What's the difference between deification and euhemerism?
Deification
Definition:
(n.) The act of deifying; exaltation to divine honors; apotheosis; excessive praise.
Example Sentences:
(1) There's quite enough deification of kiddywinks in the media already, thanks.
(2) Economists, who in the past had to play second fiddle to political analysts, are now in great demand - witness the deification of viewer-friendly economics guru Evan Davis at the BBC and the ubiquity of the corporation's business editor Robert Peston, despite his curious way with the English language.
(3) The deification of mothers not only delegitimises the relationship fathers, neighbours, friends, grandparents, teachers and carers have with children, it also diminishes the immense worth and value of these relationships.
(4) I am afraid we will see more personal deification in the media in the future,” Zhang said.
(5) The deification of Mao happened just as Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms once again made chaos, inequality and corruption visible in China.
(6) "I don't support the hypocrisy, deification, pharaohisation, and the repetition of the mistakes of the past 30 or even 60 years," he says during its most controversial sequence, in a veiled reference to the dictatorships of Hosni Mubarak, Anwar Sadat and Gamal Abdel Nasser, a strongman era to which some seek a return.
Euhemerism
Definition:
(n.) The theory, held by Euhemerus, that the gods of mythology were but deified mortals, and their deeds only the amplification in imagination of human acts.