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81-495: The seven letters spelling its name may represent each of the seven classic planets . The word may be related to Abracadabra , although other explanations exist. There are similarities and differences between such figures in reports about Basilides's teaching, ancient Gnostic texts, the larger Greco-Roman magical traditions , and modern magical and esoteric writings. Speculations have proliferated on Abraxas in recent centuries, which has been claimed to be both an Egyptian god and

162-507: A demon . Gaius Julius Hyginus ( Fab . 183 ) gives Abrax Aslo Therbeeo as names of horses of the sun mentioned by ' Homerus '. The passage is miserably corrupt, but it may not be accidental that the first three syllables make Abraxas. The proper form of the name is evidently Abrasax , as with the Greek writers, Hippolytus , Epiphanius , Didymus ( De Trin . iii. 42), and Theodoret ; also Augustine and Praedestinatus ; and in nearly all

243-600: A monk in Egypt, where he was educated and came into contact with Valentinian groups . He returned to Roman Palestine around 333, when he was still a young man, and he founded a monastery at Ad nearby, which is often mentioned in the polemics of Jerome with Rufinus and John, Bishop of Jerusalem . He was ordained a priest, and lived and studied as superior of the monastery in Ad that he founded for thirty years and gained much skill and knowledge in that position. In that position he gained

324-470: A "benevolent ghost sent on Earth by Abraxas". A vast number of engraved stones are in existence, to which the name "Abraxas-stones" has long been given. One particularly fine example was included as part of the Thetford treasure from fourth century Norfolk, England. The subjects are mythological, and chiefly grotesque, with various inscriptions, in which ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ often occurs, alone or with other words. Sometimes

405-445: A cock, a lion, or an ass, and the tail of a serpent was formerly taken in the light of what Irenaeus says about the followers of Basilides: These men, moreover, practise magic, and use images, incantations, invocations, and every other kind of curious art. Coining also certain names as if they were those of the angels, they proclaim some of these as belonging to the first, and others to the second heaven; and then they strive to set forth

486-461: A crescent for the Moon. The written symbols for Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn have been traced to forms found in late Greek papyri. The symbols for Jupiter and Saturn are identified as monograms of the initial letters of the corresponding Greek names, and the symbol for Mercury is a stylized caduceus . A. S. D. Maunder finds antecedents of the planetary symbols in earlier sources, used to represent

567-457: A demon as documented in J. Collin de Plancy's Infernal Dictionary , Abraxas (or Abracax) is labeled the "supreme God" of the Basilidians, whom he describes as "heretics of the second century". He further indicated the Basilidians attributed to Abraxas the rule over "365 skies" and "365 virtues". In a final statement on Basilidians, de Plancy states that their view was that Jesus Christ was merely

648-414: A great majority of instances the name Abraxas is associated with a singular composite figure, having a Chimera -like appearance somewhat resembling a basilisk or the Greek primordial god Chronos (not to be confused with the Greek titan Cronus ). According to E. A. Wallis Budge , "as a Pantheus, i.e. All-God, he appears on the amulets with the head of a cock ( Phœbus ) or of a lion ( Ra or Mithras ),

729-520: A planet being defined as a natural satellite directly orbiting the Sun (or other stars ) and having cleared its own orbit. Therefore, only five of the seven classical planets remain recognized as planets, alongside Earth , Uranus , and Neptune . The Babylonians recognized seven planets. A bilingual list in the British Museum records the seven Babylonian planets in the following order: In Mandaeism ,

810-554: A result of this persecution, four of these monks, the so-called Tall Brothers, fled to Palestine, and then travelled to Constantinople, seeking support and spreading the controversy. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople , gave the monks shelter. Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria saw his chance to use this event to bring down his enemy Chrysostom : in 402 he summoned a council in Constantinople, and invited those supportive of his anti-Origenist views. Epiphanius, by this time nearly 80,

