He did die, right? I mean, it’s not like he’s Elvis, or something.

George Washington, that is.

In the preceding post, I argued that Washington’s leaving the national stage allowed for a two-party system to fully emerge. He left the presidency in 1797 and died less than three years later. So, Washington was a mortal man. Of course he was. But many people have tried to raise him to the status of a god. This mythology is reflected in popular culture, but also in public art in government buildings in the District of Columbia.

There is a huge mural on the underside of the Capitol dome called the “Apotheosis of Washington”. According to the website of the Architect of the Capitol, “the word "apotheosis" in the title means literally the raising of a person to the rank of a god, or the glorification of a person as an ideal.“

I recall seeing two other indications of this tendency at tourist sites in and around the city that is named for him. One was a statue in the Smithsonian’s American History Museum with Washington’s head on the body of a Greek god. I’m not sure of the current status of that statue; the museum is closed for renovation. The other was a sign in front of a museum house in Fredricksburg, Virginia, where Washington’s mother had lived. The sign, which reads “Home of Mary, Mother of Washington” is apparently meant to draw a parallel with another Mary and another son.

Image: Library of Congress