© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi:10.1163/1568525X-12342524 Mnemosyne 72 (2019) 284-299 brill.com/mnem Lucretius on the Divine DRN 3.17-30, 5.1161-93, and 6.68-79 Chris Eckerman University of Oregon, Dept. of Classics eckerman@uoregon.edu Received October 2017 | Accepted January 2018 Abstract I provide a new interpretation of DRN 3.17-30 and 6.68-79, reading 3.17-30 in relation to Epicurus’ teachings on the mental construction of gods and 6.68-79 in relation to popular religion. I also review 5.1161-1193, discussing the evidence that the passage pro- vides for the idealist and realist theses. Keywords Lucretius – allusion – idealism – realism – Epicurean theology – Epicureanism 1 Introduction Whether the Epicureans believed that gods exist in spaces between worlds or only in the minds of humans has been a topic of debate for some time.1 De rerum natura (hereafter DRN) has played an important role in this debate be- cause the DRN has seemed, to many readers, to provide evidence that Lucretius believed that gods exist in spaces between worlds. I suggest that this view has come about due to misinterpretation of three passages of the DRN. In what 1  For recent discussions of the realist and idealist arguments on the nature of gods, see par- ticularly Konstan 2011 (realist position); Sedley 2011 (idealist position), both with reference to previous bibliography; see too O’Keefe 2010, 155-162; Warren 2009, 241-242 (with reference to previous bibliography), P. Fowler in D. Fowler 2002, 239-240; for the foundational discus- sion that revived the idealist position, see Long and Sedley 1987, 144-149.