891-516: A result, the alchemical glyphs for the metal and associated planet coincide. Alchemists believed the other elemental metals were variants of these seven (e.g. zinc was known as "Indian tin" or "mock silver" ). Alchemy in the Western World and other locations where it was widely practiced was (and in many cases still is) allied and intertwined with traditional Babylonian-Greek style astrology; in numerous ways they were built to complement each other in

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972-467: Is Abrasax, because his name contains the number 365, the number of the days in the year; i.e. the sum of the numbers denoted by the Greek letters in ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ according to the rules of isopsephy is 365: Epiphanius ( Haer . 69, 73 f.) appears to follow partly Irenaeus, partly the lost Compendium of Hippolytus. He designates Abraxas more distinctly as "the power above all, and First Principle", "the cause and first archetype" of all things; and mentions that

1053-422: Is Abraxas. ... it appears that Abraxas has much deeper significance. We may conceive of the name as that of the godhead whose symbolic task is the uniting of godly and devilish elements. Abraxas doesn't take exception to any of your thoughts or any of your dreams. Never forget that. But he will leave you once you become blameless and normal. Abracadabra: not an Indian word at all, a cabbalistic formula derived from

1134-401: Is Mars-day. The modern English days of the week were mostly inherited from gods of the old Germanic Norse culture – Wednesday is Wōden ’s-day ( Wōden or Wettin eqv. Mercury), Thursday is Thor ’s-day (Thor eqv. Jupiter), Friday is Frige -day (Frige eqv. Venus). Equivalence here is by the gods' roles; for instance, Venus and Frige were both goddesses of love. It can be correlated that

1215-450: Is a God about whom you know nothing, because men have forgotten him. We call him by his name: Abraxas. He is less definite than God or Devil. ... Abraxas is activity: nothing can resist him but the unreal ... Abraxas stands above the sun[-god] and above the devil  If the Pleroma were capable of having a being, Abraxas would be its manifestation. That which is spoken by God-the-Sun

1296-429: Is at its brightest when it is in opposition , which occurs approximately every twenty-five months. Jupiter and Saturn are the largest of the five planets, but are farther from the Sun, and therefore receive less sunlight. Nonetheless, Jupiter is often the next brightest object in the sky after Venus. Saturn's luminosity is often enhanced by its rings, which reflect light to varying degrees, depending on their inclination to

1377-508: Is evident from these particulars that Abrasax was the name of the first of the 365 Archons, and accordingly stood below Sophia and Dynamis and their progenitors; but his position is not expressly stated, so that the writer of the supplement to Tertullian had some excuse for confusing him with "the Supreme God". With the availability of primary sources, such as those in the Nag Hammadi library ,

1458-524: Is found in Shatberd ms 1141 along with Physiologus and De Gemmis ). The first section discusses the canon of the Old Testament and its versions, the second of measures and weights, and the third, the geography of Palestine . The texts appear not to have been given a polish but consist of rough notes and sketches, as Allen A. Shaw, a modern commentator, concluded; nevertheless Epiphanius' work on metrology

1539-478: Is life; that which is spoken by the Devil is death; Abraxas speaketh that hallowed and accursed word, which is life and death at the same time. Abraxas begetteth truth and lying, good and evil, light and darkness in the same word and in the same act. Wherefore is Abraxas terrible. The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name

1620-404: Is one which has exercised the ingenuity of many savants, but it may be said that all the engraved stones fall into three classes: While it would be rash to assert positively that no existing gems were the work of Gnostics, there is no valid reason for attributing all of them to such an origin. The fact that the name occurs on these gems in connection with representations of figures with the head of

1701-545: Is the Ancoratus (the well anchored man), which includes arguments against Arianism and the teachings of Origen . Aside from the polemics by which he is known, Epiphanius wrote a work of biblical antiquarianism , called, for one of its sections, On Weights and Measures (περὶ μέτρων καὶ στάθμων). It was composed in Constantinople for a Persian priest, in 392, and survives in Syriac, Armenian, and Georgian translations (this last

