Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27 BC) in his (lost) Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum established a distinction of three kinds of theology: civil (political) (theologia civilis), natural (physical) (theologia naturalis) and mythical (theologia mythica). The theologians of civil theology are "the people", asking how the gods relate to daily life and the state (imperial cult). The theologians of natural theology are the philosophers, asking for the nature of the gods, and the theologians of mythical theology are the poets, crafting mythology.
Not to be confused is the theologia mystica of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.
Literature
- 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.
See also
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