WHAT THE LEXICAL ANALYSIS OF ἌΘΕΟΣ WITHIN THE SOURCES OF THE 5TH CENTURY BC CAN TEACH US ABOUT THE STATE OF ATHEISM AT THE TIME

Abstract

In this article I attempt an approximation to the conceptualization of irreligiosity and its relation to unbelief from the lexicographical analysis of the term ἄθεος. First, some of the primitive uses of the term are assessed in their relation to irreligiosity through a semantic analysis; next, some passages in which the use of this term is ambiguous are examined with a focus on pragmatics. Finally, the attention turns to those contexts in which, unequivocally, ἄθεος designates a person «who does not believe in the gods».