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1782-467: Is the Panarion (from Latin panarium , "bread basket" < panis , "bread"), also known as Adversus Haereses , "Against Heresies", presented as a book of antidotes for those bitten by the serpent of heresy. Written between 374 and 377, it forms a handbook for dealing with the arguments of heretics. It lists, and refutes, 80 heresies , some of which are not described in any other surviving documents from

1863-616: Is uncertain what the actual role and function of Abraxas was in the Basilidian system , as our authorities (see below) often show no direct acquaintance with the doctrines of Basilides himself. In the system described by Irenaeus , "the Unbegotten Father" is the progenitor of Nous "Discerning Mind"; Nous produced Logos "Word, Reason"; Logos produced Phronesis "Mindfulness"; Phronesis produced Sophia "Wisdom" and Dynamis "Potentiality"; Sophia and Dynamis produced

1944-635: The Refutation of All Heresies (vii. 26) by Hippolytus , who appears in these chapters to have followed the Exegetica of Basilides. After describing the manifestation of the Gospel in the Ogdoad and Hebdomad , he adds that the Basilidians have a long account of the innumerable creations and powers in the several 'stages' of the upper world ( diastemata ), in which they speak of 365 heavens and say that "their great archon"

2025-501: The Scroll of Abatur . The planets are listed according to the traditional Mandaean order of the planets as mentioned in Masco (2012). The astrological symbols for the classical planets appear in the medieval Byzantine codices in which many ancient horoscopes were preserved. In the original papyri of these Greek horoscopes, there are found a circle with one ray ( [REDACTED] ) for the Sun and

2106-661: The ecliptic ; however, the rings themselves are not visible to the naked eye from the Earth. Solar System   → Local Interstellar Cloud   → Local Bubble   → Gould Belt   → Orion Arm   → Milky Way   → Milky Way subgroup   → Local Group → Local Sheet → Virgo Supercluster → Laniakea Supercluster   → Local Hole   → Observable universe   → Universe Each arrow ( → ) may be read as "within" or "part of". Epiphanius of Salamis Epiphanius of Salamis ( Ancient Greek : Ἐπιφάνιος ; c. 310–320 – 403)

2187-583: The 60 Christian heresies, from assorted gnostics to the various trinitarian heresies of the fourth century, closing with the Collyridians and Messalians . While Epiphanius often let his zeal come before facts – he admits on one occasion that he writes against the Origenists-based only on hearsay ( Panarion , Epiphanius 71) – the Panarion is a valuable source of information on the Christian Church of

2268-401: The Basilidians referred to 365 as the number of parts ( mele ) in the human body, as well as of days in the year. The author of the appendix to Tertullian De Praescr. Haer . (c. 4), who likewise follows Hippolytus's Compendium, adds some further particulars; that 'Abraxas' gave birth to Mind ( nous ), the first in the series of primary powers enumerated likewise by Irenaeus and Epiphanius; that

2349-523: The Bishop of Jerusalem , John II , to condemn his writings. He urged John to be careful of the "offence" of images in the churches. He noted that when travelling in Palestine he went into a church to pray and saw a curtain with an image of Christ or a saint which he tore down. He told Bishop John that such images were "opposed ... to our religion" (see below). This event sowed the seeds of conflict which erupted in

2430-516: The Church of Christ and of those Christians who are committed to your charge. Beware of Palladius of Galatia —a man once dear to me, but who now sorely needs God's pity—for he preaches and teaches the heresy of Origen; and see to it that he does not seduce any of those who are intrusted to your keeping into the perverse ways of his erroneous doctrine. I pray that you may fare well in the Lord. His best-known book

2511-540: The Moon, a headdress with a crescent attached. A diagram in Johannes Kamateros' 12th century Compendium of Astrology shows the Sun represented by the circle with a ray, Jupiter by the letter zeta (the initial of Zeus , Jupiter's counterpart in Greek mythology ), Mars by a shield crossed by a spear, and the remaining classical planets by symbols resembling the modern ones, without the cross-mark seen in modern versions of

