Prodicus on the Rise of Civilization: Religion, Agriculture, and Culture Heroes

Philosophie Antique 18:127-152 (2018)
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Abstract

Prodicus gained a reputation for formulating a novel theory concerning the origins of religious belief, sometimes labelled as atheistic in antiquity, notably by the Epicureans. He suggests that humans initially regarded as gods whatever was useful for their survival such as fruits and rivers, and in a more advanced stage they deified culture heroes such as Demeter and Dionysus. I first suggest that Prodicus’ theory can be connected with other doctrines attributed to him, especially the speech concerning “Heracles’ choice” and the keen interest in the etymology of words. Moreover, I argue that the different representations of his theory reflect the debate between the Epicureans and the Stoics concerning the involvement of gods in human and cosmic affairs. An examination of the fragmentary evidence shows Prodicus to be a thinker who was interested in the rise of civilization in general, and so his theory was part and parcel of a large-scale project to explain several interconnected aspects of social life in rational terms.

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Epicurean Preconceptions.Voula Tsouna - 2016 - Phronesis 61 (2):160-221.
Xenophon and prodicus' choice of heracles.David Sansone - 2015 - Classical Quarterly 65 (1):371-377.
Heracles at the Y.David Sansone - 2004 - Journal of Hellenic Studies 124:125-142.
From the Pre-Socratics to the Hellenistic Age.David Sedley - 2013 - In Stephen Bullivant & Michael Ruse (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford University Press. pp. 139.
Der erste atheistenkatalog Des kleitomachos.Marek Winiarczyk - 1976 - Philologus: Zeitschrift für Antike Literatur Und Ihre Rezeption 120 (1):32-46.

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