The word "apotheosis" is of ancient Greek origin, and it consists of two words. The literal translation is "turning into a god." The original meaning of the word apotheosis is among the concepts of praise, glorification and deification. Most likely, the apotheosis is an oriental "invention". Evidence may be the history of Egyptian or Chinese dynasties.
Initially, apparently, it was about rituals in which real historical figures were praised, their virtues and positive qualities acquired an exceptional character. Thus, mortal heroes were gradually endowed with superhuman (divine) signs, it was also understood that their existence continued in the afterlife.
Such was the process of deification of Alexander the Great, whose cult even during his life forced his close ones to turn to him as a descendant of Zeus. In the Roman Empire after the fall of the republic, emperors remembered the Greek covenants and created a number of their own cults. A whole string of emperors hastened to declare themselves descendants of the gods and actively planted worship of themselves. Curiously, the most intelligent of the rulers did not rush to declare themselves gods, but were content only with honors (Julius Caesar or Octavian Augustus). And, on the contrary, the most unpleasant personalities, not embarrassed, declared their divine origin during life - these are Caligula and Commodus. Still, the citizens understood that their emperors were not quite real gods, such as, for example, Jupiter. Their deification was more ideological and served as an additional connecting thread among vast and heterogeneous territories, a kind of identification mark marking the territory of the Roman Empire.
One should not think that apotheosis is an anachronism. And today, on completely legitimate grounds, in many countries they deify and reckon real martyrs to the saints for their faith. In Catholicism and Orthodoxy this tradition is known as canonization. In modern life, the apotheosis of leaders is well known to the inhabitants of the former Union, North Korea, China of the 50-60s of the 20th century.
The apotheosis received its reflection in culture and art. In relation to painting, the apotheosis is an image of a hero in the hypostasis of God. A striking example of this genre is Vereshchagin's painting “The Apotheosis of War” or Ingres “The Apotheosis of Napoleon”. It is interesting that the first work characterizes the apotheosis in a negative way (as a destructive result of the war). No less curious is the fresco in the Rotunda of the Capitol - “Apotheosis of Washington” by 1865 by Konstantino Brumidi. It was made at the very end of the Civil War and cost by today's standards more than half a million dollars. This is a very controversial work. On the one hand,
George Washington is endowed with attributes of divine power (a purple cloak, a stargate in
the background, a radiant
rainbow, goddesses and nymphs).
This symbolizes his victorious ascension to the divine heights for his services to the nation. And, at the same time, some researchers note the Masonic trace in the work - a pentacle formed by the heads of the main figures.
Without noting the truth of both concepts, we note that it is advisable to treat any work exclusively as an object of art, capable of enthralling the audience with the perfection of composition, plot and forms.
Now you know that the apotheosis is a word that can have a variety of meanings.