Leon of Pella
Encyclopedia
Leon of Pella
(Greek
:) or Leo the Egyptian
(4th century BC) was a historian, priest and theologian. He wrote the book On the Gods in Egypt , based on an apocryphal letter of Alexander the Great to his mother Olympias
. He was a contemporary of Euhemerus
and explained similarly the human origin of the Gods.
The early Christian writers, in their controversy with the heathens, refer not infrequently to a Leo or Leon as "having admitted that the deities of the antient gentile world had been originally men, agreeing in this respect with Euhemerus
, with whom he was contemporary, or perhaps rather earlier.
Augustine, who is most explicit in his notice of him, says he was an Egyptian priest of high rank, •" magnus antistes", and expounded the popular mythology to Alexander the Great, in a manner which, though differing from those, rationalistic explanations received in Greece, accorded with them in making the gods (including even the dii majorum gentium) to have been originally men.
Augustine refers to an account of the statements of Leo contained in a letter of Alexander to his mother. It is to be observed, that although Leon was high in his priestly rank at the time when Alexander was in Egypt (b. c. 332–331), his name is Greek; and Arnobius
(Adv. Gentes, iv. 29) calls him Leo Pellaeus, Leo of Pella
, an epithet which Fabricius
does not satisfactorily explain. Euhemerus
was also at the court of Cassander
, the king of Macedon.
Pella
Pella , an ancient Greek city located in Pella Prefecture of Macedonia in Greece, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.-Etymology:...
(Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
:) or Leo the Egyptian
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
(4th century BC) was a historian, priest and theologian. He wrote the book On the Gods in Egypt , based on an apocryphal letter of Alexander the Great to his mother Olympias
Olympias
Olympias was a Greek princess of Epirus, daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the fourth wife of the king of Macedonia, Philip II, and mother of Alexander the Great...
. He was a contemporary of Euhemerus
Euhemerus
Euhemerus was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Euhemerus' birthplace is disputed, with Messina in Sicily as the most probable location, while others champion Chios, or Tegea.-Life:...
and explained similarly the human origin of the Gods.
The early Christian writers, in their controversy with the heathens, refer not infrequently to a Leo or Leon as "having admitted that the deities of the antient gentile world had been originally men, agreeing in this respect with Euhemerus
Euhemerus
Euhemerus was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Euhemerus' birthplace is disputed, with Messina in Sicily as the most probable location, while others champion Chios, or Tegea.-Life:...
, with whom he was contemporary, or perhaps rather earlier.
Augustine, who is most explicit in his notice of him, says he was an Egyptian priest of high rank, •" magnus antistes", and expounded the popular mythology to Alexander the Great, in a manner which, though differing from those, rationalistic explanations received in Greece, accorded with them in making the gods (including even the dii majorum gentium) to have been originally men.
Augustine refers to an account of the statements of Leo contained in a letter of Alexander to his mother. It is to be observed, that although Leon was high in his priestly rank at the time when Alexander was in Egypt (b. c. 332–331), his name is Greek; and Arnobius
Arnobius
Arnobius of Sicca was an Early Christian apologist, during the reign of Diocletian . According to Jerome's Chronicle, Arnobius, before his conversion, was a distinguished Numidian rhetorician at Sicca Veneria , a major Christian center in Proconsular Africa, and owed his conversion to a...
(Adv. Gentes, iv. 29) calls him Leo Pellaeus, Leo of Pella
Pella
Pella , an ancient Greek city located in Pella Prefecture of Macedonia in Greece, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.-Etymology:...
, an epithet which Fabricius
Fabricius
Fabricius may refer to:*people from the Ancient Roman gens Fabricia:*Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome* Carel Fabricius , painter...
does not satisfactorily explain. Euhemerus
Euhemerus
Euhemerus was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Euhemerus' birthplace is disputed, with Messina in Sicily as the most probable location, while others champion Chios, or Tegea.-Life:...
was also at the court of Cassander
Cassander
Cassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty...
, the king of Macedon.