A History of Gnosticism

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A history of Gnosticism. Giovanni Filoramo Contents Abbreviations Introduction Gnosis and modern culture The rediscovery of Gnosticism 1. Fragments of a Lost Faith Discovery The Gnostics and their mask: the problem of the heresiological sources In search of a theme: Gnosticism and its interpretations A voice from the desert: the Nag Hammadi library 2. Between Demons and Gods: an Age of Revelation A two-headed Janus: the century of the Antonines New religious horizons Ways of salvation Ecstasy and revelation In search of a new identity 3. The Gnostic Imagination The nature of Gnostic knowledge Myth, thought and society The nature of Gnostic myth 4. In the World of the Pleroma Gnostic dualism Prologue in Heaven The mystery of the archetypal Androgyne Divine hierarchies: the structure of the pleromatic family The sin of Sophia 5. The Arrogance of the Demiurge and the Creation of the World Sophia’s disruptive behaviour ‘Woman born of woman’: the birth of the Demiurge Sethian and Valentinian cosmogonies Gnostic variations on cosmogonic themes 6. And God Said, ‘Let Us Make Man in Our Image and Likeness’ Introduction The creation of Adam and Eve The unwavering race: Seth and his descendants The anthropogony of the Valentinian School 7. Mysterium Coniunctionis: The Gnostic Saviour The data The case of Poimandres Seth the Saviour The Valentinian Jesus Other Gnostic Christologies 8. Waiting for the End The nature of Gnostic eschatology The time of the Church Gnostic accounts of the Ascent of the Soul 9. Simon Magus and the Origins of Gnosticism Gnosis and Gnosticism In search of the origins: Simon Magus and the myth of Helen 10. Visionaries, Prophets and Divines: Towards a History of Gnosticism Ecstasy, possession and revelation Second-century Gnostic doctors Resistance and surrender 11. Ascetics and Libertines Towards a sociology of Gnosticism Ritual processes Ascetics or libertines? The dilemma of Gnostic ethics Notes Select Bibliography and Further Reading Index