Astanphaeus

Astanphaeus (or Astaphaeus) is an evil angel in Gnosticism. He was seen as an Angel of the Presence, the seventh and last of them. He was associated with the planet Mercury.^[1][2][3][4] Among the elements he is associated with water,^[5] among the human body parts with hair^[6]

In the Adversus Haereses book (180 CE), Irenaeus wrote, that Ophites (a Christian Gnostic sect) considered Hebrew Bible prophets as spokesmen for evil gods of the lower world. Specifically, Ezra and Zephaniah were believed to belong to Astanphaeus.^[7][8]

In Sethian Gnosticism, Astanphaeus can be identified with the archon Astaphaios in Contra Celsum by Origen Adamantius.^[9] The archon, however, has a different planetary alignment than the angel: Venus, not Mercury.^[10]

See also

• Ialdabaoth
• Archons
• Angels of the Presence
• Ogdoad

References

1. MacCulloch, James Arnott (1912). "The Ascent of the Soul: A Comparative Study in Gnosticism" (PDF). The Irish Church Quarterly. 5 (18): 122–141. doi:10.2307/30067221. ISSN 2009-1664. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
2. Pettipiece, Timothy (4 May 2018). "Varieties of Christian Gnosis". A Companion to Religion in Late Antiquity: 297–317. doi:10.1002/9781118968130.ch14.
3. Schaefers, Katherine (1 January 2011). "Gnostic Imagery from the Beginning of our Era to Today". The Rose. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
4. Cresswell, Julia (2006). The Watkins dictionary of angels. London: Watkins. ISBN 1-84293-198-9.
5. Garadja, Alexei (1 January 2020). "Irenaeus of Lyon. Against Heresies 1.29–30. A Russian translation with commentary by A. Garadja / Ириней Лионский. Против ересей 1.29–30. Пер. и комментарии А. Гараджи. (in Russian)". Platonic Investigations. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
6. Adamson, Grant (1 January 2013). "Astrological Medicine in Gnostic Traditions". Practicing Gnosis: 348. doi:10.1163/9789004248526_020.
7. Fallon, Francis T. (1 January 1978). "The Prophets of the Ot and the Gnostics". Vigiliae Christianae. pp. 191–194. doi:10.1163/157007278X00102. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
8. Young, Edward (14 May 1943). "Biblical Criticism to the End of the Second Christian Century". Dropsie College Theses. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
9. Annus, Amar (2002). The god Ninurta : in the mythology and royal ideology of ancient Mesopotamia (PDF). [Helsinki, Finland]: Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. p. 198. ISBN 978-951-45-9057-3. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
10. Bousset, Wilhelm (1973). Hauptprobleme der Gnosis (Neudr. d. 1. Aufl. von 1907 ed.). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht. p. 10. ISBN 9783525535516.

External links