Apocalypse of the Alien God
DIVINATIONS: REREADING LATE ANCIENT RELIGION
SERIES EDITORS
Daniel Boyarin
Virginia Burrus
Derek Krueger
A complete list of books in the series is available from the publisher.
Apocalypse of the Alien God
PLATONISM AND THE EXILE OF SETHIAN GNOSTICISM
Dylan M. Burns
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS Philadelphia
THIS BOOK IS MADE POSSIBLE BY A COLLABORATIVE GRANT FROM THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION.
© 2014 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burns, Dylan M.
Apocalypse of the alien god : Platonism and the exile of Sethian gnosticism / Dylan M. Burns. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Divinations : rereading late ancient religion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8122-4579-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Apocalyptic literature—History and criticism. 2. Gnostic literature—History and criticism. 3. Gnosticism. 4. Neoplatonism. I. Title.
BL501.B87 2014
299’.932—dc23
2013032143
Im Abstande erst erzeugt sich ja mein Leben.
—Gerschom Scholem, Tägebücher 2:245
CONTENTS
2. Plotinus Against His Gnostic Friends
7. Between Judaism, Christianity, and Neoplatonism
Appendix: Reading Porphyry on the Gnostic Heretics and Their Apocalypses
ABBREVIATIONS
Following those given in the SBL Handbook of Style and Oxford Classical Dictionary. Sigla in quotations of ancient texts follow the Leiden Conventions, with the exception that “[ … ]” indicates a lacuna of unknown length, as well as longer stretches of multiple words or lines where the text is too fragmentary to render in any readable manner.
| Acts Andr. | Acts of Andrew |
| Acts Just. | Acts of Justin and Companions |
| Ael. Arist. | Aelius Aristides |
| Or. | Orationes |
| Ael. Theon | Aelius Theon |
| Progymn. | Progymnasmata |
| Alc. | Alcinous |
| Epit. | Epitome doctrinae platonicae (Didaskalikos) |
| Alex. Lyc. | Alexander of Lycopolis |
| Allogenes | Allogenes |
| FS | Funk and Scopello (BCNH) |
| Turner | Turner (CGL) |
| (Allogenes) TC | (Book of Allogenes), Tchacos Codex |
| Anon. pro. | Anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy |
| Ap. John | Apocryphon of John |
| Apoc. Ab. | Apocalypse of Abraham |
| Apoc. Adam | Apocalypse of Adam |
| Apoc. Elij. | Apocalypse of Elijah |
| Apoc. Enosh | Apocalypse of Enosh |
| 1 Apoc. Jas. | 1 Apocalypse of James |
| 2 Apoc. Jas. | 2 Apocalypse of James |
| Apoc. Paul | Apocalypse of Paul |
| Apoc. Peter |