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Why did Athanasius believe that God had to become human?

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Christology The Transfiguration, the nature of Jesus as the Son of God being revealed to the apostles Peter, James, and John, mosaic icon, early 13th century; in the Louvre, Paris.

At the heart of Athanasius’s Christology was a religious concern regarding the redemption of humanity. He famously argued that God had to become human so that humans could become divine.1

In his work The Incarnation of the Word of God, Athanasius explained that the Son of God—the eternal Word through whom the world was created—entered the world in human form to restore humanity to the harmony from which it had fallen.23

This perspective was central to his opposition against Arianism. While Arius suggested that the Son was a created, lesser being, Athanasius maintained that only one who was fully divine and of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father could effectively bridge the gap between God and humanity to effect salvation. By assuming human nature, the Word was able to lead humanity back to God, a process that underscored the necessity of Christ being both truly God and truly man.124