedy''}}

* {{anli|Divine countenance}}

* {{anli|Divine embodiment}}

* {{anli|Divine grace}}

* {{anli|Divine illumination}}

* {{anli|Divine intervention}}

* {{anli|Divine judgment}}

* {{anli|Divine light}}

* {{anli|Divine madness}}

* {{anli|Divine mercy}}

* {{anli|Divine presence}}

* {{anli|Divine proportion}}

* {{anli|Divine providence}}

* {{anli|Divine retribution}}

* {{anli|Divine right of kings}}

* {{anli|Divine simplicity}}

* {{anli|Divine spark}}

* {{anli|Divine vision}}

* {{anli|Divinization (Christian)|Divinization}}

* {{anli|Ground (Dzogchen)|Ground}}

* {{anli|Monas Hieroglyphica|''Monas Hieroglyphica''}}

* {{anli|Theophany}}

* {{cite book |last=Versnel |first=H. S. |year=2011 |title=Coping With the Gods: Wayward Readings in Greek Theology |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-20490-4}}

*{{Commonscatinline|Divinity}}