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2592-633: The Norse gods were attributed to each Roman planet and its god, probably due to Roman influence rather than coincidentally by the naming of the planets. A vestige of the Roman convention remains in the English name Saturday. In alchemy , each classical planet (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) was associated with one of the seven metals known to the classical world ( silver , mercury/quicksilver , copper , gold , iron , tin and lead respectively). As

2673-559: The Perfect Being". Another identification with Osiris is made in PGM VII. 643-51: "you are not wine, but the guts of Osiris, the guts of ... Ablanathanalba Akrammachamarei Eee, who has been stationed over necessity, Iakoub Ia Iaō Sabaōth Adōnai Abrasax." PGM VIII. 1-63, on the other hand, identifies Abraxas as a name of " Hermes " (i.e. Thoth ). Here the numerological properties of the name are invoked, with its seven letters corresponding to

2754-608: The Queen of the World of Darkness who is also their mother. However, individually, some of the planets can be associated with positive qualities. The names of the seven planets in Mandaic are borrowed from Akkadian . Some of the names are ultimately derived from Sumerian , since Akkadian had borrowed many deity names from Sumerian. Each planet is said to be carried in a ship. Drawings of these ships are found in various Mandaean scriptures , such as

2835-490: The Sun and Moon) and two additional invisible planets( tamo'graha ); rahu and ketu. Mercury and Venus are visible only in twilight hours because their orbits are interior to that of Earth. Venus is the third-brightest object in the sky and the most prominent planet. Mercury is more difficult to see due to its proximity to the Sun. Lengthy twilight and an extremely low angle at maximum elongations make optical filters necessary to see Mercury from extreme polar locations. Mars

2916-604: The ability to speak in several languages, including Hebrew , Syriac , Egyptian , Greek , and Latin , and was called by Jerome on that account Pentaglossos ("Five tongued"). His reputation for learning prompted his nomination and consecration as Bishop of Salamis, Cyprus , in 365 or 367, a post which he held until his death. He was also the Metropolitan of the Church of Cyprus . He served as bishop for nearly forty years, as well as travelled widely to combat differing beliefs. He

2997-462: The ancients was associated with, held dominion over, and "ruled" a certain metal (see also astrology and the classical elements ). The list of rulership is as follows: Some alchemists (e.g. Paracelsus ) adopted the Hermetic Qabalah assignment between the vital organs and the planets as follows: Indian astronomy and astrology ( jyotiṣa ) recognises seven visible planets (including

3078-519: The animal's characteristics, how it produces its poison, and how to protect oneself from the animal's bite or poison. For example, he describes his enemy Origen as "a toad noisy from too much moisture which keeps croaking louder and louder." He compares the Gnostics to a particularly dreaded snake "with no fangs." The Ebionites , a Christian sect that followed Jewish law, were described by Epiphanius as "a monstrosity with many shapes, who practically formed

3159-713: The body of a man, and his legs are serpents which terminate in scorpions, types of the Agathodaimon . In his right hand he grasps a club, or a flail, and in his left is a round or oval shield." This form was also referred to as the Anguipede . Budge surmised that Abrasax was "a form of the Adam Kadmon of the Kabbalists and the Primal Man whom God made in His own image". Some parts at least of

3240-458: The book De Mysteriis in reply to Porphyry (vii. 4) admits a preference of 'barbarous' to vernacular names in sacred things, urging a peculiar sanctity in the languages of certain nations, as the Egyptians and Assyrians ; and Origen ( Contra Cels . i. 24) refers to the 'potent names' used by Egyptian sages, Persian Magi , and Indian Brahmins , signifying deities in the several languages. It

3321-489: The chain of events that leads to the Demiurge's rule of this world, and the salvage effort that ensues. As such, the role of Aeons of Eleleth, including Abraxas, Sophia, and others, pertains to this outer border of the Pleroma that encounters the ignorance of the world of Lack and interacts to rectify the error of ignorance in the world of materiality. The Catholic church later deemed Abraxas a pagan god, and ultimately branded him

