Richard Bodeus is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Montreal, and author of The Political Dimensions of Aristotle's Ethics, also published by SUNY Press.

• Translator's PrefaceAbbreviationsIntroduction 1. Toward Reconsideration of the Prevailing View IntroductionReasonable opinions about the godsTexts on the margin of LambdaThe separate substance of LambdaThe notion of natural theologySo-called theological scienceConclusions 2. The Celestial Gods and the Divine Objects of Philosophy IntroductionVisible and invisible celestial naturesOn the proper use of opinion in the celestial physicsThe testimony of received beliefs regarding the celestial godsThe evidence of languageThe authority of PlatoConclusions 3. The Gods of the City in the Stories of the Wise IntroductionTheology and ScienceThe mythical addition of theologyThe historical testimony of mythsThe reason for theology and the discovery of the gods of the cityConclusions 4. An Appropriation of the Tradition about the Gods IntroductionThe existence of the gods: defense of the tradition against the naturalistsThe logic of received beliefs about the godsThe beneficence of the gods: reasonable argumentsThe gods as paradigm of the macrocosmConclusions 5. The Gods as Benefactors: A Reasonable Tenet IntroductionFrom deference to pietyThe foundatins of pietyThe mutual love of gods and humansThe gods and fortuneThe gods as objects of imitationConclusions General Conclusions AppendixTheology and Ways of Speaking Notes Blibliography Index of Ancient Authors Index of Modern Authors Subject Index

"This book is rich and provocative—indeed iconoclastic by any measure. Bodéüs demonstrates, quite successfully in my view, that traditional theology greatly influenced Aristotle's own conception of theology. Moreover, he argues that theology is not a science for Aristotle, for what we generally associate with Aristotelian theology—the unmoved mover—is not actually a part of theology." — Gerard Naddaf, coauthor of Plato the Myth Maker