The Sacred History of Euhemerus Messene

The book is a first comprehensive study of the life and work of Euhemerus of Messene. Winiarczyk takes into consideration all scholarly works since the first half of the 19th century to the present day. Euhemerus' utopian novel Sacred history describes the travel to the island Panchaia in the Indian Ocean. According to Euhemerus,in the temple of Zeus Triphylius there was a stele which presented the Olympian gods as deified kings. Winiarczyk's book studies the sources of the theological views and of the description of the Panchaian society. The book will be for many decades the most authoritative monograph on Euhemerus.