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F O U R Resemblance: The Internal Development of the Concept In the precedin g chapter s I have trie d t o outlin e tw o extrem e type s o f reading the image of God . To pu t it crudely, one o f the m conceive d o f the imag e a s o f th e go d itself , an d th e othe r sa w th e imag e a s totall y inadequate and alien to the god. I selected some salient texts and stories from ancien t literatur e t o illustrat e thes e extrem e approaches . Ye t not withstanding thes e literar y examples, thes e types, as here outlined, i n a sense remai n constructions . The notio n o f th e animate d image , o n th e one hand , an d th e concep t o f th e imag e a s a lifeless , merel y materia l object, on the other, represent extreme positions; they are the ends of a scale constituted b y the various attempts to come to terms with the icon of th e god, an d t o place i t properly i n an overall vie w o f th e world. In reality, suc h extreme s ar e rarely , i f ever , reached . T o b e sure , i n bot h cases, the approach is consistent in itself, clear, and easy to grasp. But in such uncompromisin g formulation s the y remai n abstrac t types , an d d o not capture an d revea l th e intricac y o f th e problems pose d b y the very 63 64 Reflections in Classical Antiquity existence o f divin e images . T o understan d wha t th e imag e o f th e go d may really have meant, and what were the sources of its power, a power that often strike s us as mysterious, one must enter the domain of evocative suggestions, o f belief s tha t are not full y though t through, of ambi guities . Th e stor y w e ar e abou t t o stud y i n th e followin g chapter s i n effect unfolded in the shadow of ambiguities. This state of affairs raises difficulties that are well known to historians and to students of fantasy, of religion, and of art. Workers in these fields are wel l awar e o f th e powe r with whic h ambiguitie s ar e sometime s endowed. To study a psychological an d religious reality one needs categories capabl e o f bein g applie d t o th e domai n o f th e ambiguous . Ca n such categories be discovered? With regard to the specific subject of the present study, the image of God, I should like to suggest such a category, resemblance. I shall try to show tha t in Antiquity the concept of resem blance was actually employed in discussions of divine images. But resemblance was fa r from bein g a clear-cut concept. Moreover , i n the course of th e centurie s i t underwent som e remarkabl e transformations . I n the present chapter I shall attemp t t o trace the interna l developmen t o f th e concept. I n speakin g o f "interna l development " I do no t propos e tha t the idea o f resemblance , quit e particularly th e resemblance of th e god's image t o th e go d itself , wa s isolate d fro m othe r concepts , o r fro m th e religious, cultural, an d socia l lif e o f th e world i n which i t evolved. Ye t the challenge s an d pressure s o f th e externa l worl d brough t ou t th e potentialities an d limitation s o f th e concep t itself . I t i s thes e tha t th e present chapter will attempt to investigate. J. Allegory To understan d ho w th e concep t o f resemblanc e wa s applie d t o th e images of the gods, especially i n the centuries of late Antiquity, we have to begi n wit h a category tha t wa s ofte n applie d...

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