Theophanies of the Ancients

...of a more specific divine presence. Similar to this word are the vision of God original Greek: θεοπτία (theoptia) in Michael Psellus; the manifestation original Greek: ἡ ἐπιφάνεια (hē epiphaneia) in Iamblichus; divine eyewitnessing original Greek: θείαν αὐτοψίαν (theian autopsian) in Damascenus; and the self-revelation of the appearing gods original Greek: Ἀυτοφάνεια τῶν θεῶν φαινομένων (Autophaneia tōn theōn phainomenōn) in Proclus. Cicero calls it the arrival of God original Latin: Adventus Dei, Claudian speaks of gods made present original Latin: Dii praesentes, and so on. The word "theophany" is written in two ways by authors when used regarding the apparitions of the gods: sometimes with a single vowel, theophania original Greek: ἡ θεοφανία, and sometimes with a diphthong, theophaneia original Greek: ἡ θεοφάνεια. However, the theophanies original Greek: τὰ θεοφάνεια (ta theophaneia) and αἱ θεοφανίαι (hai theophaniai) are the solemn festivals celebrated on the day when God appeared to men. See Henri Estienne original Latin: H. Stephanum; a famous 16th-century lexicographer, Scapula, and other lexicographers.

Just as the word "God" original Greek: Θεὸς (Theos)—aside from other improper meanings—is used primarily in two ways: either strictly, for the true and eternal Divine Power who brought forth from nothing the heavens, the earth, and everything contained within their circuit; or broadly, so as to include the idols of the gentiles, whom they also addressed by the title of "God" original Greek: Θεοῦ (Theou): so also "theophanies" can be spoken of either in relation to the true and immortal God (whom the sacred pages record as appearing to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc.), or in relation to the fictional idols of the gentiles, whom superstitious men believed appeared to them. I shall, in this place, explain profane theophanies; I will hand down in good faith what I have been able to gather about them from the records of ancient writers, leaving aside Biblical and sacred theophanies, as they belong to a different forum and purpose.

What these theophanies were among the Pagans, and what they themselves believed and taught about them, is now my duty to show. This I shall do in the following sections with deliberate effort and with as much clarity as possible. First, however, one must hold that the Gen-