The Revolt of the Angels · Chapter
XIX explained
Nectaire continues his story, describing the idyllic life of ancient Greece and Rome, the rise of civilization through art and wisdom, and the eventual decline as barbarians and new religions, particularly the cunning Iahveh, threaten the o
What happens
Nectaire continues his story, describing the idyllic life of ancient Greece and Rome, the rise of civilization through art and wisdom, and the eventual decline as barbarians and new religions, particularly the cunning Iahveh, threaten the old gods and the beauty of the classical world.
Themes in this chapter
Art and Beauty
Nectaire celebrates Greek art, architecture, and wisdom as the pinnacle of human achievement, contrasting it with the later decline.
Religion and Blind Faith
The chapter critiques Iahveh's cunning and the credulity of those who accept his fable of hereditary sin and atonement.
Characters to notice
- Nectaire
Nectaire narrates his experiences in ancient Greece and Rome, teaching shepherds and nymphs, and later observing the rise of Iahveh.
- Arcade
Arcade is the listener to Nectaire's story, addressed directly as 'dear Arcade'.
- Dionysus
Dionysus is mentioned as a god who befriended mankind and traveled to Italy, where he was worshipped as Bacchus.
- Iahveh
Iahveh is described as a cunning, cruel god who invented the fable of hereditary sin and redemption to conquer the world.
Key passages
“When men had learned to cultivate the earth, to herd cattle, to enclose their holy places within walls, and to recognise the gods by their beauty, I withdrew to that smiling land...”
After humanity became civilized, Nectaire retreated to a beautiful Greek valley to teach shepherds and nymphs about the origins of the world and the gods.
Nectaire describes his role as a teacher in the idyllic early days of Greek civilization.
“It was his own grace, his own genius that the Greek enthroned and deified as his God, and when he raised his eyes to the heavens it was his own image that he saw reflected there.”
The Greeks worshipped their own human qualities and saw themselves reflected in their gods, rather than submitting to a jealous deity.
Nectaire contrasts Greek polytheism with the later monotheistic concept of a jealous God.
“He declared that men having committed a crime against him, an hereditary crime, should pay the penalty for it in their present life and in the life to come... and the astute Iahveh gave out that he had sent his own son to earth to redeem with his blood the debt of mankind.”
Iahveh invented the doctrine of original sin and redemption through his son's sacrifice to manipulate and control humanity.
Nectaire criticizes the Christian doctrine of atonement as a cunning invention by Iahveh.