Theos Hypsistos

Theos Hypsistos (Greek Θεος ὕψιστος "the Supreme God") is the name of a god who can be identical to Zeus Hypsistos , but can also denote the Jewish or Christian god. It is often difficult to determine which of these gods is meant as Theos Hypsistos.

Stephen Mitchell studied the cult of Theos Hypsistos extensively and collected around 300 inscriptions in a catalog. These texts were mainly dedicatory inscriptions addressed to Theos Hypsistos, Zeus Hypsistos or Hypsistos. They come from Asia Minor , especially from the Pontus region , Lycia and Phrygia , and date to the period between the 2nd century and the beginning of the 4th century AD. Based on this, Mitchell argued that these inscriptions and the mentions of the " Hypsistarians " in the texts of ancient church fathers refer to a uniform and widespread cult in which Jewish and pagan elements were mixed. From archaeological evidence and the description of Epiphaios of Salamis , he concludes that the followers of this cult had their own houses and places of prayer. As concrete similarities between this religious community and Judaism, he cites the recognition of the Sabbath , the observance of certain dietary laws and the use of lamps in cult. According to Mitchell, the members of the Theos-Hypsistos cult also hide behind the "Theosebeis" ("God-fearing") who are mentioned in other inscriptions and in the Acts of the Apostles of Luke .

A research controversy arose around these theses, in which Mitchell's views were largely rejected and the Theos-Hypsistos inscriptions were interpreted as evidence of diverse and completely different groups of faith. Various researchers stressed that there was no single cult for a specific god named Theos Hypsistos but were that worshiped under that name various deities from the Jews the Lord and from the Gentiles mainly Zeus (hence the name Zeus Hypsistos), and also the Christians themselves, albeit rarely, used this term for their god. In addition, independent groups are said to have existed, which mixed pagan and Jewish elements and from which some of the Theos-Hypsistos inscriptions are likely to have originated.

swell

Epiphanios of Salamis , haer. 80.1.2-2.4
Gregory of Nazianz , or 18.5
Gregory of Nyssa , Eun. 38
Cyril of Alexandria , ador. III

literature

Carsten Colpe , Andreas Löw: Hypsistos (Theos). In: Real Lexicon for Antiquity and Christianity . Volume 16, Anton Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1993, pp. 1036-1056.
Stephen Mitchell: The Cult of Theos Hypsistos between Pagans, Jews, and Christians. In: Polymnia Athanassiadi , Michael Frede (Ed.): Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1999, pp. 81-148.
Markus Stein : The worship of Theos Hypsistos: an all-encompassing Pagan-Jewish syncretism? In: Epigraphica Anatolica . Volume 33, 2001, pp. 119-125.
Stephen Mitchell: Further thoughts on the cult of Theos Hypsistos. In: Stephen Mitchell, Peter Van Nuffelen (Eds.): One God. Pagan monotheism in the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010, pp. 167-208.
Fritz Graf : Hypsistos. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 5, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01475-4 , Sp. 821-823.

Remarks

^ Fritz Graf: Hypsistos. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 5, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01475-4 , Sp. 821-823.
^ Fritz Graf: Hypsistos. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 5, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01475-4 , Sp. 821-823 .; Stephen Mitchell: Further thoughts on the cult of Theos Hypsistos. In: Stephen Mitchell, Peter Van Nuffelen (Eds.): One God. Pagan monotheism in the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010, pp. 167-208.
↑ Markus Stein: The Adoration of Theos Hypsistos: an all-encompassing Pagan-Jewish syncretism? In: Epigraphica Anatolica. Volume 33, 2001, pp. 119-125.
↑ Brief overview by Sven Günther : A New Document for Theos Hypsistos. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy . Volume 212, 2019, pp. 158–160, here p. 158.
↑ Markus Stein: The Adoration of Theos Hypsistos: an all-encompassing Pagan-Jewish syncretism? In: Epigraphica Anatolica. Volume 33, 2001, pp. 119-125, here p. 124.

[1] Fritz Graf: Hypsistos. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 5, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01475-4 , Sp. 821-823.

[2] Fritz Graf: Hypsistos. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 5, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01475-4 , Sp. 821-823 .; Stephen Mitchell: Further thoughts on the cult of Theos Hypsistos. In: Stephen Mitchell, Peter Van Nuffelen (Eds.): One God. Pagan monotheism in the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010, pp. 167-208.

[3] Markus Stein: The Adoration of Theos Hypsistos: an all-encompassing Pagan-Jewish syncretism? In: Epigraphica Anatolica. Volume 33, 2001, pp. 119-125.

[4] Brief overview by Sven Günther : A New Document for Theos Hypsistos. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy . Volume 212, 2019, pp. 158–160, here p. 158.

[5] Markus Stein: The Adoration of Theos Hypsistos: an all-encompassing Pagan-Jewish syncretism? In: Epigraphica Anatolica. Volume 33, 2001, pp. 119-125, here p. 124.