They came to venerate him as a symbolic figure.是什么意思？

They came to venerate him as a symbolic figure.

他们把他当作偶像来崇拜.

they

pron. 他/她/它们，人们，大家，政府，当局，她们；

例句
The storms had abated by the time they rounded Cape Horn.
他们绕过合恩角时，暴风雨已经减弱。

came

v. 来( come的过去式 )，到达，达到（认识、理解或相信的程度），出生；

例句
She came in for a coffee, and told me about her friend Shona...
她进来喝了杯咖啡，并向我谈起了她的朋友肖纳。

to

prep. 向，朝着，到，关于，属于；adv. 朝一个方向的，到某种状态，关闭；

例句
I suggest you leave it to an expert...
我建议你把它留给专家来解决。

venerate

vt. 崇敬，尊敬；

例句
Most Italians venerate the name of Dante.
大多数意大利人崇拜但丁的名字.

him

pron. (he的宾格)他；

例句
They said goodbye to him as he got aboard the train at Union Station.
当他在联合火车站登上火车之际，他们向他道别。

as

adv. 同样地，一样地，例如；prep. 作为，以…的身份，如

例句
As far as I can recall, Patti was a Smith.
我记得帕蒂是姓史密斯的。

symbolic

adj. 象征的，象征性的；

例句
People threw flowers into the river between the two countries as a symbolic act of brotherhood...
人们把鲜花投进两国的界河里，以象征两国人民的兄弟情谊常在。

figure

n. 数字，算术，人物，身材；vi. 计算，出现，扮演角色；vt. 计算在内，估计，推测，认为；

例句
He was a baroque figure dressed in theatrical, but elegant, clothes.
他是个巴罗克式的人物，衣着华丽但又不失优雅。