Euhemos

Theologist from Messene who lived at the end of the 3rd/ beginning of 2nd century BC. He worked as a messenger for Kassander and wrote during his travels.

His most famous novel was a book about the island Panchia. His was an utopia, where no one had more property than a house and a garden, and all the earnings were equally shared between the priests, soldiers and farmer. On the island stood a huge temple dedicated to Zeus, and on this temple the stories of Zeus, Cronus and Uranus were written in gold. Euhemos wrote that these gods originally were great men who through their deeds were worshiped as gods.

This made the scholars of his time regard him as an atheist, but the Christians were later to use this story as an explanation, or perhaps an excuse, to the true nature of the ancient, pagan gods.

What made Euhemos form this idea was probably the fact that he lived under Alexander, and had seen how the Macedonian king was worshiped as a god.

"Euhemerism" is the theory that gods originally are humans, who later are given the status of gods.