Cosmology and Fate in Gnosticism and Graeco-Roman Antiquity: Under Pitiless Skies

221 Pages·2013·3.11 MB·English

by  Nicola Denzey Lewis

Cosmology and Fate in Gnosticism
and Graeco-Roman Antiquity
Nag Hammadi and
Manichaean Studies
Editors
JohannesvanOort&EinarThomassen
EditorialBoard
j.d.beduhn–a.d.deconick–w.-p.funk
i.gardner–s.n.c.lieu–a.marjanen
p.nagel–l.painchaud–b.a.pearson
n.a.pedersen–s.g.richter–j.m.robinson
m.scopello–j.d.turner–g.wurst
VOLUME81
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/nhms
Cosmology and Fate in Gnosticism
and Graeco-Roman Antiquity
Under Pitiless Skies
By
NicolaDenzeyLewis
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2013
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Lewis,NicolaDenzey,1966-
CosmologyandfateingnosticismandGraeco-Romanantiquity:underpitilessskies/byNicola
DenzeyLewis.
pagecm.–(NagHammadiandManichaeanstudies,ISSN0929-2470;81)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-90-04-24548-8(hardback:alk.paper)–ISBN978-90-04-24576-1(e-book)1.
Gnosticism.2.Cosmology.3.Fateandfatalism.I.Title.
BT1390.L492013
299'.932–dc23
2012048689
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coveringLatin,IPA,Greek,andCyrillic,thistypefaceisespeciallysuitableforuseinthehumanities.
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ISSN0929-2470
ISBN978-90-04-24548-8(hardback)
ISBN978-90-04-24576-1(e-book)
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Formygirls,LolaandIsobel
Nequaquamnobisdivinitusesseparatam.
Naturamrerum;tantastatpraeditaculpa.
“HadGoddesignedtheworld,itwouldnotbe
Aworldsofrailandfaultyaswesee.”
—Lucretius,Dererumnatura,5.198–199

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements..................................................... ix
Abbreviations........................................................... xi
Introduction............................................................ 1
1. WeretheGnosticsCosmicPessimists? ............................. 13
2. NagHammadiandtheProvidentialCosmos ....................... 29
3. ‘ThisBodyofDeath’:CosmicMalevolenceandEnslavementto
SininPaulineExegesis ............................................. 53
4. HeimarmeneatNagHammadi:TheApocryphonofJohnandOn
theOriginoftheWorld .............................................. 85
5. MiddlePlatonism,Heimarmene,andtheCorpusHermeticum...... 103
6. WaysOutI:InterventionsoftheSaviorGod........................ 127
7. WaysOutII:BaptismandCosmicFreedom:ANewGenesis ....... 145
8. Astral‘Determinism’intheGospelofJudas......................... 165
9. Conclusions,andaNewWayForward.............................. 181
SelectedBibliography................................................... 193
SubjectIndex ........................................................... 203

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thisbookbeganlong,longago,asmy1998doctoraldissertationatPrinceton
University under the expert guidance of Elaine Pagels, John Gager, Ted
ChamplinandPeterBrown.Thecombinedskills,breadthofknowledge,and
sheerbrillianceofthesescholarsmadeforperhapsthemostintimidating
dissertationcommitteeknowntohumanity,andIwasdailyhumbledbythe
experience.AnysuccessesofthisbookIowetothem;itsshortcomings,on
theotherhand,remainentirelymyown.
The extraordinarily congenial and interdisciplinary environment of
Princeton’s Program in the Ancient World also brought me into the orbit
of three other outstanding Princeton scholars whom I must thank here.
ThefirstisMarthaHimmelfarb,whoseexcellentworkonJewishpseudepi-
graphicalandascenttextsundergirdswhatIlearnedaboutsecond-century
Christian apocalyptic. Over the past decade in particular, I have been so
gratefulforwhatIlearnedfromherasIreadearlyChristianmaterial.Bob
Lambertondeservescreditforactuallysettingmeonthepathtothisbookby
raisingthespecterof‘cosmicpessimism’asawhollyconstructedworldview,
andbysettingasidetheconventionalclassicist’sbiasesaslimitedtoamore
normativecanonoftextsandapproaches.GarthFowden’sexpertiseinthe
HermeticaremindedmetolookbeyondChristianandJewishmaterialsto
Graeco-Romanreligiousmaterials,providingmewithamuchwiderpalette
oftextsandideasthanIwouldhavebeenawareofwithouthisinsights.
Within the circles of those who work primarily on Gnosticism, I have
found enduring support. Papers based on this book were presented, over
the years, at the Society of Biblical Literature’s Nag Hammadi and Gnos-
ticism section. Through that section, I have been fortunate to have been
guided,corrected,andinspiredbyacoterieofoutstandingscholars.Chief
amongthosewhomustbesingledoutareJohnTurner,MichaelWaldstein,
Michael Williams, Birger Pearson, Hans-Martin Schenke, Frederik Wisse,
Einar Thomassen, Louis Painchaud, and Paul-Hubert Poirier. I’ve turned
oftentoAprilDeConick’sfabulousworkonascentandmysticisminGnos-
ticism,andneverfailedtoberevivifiedbyherinsights.Herrecentcongress
on the Judas Codex in Houston (2008)—masterfully executed—reignited
mypassionforallthingscosmicinthesecondcentury.TuomasRasimus’s
workontheOphitespushedmetoclarifymyownviewsonancientascent
inwaysIappreciate.Finally,bothKarenKingandIsmoDunderberghave