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3402-475: The confident assertions of modern writers to this effect rest on no authority. Isaac de Beausobre properly calls attention to the significant silence of Clement in the two passages in which he instructs the Christians of Alexandria on the right use of rings and gems, and the figures which may legitimately be engraved on them ( Paed . 241 ff.; 287 ff.). But no attempt to identify the figures on existing gems with

3483-528: The dispute between Rufinus and John against Jerome and Epiphanius. Epiphanius fuelled this conflict by ordaining a priest for Jerome's monastery at Bethlehem, thus trespassing on John's jurisdiction. This dispute continued during the 390s, in particular in the literary works by Rufinus and Jerome attacking one another. In 399, the dispute took on another dimension, when the Bishop of Alexandria, Theophilus , who had initially supported John , changed his views and started persecuting Origenist monks in Egypt. As

3564-626: The fact that I have been seeking a curtain of the best quality to give to them instead of the former one, and thought it right to send to Cyprus for one. I have now sent the best that I could find, and I beg that you will order the presbyter of the place to take the curtain which I have sent from the hands of the Reader, and that you will afterwards give directions that curtains of the other sort—opposed as they are to our religion—shall not be hung up in any church of Christ. A man of your uprightness should be careful to remove an occasion of offence unworthy alike of

3645-505: The fact that these objects move across the celestial sphere relative to the fixed stars. Therefore, the Greeks were the first to develop the astrological connections to the planets' visual detail. Through the use of telescopes other celestial objects like the classical planets were found, starting with the Galilean moons in 1610. Today the term planet is used considerably differently, with

3726-579: The figure mentioned above are solar symbols , and the Basilidian Abrasax is manifestly connected with the sun. J. J. Bellermann has speculated that "the whole represents the Supreme Being, with his Five great Emanations, each one pointed out by means of an expressive emblem. Thus, from the human body, the usual form assigned to the Deity, forasmuch as it is written that God created man in his own image, issue

3807-610: The fourth century. It is also an important source regarding the early Jewish gospels such as the Gospel according to the Hebrews circulating among the Ebionites and the Nazarenes , as well as the followers of Cerinthus and Merinthus. One unique feature of the Panarion is in the way that Epiphanius compares the various heretics to different poisonous beasts, going so far as to describe in detail

3888-487: The god Raphaēl , by the god Abrasax Ablathanalba Akrammachari ...". In text PGM V. 96–172, Abraxas is identified as part of the "true name which has been transmitted to the prophets of Israel" of the "Headless One, who created heaven and earth, who created night and day ... Osoronnophris whom none has ever seen ... awesome and invisible god with an empty spirit"; the name also includes Iaō and Adōnai. "Osoronnophris" represents Egyptian Wsir Wn-nfr , " Osiris

3969-411: The gods associated with the classical planets. Bianchini's planisphere , produced in the 2nd century, shows Greek personifications of planetary gods charged with early versions of the planetary symbols: Mercury has a caduceus; Venus has, attached to her necklace, a cord connected to another necklace; Mars, a spear; Jupiter, a staff; Saturn, a scythe; the Sun, a circlet with rays radiating from it; and

4050-463: The great god, Iaeō ". The patriarchs are sometimes addressed as deities; for which fact many instances may be adduced. In the group "Iakoubia, Iaōsabaōth Adōnai Abrasax", the first name seems to be composed of Jacob and Ya. Similarly, entities considered angels in Judaism are invoked as gods alongside Abrasax: thus "I conjure you ... by the god Michaēl , by the god Souriēl , by the god Gabriēl , by

4131-603: The identity of Abraxas remains unclear. The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit , for instance, refers to Abraxas as an Aeon dwelling with Sophia and other Aeons of the Pleroma in the light of the luminary Eleleth . In several texts, the luminary Eleleth is the last of the luminaries (Spiritual Lights) that come forward, and it is the Aeon Sophia, associated with Eleleth, who encounters darkness and becomes involved in

