Apotheosis, also called divinization or deification, is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity.
Apotheosis of Venice (1585) by Paolo Veronese, a ceiling in the Doge's Palace
The apotheosis of Cornelis de Witt, with the raid on Chatham in the background.
The Apotheosis of Achilles, from the Monteleone Chariot, Etruscan, 6th century BC
Apotheosis of Emperor Antoninus Pius (d. 161) and his wife Faustina the Elder (d. c. 140), base of his column in Rome
In Christian theology, divinization, or theopoesis or theosis, is the transforming effect of divine grace, the spirit of God, or the atonement of Christ. Although it literally means to become divine, or to become God, most modern Christian denominations do not interpret the doctrine as implying an overcoming of a fundamental ontological difference between God and humanity; for example, John of the Cross indicated that while "God communicates to it [the individual soul] His supernatural Being, in such wise that it appears to be God Himself, and has all that God Himself has", yet "it is true that its natural being, though thus transformed, is as distinct from the Being of God as it was before".
Icon of The Ladder of Divine Ascent (the steps toward theosis as described by St. John Climacus) showing monks ascending (and falling from) the ladder to Jesus, Saint Catherine's Monastery.