EUEMERISM
\jˈuːɪməɹˌɪzəm], \jˈuːɪməɹˌɪzəm], \j_ˈuː_ɪ_m_ə_ɹ_ˌɪ_z_ə_m]\
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The system by which Euemeros, a Sicilian author of the time of Alexander the Great, converted mythology into plausible historical narrative by setting aside all unlikely, or impossible, or extraordinary incidents recorded in ancient traditions. Thus Zeus, or Jupiter, became a mortal man who, for benefits done to his fellows, was after his death worshipped as a god. We find the germs of this system both in Herodotus and in Thucydides.
By Henry Percy Smith