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4212-675: The legends on gems. By a probably euphonic inversion the translator of Irenaeus and the other Latin authors have Abraxas , which is found in the magical papyri, and even, though most sparingly, on engraved stones. The attempts to discover a derivation for the name, Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, or other, have not been entirely successful: Perhaps the word may be included among those mysterious expressions discussed by Adolf von Harnack , "which belong to no known speech, and by their singular collocation of vowels and consonants give evidence that they belong to some mystic dialect, or take their origin from some supposed divine inspiration". The Egyptian author of

4293-599: The magic papyri. This word is usually conceded to be derived from the Hebrew (Aramaic), meaning "Thou art our father" (אב לן את), and also occurs in connection with Abraxas; the following inscription is found upon a metal plate in the Karlsruhe Museum: АВРАΣАΞ ΑΒΛΑΝΑΘ ΑΝΑΛΒΑ IO IO IO IAO SABAO KURIE ABRASAX KURIE MEITHRAS KURIE PHALLE. IO PAN, IO PAN PAN IO ISCHUROS, IO ATHANATOS IO ABROTOS IO IAO. KAIRE PHALLE KAIRE PAMPHAGE KAIRE PANGENETOR. HAGIOS, HAGIOS, HAGIOS IAO. There

4374-479: The moon: [24] Ho! Sax, Amun , Sax, Abraxas; for thou art the moon, (25) the chief of the stars, he that did form them, listen to the things that I have(?) said, follow the (words) of my mouth, reveal thyself to me, Than, (26) Thana, Thanatha, otherwise Thei, this is my correct name. The magic word "Ablanathanalba", which reads in Greek the same backward as forward , also occurs in the Abraxas-stones as well as in

4455-463: The name of the supreme god of the Basilidan gnostics, containing the number 365, the number of the days of the year, and of the heavens, and of the spirits emanating from the god Abraxas. Classical planet A classical planet is an astronomical object that is visible to the naked eye and moves across the sky and its backdrop of fixed stars (the common stars which seem still in contrast to

4536-434: The name of this God in the language of the baboons. The papyrus goes on to describe a cosmogonic myth about Abraxas, describing how he created the Ogdoad by laughing. His first laughter created light; his second divided the primordial waters ; his third created the mind; his fourth created fertility and procreation; his fifth created fate; his sixth created time (as the sun and moon); and his seventh and final laughter created

4617-461: The names of the seven planets are derived from the seven Babylonian planets. Overall, the seven classical planets ( Classical Mandaic : ࡔࡅࡁࡀ , romanized:  šuba , lit.   'The Seven'; ࡔࡉࡁࡉࡀࡄࡉࡀ šibiahia , "planets"; or, combined, šuba šibiahia "Seven Planets" ) are generally not viewed favorably in Mandaeism, since they constitute part of the entourage of Ruha ,

4698-477: The names, principles, angels, and powers of the 365 imagined heavens. Incantations by mystic names were characteristic of the hybrid Gnosticism planted in Spain and southern Gaul at the end of the fourth century and at the beginning of the fifth, which Jerome connects with Basilides and which (according to his Epist ., lxxv.) used the name Abraxas. It is therefore not unlikely that some Gnostics used amulets, though

4779-533: The often quoted incident of the curtain, which unlike other passages attributed to Epiphanius and quoted by the Iconoclasts, is accepted as authentic by modern scholars: 9. Moreover, I have heard that certain persons have this grievance against me: When I accompanied you to the holy place called Bethel, there to join you in celebrating the Collect, after the use of the Church, I came to a villa called Anablatha and, as I

4860-405: The personages of Gnostic mythology has had any success, and Abraxas is the only Gnostic term found in the accompanying legends that is not known to belong to other religions or mythologies. The present state of the evidence therefore suggests that their engravers and the Basilidians received the mystic name from a common source now unknown. Having due regard to the magic papyri , in which many of

4941-556: The planets). Visible to humans on Earth there are seven classical planets (the seven luminaries ). They are from brightest to dimmest : the Sun , the Moon , Venus , Jupiter , Mars , Mercury and Saturn . Greek astronomers such as Geminus and Ptolemy recorded these classical planets during classical antiquity , introducing the term planet , which means 'wanderer' in Greek ( πλάνης planēs and πλανήτης planētēs ), expressing

