A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IMITATIO DEI

The idea of imitating a god and the divine world was widespread among ancient peoples, who thought that through imitation they could share in the gods' power, thereby compensating for the fragility of human life. The world of the gods was both an ideal and a prototype of human existence. Some even thought that everything in the human world was a replica of something in the divine world. This belief informed the mythology and ritual of ancient peoples and continues to be strongly held in more traditional societies today. We have already noted that imitation is a basic way in which humans and other animals learn, but to imitate a perfect being sounds incredible. Paradoxically, the more worthy of imitation a deity is, the harder it is to see how any finite human can aspire to its likeness. This is one problem faced by the idea of imitating a god. Another is that it was sometimes thought to exhibit hubris to aspire to be like the gods. “Do not try to become Zeus,” warns Pindar, “for mortal things suit mortals best.” Here Pindar expresses an opposing strain in Greek thought that existed alongside the desire to imitate the gods – the idea that imitation is irreverent.