euhemerization.
The fanciful invention of plausible historical figures and events as an attempt to rationalize mythology and legends
Meaning & usage
The fanciful invention of plausible historical figures and events as an attempt to rationalize mythology and legends
The euhemerization of Taoist myth by Confucian historians sometimes led to the appearance of figures such as "Lord Primordial Chaos" (渾沌氏) in the imperial genealogies.
The fanciful invention of plausible historical figures and events as an attempt to rationalize mythology and legends an instance of this
One such euhemerization is a Rowan Atkinson bit where he presents Jesus Christ as a misunderstood street magician.
Synonym of deification: the actual creation of mythology and legends from historical figures and events; (countable) an instance of this.
Much of Chinese mythology appears to have been the result of euhemerization, the later deification of Neolithic tribal leaders and inventors incompletely remembered through oral traditions and now-lost records.
Where this word comes from
From euhemerize + -ation, ultimately from Latin Euhēmerus, from Ancient Greek Εὐήμερος (Euḗmeros), an ancient Greek Sicilian Skeptic who proposed most or all mythology derived from historical figures and natural events which received supernatural characteristics only through retelling.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.