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5022-608: The planets, although the order was staggered (see below). The first hour of each day was named after the ruling planet, giving rise to the names and order of the Roman seven-day week . Modern Latin-based cultures, in general, directly inherited the days of the week from the Romans and they were named after the classical planets; for example, in Spanish Miércoles is Mercury, and in French mardi

5103-472: The principalities, powers, and angels, the last of whom create "the first heaven". They, in turn, originate a second series, who create a second heaven. The process continues in like manner until 365 heavens are in existence, the angels of the last or visible heaven being the authors of our world. "The ruler" [ principem , i.e., probably ton archonta ] of the 365 heavens "is Abraxas, and for this reason he contains within himself 365 numbers". The name occurs in

5184-561: The quotations attributed to him by the Byzantine Iconoclasts were actually by him. Regardless of this, he was clearly strongly against some contemporary uses of images in the church. Epiphanius was either born into a Romaniote Christian family or became a Christian in his youth. Either way, he was a Romaniote Jew who was born in the small settlement of Besanduk, near Eleutheropolis (modern-day Beit Guvrin in Israel), and lived as

5265-548: The scourge of Power." In the absence of other evidence to show the origin of these curious relics of antiquity the occurrence of a name known as Basilidian on patristic authority has not unnaturally been taken as a sufficient mark of origin, and the early collectors and critics assumed this whole group to be the work of Gnostics. During the last three centuries attempts have been made to sift away successively those gems that had no claim to be considered in any sense Gnostic, or specially Basilidian, or connected with Abrasax. The subject

5346-481: The search for hidden knowledge (knowledge that is not common i.e. the occult). Astrology has used the concept of classical elements from antiquity up until the present day today. Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensively, and indeed they are still viewed as a critical part of interpreting the astrological chart. Traditionally, each of the seven " planets " in the Solar System as known to

5427-459: The seven planets and its isopsephic value of 365 corresponding to the days of the year. Thoth is also identified with Abrasax in PGM LXXIX. 1-7: "I am the soul of darkness, Abrasax, the eternal one, Michaēl, but my true name is Thōouth, Thōouth." One papyrus titled the "Monad" or the "Eighth Book of Moses " (PGM XIII. 1–343) contains an invocation to a supreme creator God; Abraxas is given as being

5508-484: The snake-like shape of the mythical many-headed Hydra in himself." In all, Epiphanius describes fifty animals, usually one per sect. Another feature of the Panarion is the access its earlier sections provide to lost works, notably Justin Martyr's work on heresies, the Greek of Irenaeus' Against Heresies , and Hippolytus' Syntagma . The Panarion was first translated into English in 1987 and 1990. His earliest known work

5589-479: The soul. Then, from various sounds made by Abrasax, there arose the serpent Python who "foreknew all things", the first man (or Fear ), and the god Iaō , "who is lord of all". The man fought with Iaō, and Abrasax declared that Iaō's power would derive from both of the others, and that Iaō would take precedence over all the other gods. This text also describes Helios as an archangel of God/Abrasax. The Leyden Papyrus recommends that this invocation be pronounced to

5670-476: The symbols. The modern Sun symbol, pictured as a circle with a dot (☉), first appeared in the Renaissance . The Ptolemaic system used in ancient Greek astronomy placed the planets by order of proximity to Earth in the then-current geocentric model , closest to furthest, as the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In addition the day was divided into seven-hour intervals, each ruled by one of

5751-486: The teaching of the Scriptures, I tore it asunder and advised the custodians of the place to use it as a winding sheet for some poor person. They, however, murmured, and said that if I made up my mind to tear it, it was only fair that I should give them another curtain in its place. As soon as I heard this, I promised that I would give one, and said that I would send it at once. Since then there has been some little delay, due to

