Enthousiasmos
conceptThe state of being possessed by a god, the original meaning of divine inspiration in Greek religion.
The Myth
The word means, literally, "having a god within." En-theos-iasmos: the god enters, and the mortal becomes a vessel. This was not metaphor for the Greeks — it was a description of observable reality. The Pythia at Delphi entered enthousiasmos when Apollo possessed her, and her ravings became oracles that guided nations. The Maenads on the mountain entered enthousiasmos when Dionysus took them, and they tore animals apart with bare hands. Plato described four types of divine madness in the Phaedrus: prophetic (Apollo), ritual (Dionysus), poetic (the Muses), and erotic (Aphrodite). All were forms of enthousiasmos, and all produced knowledge or art that reason alone could not achieve. The poet did not craft verses through skill — the Muse breathed through him. Ion, the rhapsode in Plato's dialogue, cannot explain his own art because it is not his. Democritus agreed: no great poem was ever written without enthousiasmos. The concept troubled rationalists then as it troubles them now — the suggestion that the highest human achievements require surrendering rational control.
Parents
Greek religious tradition
Symbols
Fun Fact
When someone calls you "enthusiastic," they are saying — in the original Greek — that you have a god inside you.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Muses
conceptNine sister goddesses who inspired all forms of art, literature, and knowledge. Every poet,...
Aphrodite
godGoddess of love and beauty, born from the sea foam. Aphrodite's power to inspire desire was so...
Aphrodite (Golden One)
godThe goddess born from sea-foam whose power over desire could override the will of gods and mortals...
Apollo
godGod of light, music, poetry, and prophecy. Apollo embodied the Greek ideal of youthful masculine...
Apollo (Far-Striker)
godThe radiant god of light, prophecy, music, healing, and plague — the most complex deity in the...
Apollo (Light)
godApollo was the most complex Olympian — god of light, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, plague, and...
Apollo Loxias
godAn epithet of Apollo meaning "the Oblique One," referring to the deliberately ambiguous nature of...
Delphi
placeThe most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The...
Delphi Treasury of Athens
placeThe marble treasury built by Athens at Delphi from Marathon spoils, the best-preserved building on...
Dionysus
godGod of wine, ritual madness, and theatrical performance. Dionysus was the only Olympian born of a...
Dionysus (Twice-Born)
godThe god born twice — once from his mother's womb and once from Zeus's thigh — who brought wine,...
Dionysus Eleuthereus
godAn epithet of Dionysus as the Liberator, worshipped at the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens where the...