Mythical theology (''theologica mythica'') is one of three types of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

defined by the Roman scholar

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

(116–27 BC) in his lost work ''Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum''. The other two are

political theology Political theology is a term which has been used in discussion of the ways in which theological concepts or ways of thinking relate to politics. The term ''political theology'' is often used to denote religious thought about political principled qu ...

(''theologia civilis'') and

natural theology Natural theology, once also termed physico-theology, is a type of theology that seeks to provide arguments for theological topics (such as the existence of a deity) based on reason and the discoveries of science. This distinguishes it from ...

(''theologia naturalis''). Mythical theology is practiced by story-tellers, especially poets, based on narratives ''( mythoi)'' pertaining to divine matters. Divine revelation was claimed or implied by some of these story-tellers, or their disciples. Theologians of civil or political theology are administrators, defining how the gods relate to daily life and the state (see

imperial cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...

). Theologians of natural theology are

philosophers A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, inquiring into the nature of the gods, as evidenced by nature and reason. "Mythical theology" should be distinguished from the ''

theologia mystica Mystical theology is the branch of theology in the Christian tradition ...

'' of

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' or ...

References

*Shanks A., ''In Defence of "Mythical Theology"'', Cultural Values, Volume 3, Number 2, April 1999, 244-249. *W. Geerlings, ''Die "theologia mythica" des M. Terentius Varro'' (1990), {{ISBN, 3-922031-88-9.

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Theology Ancient Roman religion

See also

References