5832-529: The time. Epiphanius begins with the 'four mothers' of pre-Christian heresy – 'barbarism', 'Scythism', 'Hellenism' and 'Judaism' – and then addresses the 16 pre-Christian heresies that have flowed from them: four philosophical schools (Stoics, Platonists, Pythagoreans and Epicureans), and 12 Jewish sects. There then follows an interlude, telling of the Incarnation of the Word. After this, Epiphanius embarks on his account of

5913-413: The two supporters, Nous and Logos , symbols of the inner sense and the quickening understanding, as typified by the serpents, for the same reason that had induced the old Greeks to assign this reptile for an attribute to Pallas. His head—a cock's—represents Phronesis , the fowl being emblematical of foresight and vigilance. His two hands bear the badges of Sophia and Dynamis , the shield of Wisdom, and

5994-563: The unintelligible names of the Abrasax-stones reappear, besides directions for making and using gems with similar figures and formulas for magical purposes, it can scarcely be doubted that many of these stones are pagan amulets and instruments of magic. The magic papyri reflect the same ideas as the Abrasax-gems and often bear Hebraic names of God. The following example is illustrative: "I conjure you by Iaō Sabaōth Adōnai Abrasax, and by

6075-407: The whole space is taken up with the inscription. In certain obscure magical writings of Egyptian origin ἀβραξάς or ἀβρασάξ is found associated with other names which frequently accompany it on gems; it is also found on the Greek metal tesseræ among other mystic words. The meaning of the legends is seldom intelligible: but some of the gems are amulets; and the same may be the case with nearly all. In

6156-866: The world, as well as the 365 heavens, was created in honour of 'Abraxas'; and that Christ was sent not by the Maker of the world but by 'Abraxas'. Nothing can be built on the vague allusions of Jerome , according to whom 'Abraxas' meant for Basilides "the greatest God" ( De vir. ill . 21), "the highest God" ( Dial. adv. Lucif . 23), "the Almighty God" ( Comm. in Amos iii. 9), and "the Lord the Creator" ( Comm. in Nah . i. 11). The notices in Theodoret ( Haer. fab . i. 4), Augustine ( Haer . 4), and 'Praedestinatus' (i. 3), have no independent value. It

6237-561: Was important in the history of measurement . Another work, On the Twelve Gems ( De Gemmis ), survives in a number of fragments, the most complete of which is the Georgian. The letter written by Epiphanius to John, Bishop of Jerusalem, in 394 and preserved in Jerome's translation, is discussed above. The collection of homilies traditionally ascribed to a "Saint Epiphanius, bishop" are dated in

6318-664: Was one of those summoned, and began the journey to Constantinople. However, when he realised he was being used as a tool by Theophilus against Chrysostom, who had given refuge to the monks persecuted by Theophilus and who were appealing to the emperor, Epiphanius started back to Salamis, only to die on the way home in 403. Letter LI in Jerome's letters gives Jerome's Latin translation, made at Epiphanius' request, of his letter, originally in Greek from c. 394, "From Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, in Cyprus, to John, Bishop of Jerusalem" (see previous section for wider context). The final section covers

6399-461: Was passing, saw a lamp burning there. Asking what place it was, and learning it to be a church, I went in to pray, and found there a curtain hanging on the doors of the said church, dyed and embroidered. It bore an image either of Christ or of one of the saints; I do not rightly remember whose the image was. Seeing this, and being loth that an image of a man should be hung up in Christ’s church contrary to

6480-749: Was present at a synod in Antioch (376) where the Trinitarian questions were debated against the heresy of Apollinarianism . He upheld the position of Bishop Paulinus , who had the support of Rome, over that of Meletius of Antioch , who was supported by the Eastern Churches. In 382 he was present at the Council of Rome , again upholding the cause of Paulinus. During a visit to Palestine in 394 or 395, while preaching in Jerusalem, he attacked Origen 's followers and urged

6561-540: Was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus , at the end of the 4th century . He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches . He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy . He is best known for composing the Panarion , a compendium of eighty heresies , which included also pagan religions and philosophical systems. There has been much controversy over how many of

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