The 7 Heavenly Virtues

Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today's video, we're going to discuss the seven heavenly virtues. What virtues constituted the seven heavenly virtues changed over time, so we're going to begin with the first iteration and continue on through to the version that's still predominant today in Christianity. Let's get into it.The seven heavenly virtues can be broken down into two groups: the four cardinal virtues, which are rooted in ancient philosophy and come from man, and the the three theological virtues, which are rooted in religion and come from God. The dividing line between these two groups is the boundary between mortality and divinity. The four cardinal virtues (temperance, justice, prudence, and fortitude) are innate to humanity. On the other hand, the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love, love being the greatest of the three) are not accessible to humanity by themselves, requiring the assistance of God. Pertaining to Christianity, the four cardinal virtues were grouped together by Ambrose, a 4th century theologian, and were subsequently adopted by the church. These four virtues stem from a much older philosophical tradition that can be traced back to ancient Greece, beginning to coalesce in the pre-socratic era, then becoming more concrete through the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.The three Theological virtues, by contrast, are enshrined in scripture, named by Paul the Apostle in Corinthians 13: "So faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is love