Idol Idol Histrionic personality disorder The term idol (derived from Greek eid-, videre, to see. Also related to eidos, a figure and eidea, an idea or imagination) Greek eidolon: Something visible but without substance, a hollow form. Idol is used in various contexts:

In Religion, originally not used in Holy Scripture, Josephus the Jewish historian later used the term to mean man-made worshipped articles; their worship is called Idolatry the worship of hollow forms. In the New Testament it is used to refer to heathen gods and their images and only found in Luke-Acts and certain Pauline epistles.

The English expression to idolize persons, objects or qualities is to hold them in very high regard: "I idolize your work", "I idolize him because...".

In Philosophy, Aristotle used the term as the idols in the water: as reflections or shadows. In Plato it can also mean shades or apparitions or copies; indeed, even inhabitants of the underworld are called eidola, distinctly as copies of real living beings. Francis Bacon introduced the term idol to describe various obstacles humans face when trying to truly understand nature. Friedrich Nietzsche in Twilight of the Idols sees idols as abstract unchanging philosophical concepts that need to be swept away to allow for true life to emerge.

Popular celebrities are commonly called idols, especially when "worshipped" by teenagers. See Teen idol.

Pop Idol and American Idol are television series that give formerly unknown persons an opportunity to become stars.

In Japan, idols are highly promoted singing and acting artists whose posing draws large fan audiences, satisfied by numerous merchandise articles; see Japanese idol. They are essentially the same as the popular celebrities listed above.

Billy Idol, a rock star.